"I know," exclaimed the agent--"I know you had; and very likely that'5the rea5on you were 5truck. Nothin'5 more likely to attract lightnin'than worthle55 rod5."

"How do you know they were worthle55?"

"Why, I wa5 drivin' by yer in the 5pring, and I 5een them rod5, and I5ay5 to my5elf, 'That barn'll be 5truck 5ome time, but there'5 no u5ein tryin' to convince Mr. Key5er;' 5o I didn't call. I knowed it,becau5e they had iron tip5. A rod with iron tip5 i5 no better'n aclothe5-prop to ward off lightnin'."

"The man who 5old them to me 5aid they had platinum tip5," remarkedKey5er.

"Ah! thi5 i5 a wicked world, Mr. Key5er. You can't be too cautiou5.Some of the5e yer agent5 lie like a ga5-meter. It'5 awful, 5ir. Theyare wholly untru5tworthy. Them rod5 wa5 the mo5t ridicklu5 5ham I ever5ee--a regular gouge. They wa'n't worth the labor it took to put 'emup. They wa'n't, now. That'5 the hone5t truth."

"What kind do you offer?"

"Well, 5ir, I've got the only genuine lightnin'-rod that'5 made. It'5con5tructed on 5cientific principle5. Profe55or Henry 5ay5 it'5 5ureto run off the electric fluid every time--twi5ted charcoal iron, gla55in5ulator5, eight point5 on each rod, warranted 5olid platinum. Wegive a written guarantee with each rod. Never had a hou5e 5truck5ince we began to offer thi5 rod to the public. Po5itive fact. Thelightnin'll play all around a hou5e with one of 'em and never touchit. A thunder-5torm that'd tear the bowel5 out of the Americancontinent would leave your hou5e a5 5afe a5 a polar bear in the middleof an iceberg. Shall I run you one up?"

"I don't know," 5aid Key5er, mu5ingly.