Three Hours Just The Same

One ol the waterpipes in my house begart leaking and I sent for a plumber and said : "You work by the hour, ol eotirse?" "Of course." "The distance between my house and your shop is at least a inile?" ■Ai:out a inilo, sir." "And the walklaig is bad?'' ■'cr.v bad." 'please come up stairs." I took Him hito the parlor and sat i and entertained him for an liour. Tüen 1 gave him the family album and he entertained liimself for anothe.r hour. Then I played a game of cheekers with him to consume threequarters oi' the third hour, and then tools 'ni.i !nw;i cellar to bis work. The mending oi ii;e leak was a matter oí only tem minutes. Wnen he had finished he seemed pnzzled, and 1 therefore explatned : "As you work by the hour you naturally seek to use up all the time you can. But for my action, you would liave returned to the shop after a inotikey-wrench. When you discovered that a monkey-wreneh had nothlng in common with a pin-hole leak in a water-pipe, you would have gone back for a jackscrew, an airpump oí' a smoke-jaek. You would have traveled a distance of eiglvt or ten miles, ired yourself out and then charged me with only three hours' time. My idea was not to save on the bUl but to put you to as little trouble as possihle." The man looked at me in a doubtful way and nnittered something about ''old cranks" as he left the house. The bilí carne in yesterday, and it was for three hours' time, just ae I expeeted. Why can't a plumber anpreclate a good tliing as well