“Now it often happens that when the young ascend the tower o’ their aspirations an’ look down upon the earth its average inhabitant seems no larger to them than a red ant.  Sometimes there’s nobody in sight—­that is, no real body—­nothin’ but clouds an’ rainbows an’ kings an’ queens an’ their families.  Now Lizzie an’ Dan were both up in their towers an’ lookin’ down, an’ that was probably the reason they didn’t see each other.

“Right away a war began between the rival houses o’ Henshaw an’ Pettigrew.  The first we knew Sam was buildin’ a new house with a tower on it—­by jingo!—­an’ hardwood finish inside an’ half an acre in the dooryard.  The tower was for Lizzie.  It signalized her rise in the community.  It put her one flight above anybody in Pointview.

“As the house rose, up went Sam’s prices again.  I went over to the store an’ bought a week’s provisions, an’ when I got the bill I see that he’d taxed me twenty-nine cents for his improvements.

“I met one o’ my friends, an’ I says to him, ‘Wal,’ I says, ’Sam is goin’ to make us pay for his new house an’ lot.  Sam’s ham an’ flour have jumped again.  As an assessor Sam is likely to make his mark.’

“‘Wal, what do ye expect?’ says he.  ’Lizzie is in high society, an’ he’s got to keep up with her.  Lizzie must have a home proper to one o’ her station.  Don’t be hard on Sam.’

“‘I ain’t,’ I says.  ’But Sam’s house ought to be proper to his station instead o’ hers.’

“I had just sat down in my office when Bill Pettigrew came in—­Sam’s great rival in the grocery an’ aspiration business.  He’d bought a new automobile, an’ wanted me to draw a mortgage on his house an’ lot for two thousand dollars.

“‘You’d better go slow,’ I says.  ’It looks like bad business to mortgage your home for an automobile.’

“‘It’s for the benefit o’ my customers,’ says he.

“’Something purty for ’em to look at?’ I asked.

“‘It will quicken deliveries,’ says he.

“‘You can’t afford it,’ I says.

“‘Yes, I can,’ says he.  ‘I’ve put up prices twenty per cent., an’ it ain’t agoin’ to bother me to pay for it.’

“‘Oh, then your customers are goin’ to pay for it!’ I says, ‘an’ you’re only a guarantor.’

“‘I wouldn’t put it that way,’ says he.  ’It costs more to live these days.  Everything is goin’ up.’

“‘Includin’ taxes,’ I says to Bill, an’ went to work an’ drew his mortgage for him, an’ he got his automobile.

“I’d intended to take my trade to his store, but when I saw that he planned to tax the community for his luxuries I changed my mind and went over to Eph Hill’s.  He kept the only other decent grocery store in the village.  His prices were just about on a level with the others.

“‘How do you explain it that prices have gone up so?’ I asked.

“‘Why, they say it’s due to an overproduction o’ gold,’ says he.