So I kept pretty cool; but the fellow's
bill didn't amount to anything hardly--said I might pay
him after I got going; young chap, and pretty easy;
but every word he said was gospel. Well, I ain't a-going
to brag up my paint; I don't suppose you came here to hear
me blow"
"Oh yes, I did," said Bartley. "That's what I want.
Tell all there is to tell, and I can boil it down afterward.
A man can't make a greater mistake with a reporter than
to hold back anything out of modesty. It may be the very
thing we want to know. What we want is the whole truth;
and more; we've got so much modesty of our own that we can
temper almost any statement."
Lapham looked as if he did not quite like this tone,
and he resumed a little more quietly. "Oh, there isn't
really very much more to say about the paint itself.
But you can use it for almost anything where a paint is wanted,
inside or out. It'll prevent decay, and it'll stop it,
after it's begun, in tin or iron. You can paint the inside
of a cistern or a bath-tub with it, and water won't hurt it;
and you can paint a steam-boiler with it, and heat won't.
You can cover a brick wall with it, or a railroad car,
or the deck of a steamboat, and you can't do a better thing
for either."
"Never tried it on the human conscience, I suppose,"
suggested Bartley.
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