Weitz was a public-spirited and intelligent citizen, and the
deacon believed that if his opinions about the moral nature of his
business could be changed there would be a great gain for the
temperance cause in Bruceton. Besides, Weitz was a well-to-do man and
saved a great deal of money, some of which the deacon had invested for
him, and all of which the deacon desired to handle, for he was a man of
many enterprises, and, like most other men of the kind, always had more
ways than money.
"You're all wrong about that, Weitz," said the deacon, sitting upon an
empty beer-barrel in front of the liquor-store. The deacon was
accustomed to say, with a grim smile, that he was one of the very few
men in business whose reputation would allow him to sit upon a
beer-barrel without giving rise to any suspicions.
"Deacon," said the liquor-dealer, "you hadn't ought to talk about vat
you don't understand. How long since you stopped drinkin'?"
"Now, see here, Weitz, what do you mean, to ask me a question like
that? You ought to know well enough that I never drank in my life. If I
haven't told you so again and again, I should think other people could
have done it."
"Never drank anyding, eh? never in your life? Vell, vell!" said the
proprietor, caressing the beer-shop cat for a moment, "dat explains a
good many dings about you dat I never understood before.
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