“What a beauty!” exclaimed the boy.

The supervisor laughed.

“That’s no way to buy a horse,” he said, turning to the stableman; “it’s a good thing I arranged the price before he came, or you’d have tacked on another twenty dollars.”

“Easy, and more than that,” said the owner, with a grin.

“Well, Noble,” said his friend, “I don’t hear yon raising any objections.”

“I haven’t any,” the boy replied promptly.  “And the price is what you said to me?” he queried, turning to the supervisor.

“Yes, that stands,” his friend replied.

“All right, then,” said Hamilton, “I’ll take her.”

The supervisor pulled out his pocketbook.

“I had an idea,” he said, “that you were just boy enough to want the mare when you saw her and to want her right away.  I made out a check for the amount, and you can make one out to me when you get ready,” and he handed the slip to the boy.

Hamilton started to thank him, but the supervisor cut him short.

“If you’ll come to the office this afternoon,” he said, “the clerk will give you the schedules and papers all ready made out for your district.  Here’s a typewritten copy of the lectures I’ve been giving to the enumerators, and while I don’t suppose you really need to, you had better read it over and return it to me when you’re through with it.  Now I’m going to leave you here with this gentleman,” he added, nodding to the owner of the horse, “and you can arrange with him about getting a saddle and so forth for the mare.  Drop in at the office in the morning as you start out and I’ll make sure that nothing has been forgotten.  See you later,” and with a nod to Hamilton, he stepped out of the stable.

To the boy the afternoon fairly seemed to fly, there were so many things to do; and it was not until just before closing hours that he reached the office and secured his portfolio.  He had a brief chat with the clerk, and went back to his hotel to study carefully the map of his district and the route suggested, and to make sure that he thoroughly understood the population and agricultural schedules he would have to use.  They were different in form, of course, from the manufacturing schedules which the boy knew by heart, but the essential principles were the same, and Hamilton found that in half an hour’s time he saw plain sailing.

“It’s a mighty good thing I had that manufacturing work,” he said half aloud, “or I’d find this pretty tricky.  I should think it would be hard for any one not at all used to it.”

By supper time—­they kept to old-fashioned ways in the little hotel—­Hamilton felt himself perfectly sure of his ground on the work, and he went to bed early, knowing he had a long ride and a hard day before him.