The
story had to be told and embellished. The shirt, it was nothing but a
rag, and the children were probably ragamuffins, and hot muffins at
that! The robber, where could he be! Probably dead, for there was
_berrying_ going on, and the children were continually _turning
pail_.
But the borrowing of the pistols was the occasion of the most
absurdities. Was Glover _half cocked_ when he borrowed them? Did
he _bear-ill_ against any man? Was he going to _brace_ up his
courage? He wanted a little more _stock_ in hand, eh? It was the
only way he had of getting a little "_pop_"! And if he had
"popped" the robber would there have been any _pop-bier_ (beer)
there? "If I had killed him," he said, "there wouldn't have been any
_sham pain_." Pooh, pooh, you could only have _hocked_ him!
"I would have made him _whine_ anyhow." You might have made him
whine but--"_Wine butt_," did you say? (Interrupting). "Glover
didn't intend to make any excitement, for where he took the pistols he
left the _wholestir_ behind." "But when he took them," another
said, "he thought he was going to _Needham_ (need 'um)." "Ah, no,"
said another, "when he took them he felt sure he was going to
_Dedham_" (dead 'um).
You will appreciate the difficulty I have in making any one realize the
snap, the vivacity and the quickness of the repartees.
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