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Using MIS, 5e (Kroenke)
Chapter 7 Structured Processes and Information Systems
1) Both structured processes and dynamic processes are formally defined processes.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 217
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
Chapter LO: 1
4) Structured processes are adaptive processes that change structure rapidly and readily.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 217
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
Chapter LO: 1
6) Using social networking sites to generate buzz about a company's new product line is an
example of a dynamic process.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 217
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
Chapter LO: 1
1
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
7) Dynamic processes support operational activities.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 217
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
Chapter LO: 1
9) Lead generation and lead tracking are processes concerning the sales and marketing
department.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 218
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
Chapter LO: 1
10) Order and account tracking are business processes concerning the operations department.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 218
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
Chapter LO: 1
12) The procedures for using different information systems need to be understood only by the IT
department of an organization.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 218
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
Chapter LO: 1
2
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
13) Departmental information systems typically support 10 to 100 users.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 218
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
Chapter LO: 1
14) Structured enterprise processes span an organization and support activities in multiple
departments.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 219
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
Chapter LO: 1
15) The solutions to problems in an enterprise system usually involve a single department of the
organization.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 219
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
Chapter LO: 1
17) In interenterprise information systems, procedures are simple and generally not documented
or formalized in any way.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 219
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
Chapter LO: 1
3
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
18) SCM is an interenterprise information system.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 219
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
Chapter LO: 1
21) Adding process resources increases process effectiveness, but it adds costs.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 220
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
Chapter LO: 2
22) Changing the structure of a process always results in a change in resources as well, even if it
is only a simple reordering of tasks.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 221
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
Chapter LO: 2
4
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
23) Information systems improve process quality by augmenting the actions of the human who
performs that activity.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 221
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
Chapter LO: 2
24) An information silo is a condition that exists when data are isolated in separated information
systems.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 222
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
Chapter LO: 3
26) The problems of duplicated data, disjointed systems, limited information, and inefficiencies
are solved by information systems that support multiple databases.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 225
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
Chapter LO: 3
27) Business process reengineering is the activity of altering and designing business processes to
take advantage of new information systems.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 227
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
Chapter LO: 4
5
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
28) Business process reengineering is a quick process, but it is exceedingly expensive.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 227
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
Chapter LO: 4
29) In the customer acquisition phase of the customer life cycle, an organization categorizes its
customers according to value and attempts to win back high-value customers.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 229
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Describe the functions of customer relationship management (CRM) systems
Chapter LO: 4
30) Relationship management processes increase the value of existing customers by selling them
more product.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 229
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Describe the functions of customer relationship management (CRM) systems
Chapter LO: 4
31) CRM systems incorporate accounting, manufacturing, inventory, and human resources
applications.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 229-232
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
Chapter LO: 4
6
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
33) Enterprise application integration is a suite of applications, a database, and a set of inherent
processes for consolidating business operations into a single, consistent, computing platform.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 234
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
Chapter LO: 4
34) Converting to an ERP system is not nearly as disruptive as converting to an EAI system.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 235
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
Chapter LO: 4
35) An ERP solution consists of application programs, databases, and business process
procedures, but does not contain training and consulting.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 235
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
Chapter LO: 5
36) Choosing an ERP solution that has applications that function close to the organization's
requirements is critical to its successful implementation.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 236
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
Chapter LO: 5
37) An ERP solution includes a database design as well as initial configuration data.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 236
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
Chapter LO: 5
7
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
38) A trigger is a computer program stored in a database that is used to enforce business rules.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 236
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
Chapter LO: 5
39) Triggers and stored procedures are not components of an ERP solution.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 236
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
Chapter LO: 5
40) The inherent processes that are defined in an ERP solution are also known as process
blueprints.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 236
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
Chapter LO: 5
41) ERP vendors sometimes train the organization's employees, called Super Users, to become
in-house
trainers in training sessions called train the trainer.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 240
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
Chapter LO: 5
42) Industry-specific solutions contain program and database configuration files, but not the
process blueprints that apply to ERP implementations in specific industries.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 240
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
Chapter LO: 5
8
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
43) Epicor and Microsoft Dynamics are the top two ERP vendors.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 240
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Moderate
Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
Chapter LO: 5
46) Transitioning to a new enterprise system requires careful planning and substantial training.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 242
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
Chapter LO: 6
9
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
48) A service provider creates a service description and publishes it using a standardized
language called HyperText Markup Language (HTML).
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 243
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
Chapter LO: 7
49) SAP and Oracle ERP were developed after the Internet and SOA standards were developed.
Answer: FALSE
Page Ref: 243
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Moderate
Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
Chapter LO: 7
50) The number of enterprise IS solutions moving to the cloud is expected to increase because of
the exceedingly low processing costs.
Answer: TRUE
Page Ref: 244
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
Chapter LO: 8
10
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
7.2 Multiple Choice Questions
1) ________ are formally defined, standardized processes that involve day-to-day operations.
A) Dynamic processes
B) Unstructured processes
C) Structured processes
D) Kinetic processes
Answer: C
Page Ref: 217
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
Chapter LO: 1
3) ________ are flexible, informal, and adaptive processes that normally involve strategic and
less specific managerial decisions and activities.
A) Operational processes
B) Dynamic processes
C) Inherent processes
D) Structured processes
Answer: B
Page Ref: 217
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
Chapter LO: 1
11
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
4) Which of the following is an example of a dynamic process?
A) Samsung accepts a return of a defective television from its dealer.
B) Starbucks places an order for coffee beans from its local supplier.
C) Amazon.com hires customer service respresentatives to help customers with their online
orders.
D) Nike uses Facebook and Twitter to generate buzz about its new line of running shoes.
Answer: D
Page Ref: 217
AACSB: Analytic Skills
Difficulty: Moderate
Course LO: Discuss the role of information systems in supporting business processes
Chapter LO: 1
11) Which of the following information systems minimizes data duplication among departments?
A) interenterprise information systems
B) departmental information systems
C) personal information systems
D) enterprise information systems
Answer: D
Page Ref: 218
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
Chapter LO: 1
13
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
12) Which of the following statements is true regarding departmental information systems?
A) They are easy to change.
B) They minimize data duplication among departments.
C) They can be operated without training.
D) They support 10 to 100 users.
Answer: D
Page Ref: 218
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Moderate
Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
Chapter LO: 1
13) ________ processes span an organization and support activities in multiple departments.
A) Structured enterprise
B) Structured interenterprise
C) Structured strategic
D) Structured reactive
Answer: A
Page Ref: 219
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
Chapter LO: 1
14) Which of the following statements about enterprise information systems is true?
A) Their procedures are not documented, but are understood within the group.
B) They do not require users to have any formal training.
C) They are very difficult to change.
D) They support 10 to 100 users.
Answer: C
Page Ref: 219
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Moderate
Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
Chapter LO: 1
14
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
15) The information system that a restaurant uses to order supplies and ingredients from its
suppliers is an example of a(n) ________.
A) enterprise information system
B) personal information system
C) interenterprise information system
D) departmental information system
Answer: C
Page Ref: 219
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Easy
Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
Chapter LO: 1
16) Which of the following statements about a structured interenterprise information system is
true?
A) Its procedures are formalized and the problem solutions affect multiple organizations.
B) It is flexible and easily adaptable to organizational changes.
C) It minimizes data duplication among departments.
D) It does not require users to have any formal training.
Answer: A
Page Ref: 219
AACSB: Use of Information Technology
Difficulty: Moderate
Course LO: Describe the uses of enterprise systems and enterprise resource planning
Chapter LO: 1
15
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Random documents with unrelated
content Scribd suggests to you:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Dean
Dunham; Or, the Waterford Mystery
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
you are located before using this eBook.
Language: English
BY
HORATIO ALGER, Jr.
AUTHOR OF
"THE YOUNG ACROBAT," "THE ERIE TRAIN BOY,"
"ADVENTURES OF A TELEGRAPH BOY," ETC.
PHILADELPHIA
DAVID McKAY, PUBLISHER
610 South Washington Square
Copyright, 1888
By Frank A. Munsey
Copyright, 1891
By United States Book Co.
Copyright, 1900
By Street and Smith
Dean Dunham
DEAN DUNHAM;
OR,
THE WATERFORD MYSTERY.
CHAPTER I.
ADIN DUNHAM SURPRISES HIS WIFE.
"I've been looking forward to this day for weeks, Sarah," said
Adin Dunham, as he rose from the breakfast-table on a certain
Wednesday morning in the early part of June.
"Why, father, what do you mean?" asked Mrs. Dunham curiously.
"Because to-day I am to receive a thousand dollars—a thousand
dollars in hard cash," answered her husband in a tone of exultation.
"Well, I declare!" ejaculated his wife in amazement. "Who on
earth is going to give you a thousand dollars?"
"No one is going to give it to me; it's my own."
"How strangely you do talk, Adin Dunham! You ain't out of your
mind, be you?"
"Not as I know of," answered her husband with an amused
smile.
"Is it really true that somebody is going to pay you a thousand
dollars?"
"Yes, it is."
"And you say it is your own?"
"Yes."
"I don't understand it," said Mrs. Dunham, with the air of one to
whom a puzzle is propounded and who gives it up.
"Then I'll explain. You know when Uncle Dan died he left me a
piece of stony pasture land in Rockmount?"
"Yes, I know. You never could sell it, I've heard you say ag'in
and ag'in."
"Well, I've sold it at last. There's a company goin' to put up a big
hotel just on that spot, and they've offered me a thousand dollars
for the land."
"Couldn't they find a better buildin' lot than that?"
"Well, you see it's located near the lake, and though it's barren
enough it's well situated, and there's five acres of it, plenty of room
for all the buildin's required. They offered me first seven hundred,
then eight hundred, and finally when they got up to a thousand I
caved in——"
"You what?"
"Well, I agreed to let 'em have it. I'm going over to-day to get
the money."
"Why, it'll make us rich, Adin. I never expected you'd be wuth a
thousand dollars."
"I wonder what Uncle Dan would have said if he'd thought I
would have got so much for the land. He never cared much for me,
and he only left me that because he thought it wasn't wuth
anything. He did better by me than he expected."
"What are you going to do with the money, Adin?"
"I don't know yet. I'll keep it by me till I've decided. Perhaps I'll
invest in gov'ment bonds. I guess they're about as safe as anything."
"So I've heard, Adin. I suppose the gov'ment ain't likely to fail."
"If it is, I guess all the banks will fail too."
"How are you goin' over to Rockmount?"
"I'll borrow neighbor Gould's horse and buggy. That horse is
pretty strong, and he won't mind the twenty miles—ten there and
ten back."
"I don't like to have you travelin' so far with all that money.
S'pose you should meet with robbers."
"There ain't any robbers round here, Sarah. This is a respectable
community."
"You might meet a tramp."
"Well, the chances are that he'd be more afraid of me than I
would be of him. I ain't a child, Sarah. I can lift a barrel of potatoes
and put it in a wagon as easy as most men."
"Well, Adin, you know best. Hadn't you better take Dean with
you?"
"Why should I take Dean?"
"It would be safer for two than for one."
"You don't mean to say that I need a boy of sixteen to protect
me? If I thought I did, I'd stay at home and send Dean by himself."
"Well, Adin, I don't want to interfere. It wouldn't be much use,
either, for you generally have your own way. Have you told any of
the neighbors that you are goin' for some money?"
"No except Lawyer Bates."
"What made you tell him?"
"Well, I was in his office the other evenin', and somehow I was
led into tellin' it. I gave a sort of hint, and the lawyer he drew it out
of me. Them lawyers are great on cross-examinin', you know."
"What did Squire Bates say?"
"He told me I'd better not tell anybody else. He talked for all the
world just like you did, Sarah. You haven't been chatterin' with the
squire, have you?"
"No, Adin, I don't like him well enough for that. I never fancied
the squire. He's always showin' those long front teeth of his, like a
wild beast."
"They ain't very handsome teeth, I'm bound to admit, Sarah, but
the poor man can't help himself. He's as God made him."
"He gave you good advice at any rate, Adin. There's so many
dishonest people in the world that it's best to be careful. Did you tell
him when you were goin' for the money?"
"I don't exactly remember. I guess I did."
"Do you think Squire Bates is a rich man, Adin?"
"I don't know. He's a lawyer, and keeps his affairs mighty close."
"That boy of his—Brandon—is his very image, even to the
teeth."
"Well, he does favor his father considerable."
"Dean doesn't like him. He's a very big feeling boy. He looks
down on Dean because he is the nephew of a poor man."
"O, he'll get wiser in time. We mustn't mind them young folks so
much. Boys will be boys."
"So they will, but there's different kinds of boys."
"I guess there's room enough in the world for both of them. If
they don't like each other they can keep apart."
"Dean is an excellent boy. I don't know how we should get along
without him."
"I indorse all that, wife," said Adin Dunham heartily.
"He's always cheerful and willin'—always ready to do chores and
give up his own pleasure. I remember last winter he'd set his heart
on going with a skatin' party, but when I was taken sick, he stayed
at home and tended me, without a word of complaint. He couldn't
have done no more if he'd been a son instead of a nephew."
"Just so, wife! Just so! He's a likely boy, and if he keeps on as
he's begun he's sure to do well."
"He deserves to prosper, and I hope he will. I wish we could do
more for him."
"So do I, but a carpenter that gets work only about half the time
can't do what he'd like to."
Just then Dean came into the house—a broad-shouldered,
strongly built boy, with a frank, open countenance and red cheeks.
"Dean," said his uncle, "won't you go over to neighbor Gould,
and ask if he will lend his horse and buggy for the day? I'm goin'
over to Rockmount."
"Going to Rockmount?" repeated Dean eagerly. "Will you take
me, uncle?"
"Not to-day, Dean. It's a long ride, and it'll be easier on the
horse to carry one than two."
Dean looked disappointed. A ride to Rockmount, which was a
considerably larger place than Waterford, would have been to him a
very agreeable recreation, but he was not a boy to complain or tease
when a favor had been refused. So he indulged in no remonstrance,
but went over to Mr. Gould's dwelling, only twenty rods away, and
preferred the request.
"Certainly," said Mr. Gould pleasantly. "So your uncle has
business in Rockmount, has he?"
"Yes sir, I suppose so, but he didn't tell me what it is."
"Well, tell him not to over drive the Captain." (This was the
rather peculiar name of Mr. Gould's horse.)
"I don't think there's any danger," said Dean smiling, for he
knew that Adin Dunham was one of the most deliberate of men, and
permitted a horse to select his own pace.
CHAPTER II.
SQUIRE RENWICK BATES.
Adin Dunham got into the buggy, took the reins from Dean, and
drove away.
The pretentious house of Squire Bates stood a little way back
from the road a quarter of a mile further on. The lawyer stood in
front of his gate. He smiled as Adin Dunham drove by.
"Well, Dunham," he said, "so you are on your way to
Rockmount?"
"Yes, squire."
"And bound on a pleasant errand, too," continued Bates, with a
second smile.
"Yes, squire. I can't believe it hardly. It's a new experience for
me. I never thought I should be worth a thousand dollars."
"Yes, it's quite a sum. What do you propose to do with it?"
"I may pay up the mortgage on my place."
"But suppose I don't want to receive it?"
"But why wouldn't you want to receive it?"
"Oh, it's paying me fairish interest, and I should have to look up
another investment."
"But you could do that better than I."
"Come and see me when you get back, and I'll give you advice. I
wouldn't trouble myself for every one, but you are a friend and
neighbor," said Squire Bates, smiling and showing the long white
tusks that gave him so peculiar an appearance.
"Your advice ought to be good, squire. You are used to investin'
money."
"Yes, I have a good deal to invest," said Bates. "Which way shall
you return?" asked the squire carelessly.
"I thought I might take the creek road, squire."
"If it were my case, I would come through the woods. It's half a
mile shorter."
"That's so, and I did think of it, but you and my wife talked to
me about robbers, till I began to think the creek road would be
safer."
Squire Bates laughed in an amused way.
"I rather think your wife and I talked like old women," he said.
"It seems rather ridiculous to think of robbers in this neighborhood."
"So it does!" said Adin Dunham eagerly. "I told Sarah so.
"Then you'll come through the woods?"
"Yes."
"About what time?"
"Oh, I shan't stay very long after my business is done."
"You'll probably pass through about three o'clock?"
"Well, say four. I've got a cousin in Rockmount that I shall take
dinner with, and that'll take up part of my time. Then I've got one or
two errands to do at the stores there. I'm to buy my wife a pair of
shoes at Ingals's store. He knows just what she wants, and always
fits her."
"There's one thing I would advise you not to do, neighbor
Dunham."
"What is that?"
"Don't invite any one to ride home with you."
"Why not?"
"Well, you'll have considerable money with you and it might
prove a temptation even to a respectable man. You see to most
people it is a large sum—not to me, for I am better off than the
average, but I've read in my law books of a good many crimes that
were the result of a sudden impulse. There's no reason to be
nervous, but it's well to be prudent, neighbor."
"That's good sense, squire. Thank you for your caution. Well, I
must be getting on."
"Good luck to you," said Bates, as he turned and went into the
house.
Squire Bates had been for three years a resident of Waterford.
He appeared to have plenty of money, though it was a mystery
where it came from. He professed to be a lawyer, and had an office,
but beyond writing a will or a lease, or some such matter, had no
practice to speak of. This, however, did not seem to trouble him. It
was a popular belief that the care of his property gave him
considerable to do. He had no investments in Waterford except the
house he lived in, and a mortgage on the house and small landed
property of Adin Dunham. The assessors got very little satisfaction
out of him when they questioned him about his taxable property.
"I am taxed elsewhere," he said briefly.
"But you have some personal property?"
"Oh well, you may put me down for a thousand dollars."
"It is generally supposed that you have a much larger personal
property than that."
"I have, gentleman," answered Bates frankly, "but you know that
government bonds are not taxable."
That explained it. The board of assessors jumped to the
conclusion that Squire Bates had a large sum in government bonds,
and did not pursue their inquiries further.
There was one thing that puzzled Waterford people about the
lawyer. He often absented himself in a mysterious way, sometimes
for weeks at a time. He never told where he went, nor did his wife
and son when questioned appear to know. At any rate they never
gave any information. He would reappear, as suddenly as he had
disappeared, and always explain briefly that he had been away on
business. What the nature of the business was he did not state, a
sensible thing probably, but his reticence excited considerable
remark among his fellow-townsmen, who did not approve of it.
When Squire Bates re-entered the house he went up to his room
—his library was on the second floor—and locked the door. He sat
down in a rocking-chair, and seemed plunged in thought.
"A thousand dollars!" he soliloquized. "It is a good sum of
money. It would be a great lift to Adin Dunham. It would enable him
to pay off the mortgage on his place, and that would not suit me. I
prefer to foreclose by and by. Upon the whole the money will be
better in my hands than in his. It was well I suggested to him not to
come home by the creek road. That is too open, and would not suit
my plans."
Lawyer Bates rose, and, taking a key from his pocket, opened
the door of a small closet. It was a clothes closet evidently, but its
contents were of a curious character. There was one suit that a
fastidious tramp would have scorned to wear. There were several
masks. There were disguises of different kinds, three wigs, one red,
and false beards. Of what earthly use could these articles be to a
respectable country lawyer?
Not even Mrs. Bates had seen the inside of this closet. Once she
suggested cleaning it, but the curt refusal with which her proposal
was received prevented her making it again.
"I keep my papers in there," said her husband, "and I am not
willing that they should be disturbed."
"I would be very careful, Renwick," said Mrs. Bates. "I would
attend to it myself."
"You will offend me if you say more, Mrs. Bates," said her
husband, looking displeased, and she took the hint.
Mrs. Bates was a pleasant, gentle woman who did not put on
airs, and she was much more popular in the village than her
husband, whose face had a singularly disagreeable expression,
especially when he smiled, for then he showed his long white teeth,
which, as Mrs. Dunham expressed it, were like the fangs of a wild
beast.
His son Brandon was like his father, even to the teeth. He was a
boy of cruel instincts, haughty and imperious, and disposed to lord it
over his schoolmates and companions. He was heartily tired of
Waterford, and had more than once suggested to his father that it
would be wise to leave it.
"When I want your advice, Brandon, I will ask for it," said Squire
Bates briefly.
Brandon did not press the matter. He knew his father too well,
but he complained to his mother.
"What on earth can father be thinking of to stay in such a quiet
hole as Waterford?"
"It is a pleasant village, Brandon," said his mother gently.
"What is there pleasant about it?"
"The people are pleasant."
"I have no fit associates."
"There is Dean Dunham, who is about your age."
"I hate him!" said Brandon passionately.
"Why do you hate him, my son? Mrs. Dunham tells me he is a
great comfort to her."
"I don't know anything about that. He is very impudent to me.
He seems to think he is my equal."
"I am afraid you are too proud, Brandon."
"Isn't father the richest man in Waterford, I'd like to know? Dean
Dunham is the nephew of a poor carpenter, who keeps him out of
charity."
"Ah, Brandon, you shouldn't value people for their money."
"Dean Dunham is no fit companion for me. If I were in the city, I
should find plenty of associates."
Gentle Mrs Bates sighed. She could not approve of her son's
pride.
CHAPTER III.
BRANDON'S JOKE.
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