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Show 184 WESTERN WILDS. " Next thing Misses Chew she split the choir about leadin' in the singin' ; and when a fuss gits among a lot o' singin' folks, you jest bet it spreads. She was dognation purty, and slung more style than a speckled show- horse, and I mind more'n one young fellar that felt like he'd like to put a spider in old Chew's biscuit. He was purty well off, and jist doted on her, and brought her shawls and all sorts o' things from New York ; but his face was sort o' weazened up, and the top of his head gittin' above the timber line, and not so young and gay as his woman might have wanted him, and that give the other women in the choir a hold. But I sha'n't dwell ; you know what they said. Then the young fellers that was invited to the Chewses got out with them that wasn't, and all the folks took sides and there we was agin. You see folks in these little towns is so neighborly. They stand by their friends in a fuss you hear my racket? " Well, one day Joe Tucker, a long, gaunt-lin' mud- mummy, was slungin' along the street with a long, lean yaller dog that allers follered him every- where, and come by where a farmer was imloadin' some wood, an' quicker'n wink the farmer's big bull- dog pitched into Joe's, and knocked him four rod, and so scared Bob Stevenses', the blacksmith's, wife, that was a takin' her man his dinner, that she yelled for all that was out, and keeled over agin the wagon, and her old sun- bonnet a floppin' off and her a yellin' scared the horses so they broke loose and lit out down the street, like the devil a beatin' tan- bark, and run agin a ladder where was John Baker a paintin' the up front of Abraham Miller's store, and knocked down the ladder, crippled poor John for life, and up-set the wood into Burnstein's oyster cellar, killin' one of Btirnstein's children stone dead, and so scared Misses Burnstein that she dropped a pan o' hot oysters into the lap of a customer, and set him to swearin' and dancin' like all possessed. " Well, I reckon if there was any one thing Joe Tucker did love, it was that same long, lean, yaller and spotted dog ; they was more like twins than Christians, and folks did say they slept together in that lit- 1 THEY BROKE LOOSE AND LIT OUT DOWN THE STREET." |