"Well, have a piece of pie, won't you?" begged Merriman hospitably. "Sure? We were sort of late with our feed. What time is it, anyway? Great Scott, Dobbins, it's nearly four! How long have we been sitting here?"
"I've been here ever since I worried down that last piece of pie," said Joe, "and I guess that was about an hour and a half ago. You ought to have showed up earlier, Foster. You missed a swell feed!"
"Sausages and potatoes and pie," laughed Merriman. "Still, we managed to nearly kill ourselves: at least, I did." Joe groaned and shifted the terrier to a new position. "Been for a walk, Foster?"
"Is it?" Merriman glanced through the window in faint surprise. "I hadn't noticed. Sort of cloudy I see. By the way, I've sold one of these little beggars."
"Have you? They've got their eyes open, haven't they?"
"Sort of half open," chuckled Merriman. "Maybe they're too fat to open them any wider. This is the one that's sold. His name is--what was it you named him, Dobbins?"
"Zephaniah," answered Joe gravely, "Zephaniah Q. Dobbins."
"Haven't decided yet. I just put that in for the sound. You see, Foster, I'm calling him Zephaniah after an old codger who used to live near us up at Hecker's Falls, Maine. Zephaniah Binney was his name. He used to be a cook in the logging camps, but he got so fat tasting the things he cooked that he had to quit. After that he used to sit in front of his shack all day, tilted back in a chair, and look for work."
"Yeah, he was always on the look-out for a job. 'Most strained his eyes looking. But somehow he never found one; leastways, he hadn't when I saw him last. Funny old codger. Warren Wilson, who was postmaster and ran the store and one thing and another, used to bring the Bangor paper to Zeph every day and Zeph would study the advertisements mighty carefully. Guess he knew more about the Bangor labour market than any man alive. 'I was readin' where one o' them big dry-goods houses is wantin' a sales manager,' Zeph would tell you. 'It don't say how much they're willin' to pay, though. If I knew that I'd certain'y communicate with 'em, I would so. Maybe they'll make mention o' the salary tomorrow. I'll just wait an' see.'"
"And he's still waiting?" chuckled Merriman.