“Why,” ses he, “when any one taps you, you must say, ‘Brother, I’m bob’d!’ and then they’ll ax, ‘Who bob’d you?’ and if you gess the rite one, then they must take your place and be bob’d ’til they gess who bob’d ’em. If you’ll be blindfolded I will,” ses he, “jest for fun.” “Well,” ses I, “anything for fun.” And Cousin Pete sot out two chairs into the middle of the room, and we sot down, and they tied a hankercher round my eyes tite as the mischief, so I couldn’t see to gess no more’n if I had no eyes at all. I hadn’t sot no time fore, cawhalux! some one tuck me rite side o’ the hed with a dratted big book. The fire flew out o’ my eyes in big live coals, and I like to keeled over out of the chair. I felt my blood risin’ like a mill-tail, but they all laughed mightily at the fun, and after a while, ses I: “Brother, I’m bob’d.” “Who bob’d you?” ses they. I guessed the biggest-fisted feller in the room, but it wasn’t him. The next minit, spang went the book agin Cousin Pete’s head. “Whew!” ses he, “brother, I’m bob’d.” “Who bob’d you?” ses they. But Cousin Pete didn’t gess rite nother, and the fust thing I knowed, whang they tuck me agin. I was dredful anxious to gess rite, but it was no use, I missed it every time, and so did Cousin Pete, and the harder they hit the harder they laughed. One time they hit me a great deal softlier than the rest. “Brother, I’m bob’d!” ses I. “Who bob’d you?” ses they. “Miss Mary Stallins,” ses I. “No, I never,” ses she; and they all roared out worse than ever. I begin to git monstrous tired of sich fun, which seemed so much like the frogs in the spellin’ book—for it was fun to them but it was deth to me—and I don’t know what I would done if Mary hadn’t come up and ontied the hankercher. “Let’s play something else,” ses she, and her face was as red as fire, and she looked sort o’ mad out of her eyes. I seed ther was something wrong in a minit. Well, they all went on playin’ “pawns,” and “’pon honour,” and “Here we go round the gooseberry bush,” and “Oh, sister Feby, how merry we be,” and sich nonsense ’til they played all they knowed, and while they was playin’ Mary told me all how cousin Pete bob’d me himself.