When old Hen testified, he had one of his spluttery spells of reverse
English caused by his language getting wound on the shafting, and his
denying the signature didn't seem to make much impression on any one.
Smythe made him admit that he had bought the tools, and had no
check-stub of the payment; and when he said he paid Bloxham in cash,
Smythe laid back and grinned, and McKenzie moved that the grin be took
down by the reporter, so he could move to strike it out.
Everybody just seemed to despise us but Mac; and I was as ashamed as a
dog. This Bloxham, the machine agent, was dead, and most everybody there
had been to his funeral; but it took half an hour to prove his demise.
Two jurors went to sleep on this, and one of them hollered "Whay! whay!"
in his sleep, like he was driving stock, and Brockway pounded and glared
at _us_ for it. I wished I was back with Ole running the silage cutter.
All this time we kind of lost sight of Mrs. Peters and Fanny. Fanny sent
some word over to the Accidental the second evening, and her mother went
over to Relyea's, and came back kind of fluttery. I was sent to Fanny
with a suit-case of dresses her mother had there, and Fanny was in the
awfullest taking with blushing and her breath fluttering like a
fanning-mill with palpitation of the heart that I couldn't think what
was the matter with her. She had never blushed at seeing me before. I
began to see what a pretty girl she was; but I couldn't think of tying
myself down, even if she did. She came up close to me, shook hands with
me, and bid me good-by when I came away. This was a sign she wanted to
hold some one's hand or was going away; and I knew she wasn't expected
to go away. It set me to thinking. Mac said he wouldn't want her
testimony until the surrey-butter part, if then. I made up my mind I'd
go up and talk with her once in a while, instead of sticking around
down-town. But this trial absorbed my attention when the experts came
on.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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