end the following message:
What do you mean by eating Aunt Judy?
But Harry read:
Whatt a xdll mean rummmlgigdd Ju!
Harry thought, of course, that this seemed like a reflection on his
motives in proposing that Harvey could ask Aunt Judy to give him
something to eat, and so, of course, there had to be explanations.
After a time, however the operators became much more expert, and
although Harvey was always a little slow, he was very careful and very
patient--most excellent qualities in an operator upon such a line.
The great desire now, not only among the officers of the company, but
with many other folks in Akeville and the neighborhood, was to see the
creek "up," so that travel across it might be suspended, and the
telegraphic business commence.
To be sure, there might be other interests with which a rise in the
creek would interfere, but they, of course, were considered of small
importance, compared with the success of an enterprise like this.
But the season was very dry, and the creek very low. There were places
where a circus-man could have jumped across it with all his pockets full
of telegraphic messages.
In the mean time, the affairs of the company did not look very
flourishing. The men who assisted in the construction of the line had
not been paid in full, and they wanted their money. Kate reported that
the small sum which had been appropriated out of the capital stock for
the temporary support of Aunt Matilda was all gone. This report she made
in her capacity as a special committee of one, appointed (by herself) to
attend to the wants of Aunt Matilda. As the Treasurer of the company,
she also reported that there was not a cent in its coffers.
In this emergency, Harry called a meeting of the Board.
It met, as this was an important occasion, in Davis's corn-house,
fortunately now empty. This was a cool, shady edifice, and, though
rather small, was very well ventilated. The meetings had generally been
held under some big tree, or in various convenient spots in the woods
near the creek, but nothing of that kind would be proper for such a
meeting as this, especially as Kate, as Treasurer, was to be present.
This was her first appearance at a meeting of the Board. The boys sat on
the corn-house floor, which had been nicely swept out by John William
Webster, and Kate had a chair on the grass, just outside of the door.
There she could hear and see with great comfort without "settin' on the
|