NEED.

Do n't you remember how you and I Held a property nobody wanted to buy In San Jose, Until one day

A man came along from Franklin, Pa.? And did n't we jump till we happened to find The chap was n't going it wholly blind, But all the rest of the block was bought

And he simply had to have our lot. Well, did n't our land go up in price Till double the figures would scarce suffice? And do n't we sometimes figure and fret

How he got the best of us, even yet? Do n't you remember the perfect plan You had, which needed another man To make it win,

To jump right in And everlasting make things spin? And you said I had the requisite dash And also the trifle of hoarded cash.

Was I glad to get in? Well, yes, indeed! Until I saw the compelling need Which had brought you to me, and then, “Ho! ho! None of that for me, nay, not for Joe.”

And I'm always provoked when I think you made The plan get along without my aid. Do n't you remember the time we met At Des Moines, or was it at Winterset?

But anyway, you Were feeling blue And tickled to see me through and through. And “Come, let's open a bottle of — ink,”

Said you, “and see if it's good to drink.” But were n't you sorry because you spoke When I had to tell you I was “broke”? Oh, you lent me the saw-buck, I know, but still

I fancied your ardor had taken a chill. And you've never been able to quite forget That once I was “broke,” and in your debt.