The Gentleman from Indiana - Page 68/212

Here swayed the myriad palm-leaf fans; here paraded blushing youth and

rosy maiden, more relentlessly arm-in-arm than ever; here crept the

octogenarian, Mr. Bodeffer, shaking on cane and the shoulder of posterity;

here waddled Mr. Snoddy, who had hurried through the animal tent for fear

of meeting the elephant; here marched sturdy yeomen and stout wives; here

came William Todd and his Anna Belle, the good William hushed with the

embarrassments of love, but looking out warily with the white of his eye

for Mr. Martin, and determined not to sit within a hundred yards of him;

here rolled in the orbit of habit the bacchanal, Mr. Wilkerson, who

politely answered in kind all the uncouth roarings and guttural

ejaculations of jungle and fen that came from the animal tent; in brief,

here came with lightest hearts the population of Carlow and part of Amo.

Helen had found a true word: it was a big family. Jim Bardlock, broadly

smiling and rejuvenated, shorn of depression, paused in front of the

"reserve" seats, with Mrs. Bardlock on his arm, and called loudly to a

gentleman on a tier about the level of Jim's head: "How are ye? I reckon

we were a little too smart fer 'em, this morning, huh?" Five or six

hundred people--every one within hearing--fumed to look at Jim; but the

gentleman addressed was engaged in conversation with a lady and did not

notice.

"Hi! Hi, there! Say! Mr. Harkless!" bellowed Jim, informally. The people

turned to look at Harkless. His attention was arrested and his cheek grew

red.

"What is it?" he asked, a little confused and a good deal annoyed.

"I don't hear what ye say," shouted Jim, putting his hand to his ear.

"What is it?" repeated the young man. "I'll kill that fellow to-night,"

he added to Lige Willetts. "Some one ought to have done it long ago."

"What?"

"I say, WHAT IS IT?"

"I only wanted to say me and you certainly did fool these here Hoosiers

this morning, huh? Hustled them two fellers through the court-house, and

nobody never thought to slip round to the other door and head us off. Ha,

ha! We were jest a leetle too many fer 'em, huh?"

From an upper tier of seats the rusty length of Mr. Martin erected itself

joint by joint, like an extension ladder, and he peered down over the

gaping faces at the Town Marshal. "Excuse me," he said sadly to those

behind him, but his dry voice penetrated everywhere, "I got up to hear Jim

say 'We' again."