"  And  that  brings  up  the  question,  why
68


'"TWO   BIG    BOXES    OP   POTATOES,   A    CAN    OP    FRENCH    PEASE,  AND
A    BOTTLK    OF    SARSAPARILLA '  "


THE   IDIOT   AT   HOME

should  your  conscience  be  troubled  by  the
insincerity  of  others  ?"  said  he.  "  Now,
I'll  tell  you  what  we'll  do.  You  fry  the
potatoes  and  I'll  boil  the  can  of  pease;
I  think  four  minutes  will  boil  them  hard,
like  an  egg,  and  together  we'll  put  the
sarsaparilla  on  ice,  and  bluff  the  whole
thing  through.  Bluffing  was  always  my
strong  point,  and  I  have  noticed,  my  dear,
that  in  whatever  I  have  tried  to  do  since
we  were  married  you  have  contributed
at  least  ninety  per  cent,  to  success.  My
bluff  plus  your  efforts  to  make  the  thing
a  go  will  send  our  dinner  to  a  premium.''

Mrs.  Idiot  remained  properly  silent.
As  a  matter  of  fact,  she  was  not  even
listening.  She  was  considering.  What
on  earth  to  do  was  the  question  in  her
mind,  and  it  so  entirely  absorbed  it  that
she  fortunately  had  little  left  for  the
rather  easy  views  of  the  Idiot  himself.
