E-text prepared by Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders
1904
[Transcriber's note: These are the captioned halftone illustrations.
There are several other uncaptioned line drawings.]
He showed 'em in a careless way as much as fifteen dollars in cash
Josiah's good nater returnin' with every mouthful he took
It is the big crowd that is surgin' through the Pike to and fro, fro andto
"I hain't Theodore. I'm President of a Gas Company."
She laid her pretty head in my lap, sobbin' out, "What shall I do? Whatshall I do?"
Good land! I couldn't sort 'em out and describe them that passed by inan hour. Frontispiece
I had noticed for some time that Josiah Allen had acted queer. He wouldseem lost in thought anon or oftener, and then seemin'ly roust himselfup and try to act natural.
And anon he would drag his old tin chest out from under the backstairway and pour over musty old deeds and papers, drawed up by hisgreat-grandpa mebby.
He did this last act so often that I said to him one day, "What underthe sun do you find in them yeller old papers to attract you so,Josiah?"
But he looked queer at me, queer as a dog, as if he wuz lookin' throughme to some distant view that interested him dretfully, and answeredevasive, and mebby he wouldn't answer at all.
And then I'd see him and Uncle Sime Bentley, his particular chum, withtheir heads clost together, seemin'ly plottin' sunthin' or ruther,though what it wuz I couldn't imagine.
And then they would bend their heads eagerly over the daily papers, andmore'n once Josiah got down our old Olney's Atlas and he and Uncle Simewould pour over it and whisper, though what it wuz about I couldn'timagine. And if I'd had the curosity of some wimmen it would drove meinto a caniption fit.
And more'n a dozen times I see him and Uncle Sime down by the backpaster on the creek pacin' to and fro as if they wuz measurin' land. Andmost of all they seemed to be measurin' off solemn like and importantthe lane from the creek lot up to the house and takin' measurements, asqueer lookin' sights as I ever see, and then they would consult thepapers and atlas agin, and whisper and act.
And about this time he begun to talk to me about the St. LouisExposition. He opened the subject one day by remarkin' that he spozed Ihad never hearn of the Louisana Purchase. He said that the minds offemales in their leisure hours bein' took up by more frivolous things,such as tattin' and crazy bed-quilts, he spozed that I, bein' a femalewoman, had never hearn on't.
And my mind bein' at that time took up in startin' the seams in a blueand white sock I wuz knittin' for him, didn't reply, and he went on andtalked and talked about it.
But good land! I knowed all about the Louisana Purchase; I knowed itcome into our hands in 1803, that immense tract of land, settlin'forever in our favor the war for supremacy on this continent betweenourselves and England, and givin' us the broad highway of theMississippi to sail to and fro on which had been denied us, besides theenormous future increase in our wea