But we kep on a-goin'. And every single time I went into that beautiful
room, whether it wuz broad daylight or lit up by gas, every single time
the face of that tall slender girl, a-standin' there so calm by the
crystal brook, would look so natural to me, and so sort o' familiar,
that I almost ketched myself sayin'--
"Good-evenin', my dear," to it, which would have been perfectly
ridiculous in me, and the very next thing to worshippin' a graven image.
And what made it more mysterious to me, and more like a circus (a
solemn, high-toned circus), wuz, to ketch ever and anon, and I guess
oftener than that, Mr. Freeman's eyes bent on that pretty young face
with a look as if he too recognized her, and wanted to talk to her. And
some, too, he looked as if she wuz dead and buried, and he wuz
a-mournin' deep for her, _very_ deep.
As curious a look as I ever see; and if I hain't seen curious looks in
my time, then I will say nobody has. Yes, indeed! I have seen curious
looks in my journey through life, curious as a dog, and curiouser.
But there she stood, no matter what looks wuz cast on her from friend or
foe--and I guess it would sound better to say from friend or lover, for
nobody could be a foe to that radiant-faced, beautiful creeter.
There she stood, in sun or shade, knee-deep in them fresh green grasses,
a-lookin' off onto them sunset clouds always rosy and golden, by the
side of that streamlet that always had the sparkle on its tiny waves.
I might be tired and weak as a cat, and Mr. Freeman might have the
headache, and Josiah Allen be cross, and all fagged out--
But her face wuz always serene, and lit up with the glow of joy and
health, and her sweet, deep eyes always held the secret that she
couldn't be made to tell.
Mr. Bolster was a stout, middle-aged man, with bald head, side whiskers,
and a double chin. And his big blue eyes kinder stood out from his face
some. He was a real estate agent, so Miss Plank said. But his principal
business seemed to be a-praisin' up Chicago, and a-puffin' up the
World's Fair.
Good land! Columbus didn't need none of his patronizin' and puffin' up,
and Chicago didn't, not by his tell.
Josiah wuz dretful impressed by him. We didn't lead off to the Fair
ground the next day after our arrival. No; at my request, we took life
easy--onpacked our trunks and got good and rested, and the mornin'
follerin' we got up middlin' early, bein' used to keepin' good hours in
Jonesville, and on goin' down to the breakfast-table we found that there
wuzn't nobody there but Mr. Bolster. He always had a early breakfast,
and drove his own horse into the city to his place of business.
He looked that wide awake and active as if he never had been asleep, and
never meant to.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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