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no trees, he would want Janice Klampton to provide his shade. She pulled herself to her full height and glared down at them. Eli felt like crawling into a hole, but Jim stood firm as she glowered at him. “Just what are you inferring? I’ll have you know that I have lived here my entire life.” “My point exactly,” Jim answered. As everyone around them burst into laughter, Mrs. Klampton spun indignantly on her heels and retreated back to the store. Eli wasn’t so sure that Jim was helping his cause. They finally reached the pool hall, which was connected to the bar. Although Eli didn’t drink, and Jim had quit since Eli had come, they often sat and drank sarsaparilla, because it was a nice way to unwind and visit. Eli hadn’t realized he had been any influence on Jim until, one day, the bartender mentioned the fact that he only drank sarsaparilla now. “Why don’t you ever drink a man’s drink anymore?” Bob, the bartender, had asked Jim, with Eli sitting right across from him. “The preacher man being too much of an influence on you?” Jim didn’t even flinch as he sipped his sarsaparilla. “Maybe I decided that when I grow up, I’d like to be a man like him, instead of like some I know.” Bob withdrew quickly to his place behind the bar as the laughter of the other men filled the room. No one had ever bothered them again after that, and the men in the pool hall soon accepted Eli for what he was. They seemed to respect him for it. Some of them even began coming to church. However, Eli wasn’t sure but what their wives 28