' oftener, an' you
couldn't never tell when the' was goin' to appear. Matters 'd go along
putty well fer a while, an' then, all of a sudden, an' fer nothin' 't I
could see, the' 'd come on a thunder shower 'fore you c'd git in out o'
the wet."

"Singular," said John thoughtfully.

"Yes, sir," said David. "Wa'al, it come along to the second spring,
'bout the first of May. She'd ben more like folks fer about a week mebbe
'n she had fer a long spell, an' I begun to chirk up some. I don't
remember jest how I got the idee, but f'm somethin' she let drop I
gathered that she was thinkin' of havin' a new bunnit. I will say this
for her," remarked David, "that she was an economical woman, an' never
spent no money jest fer the sake o' spendin' it. Wa'al, we'd got along
so nice fer a while that I felt more 'n usual like pleasin' her, an' I
allowed to myself that if she wanted a new bunnit, money shouldn't stand
in the way, an' I set out to give her a supprise."

They had reached the level at the top of the long hill and the horses
had broken into a trot, when Mr. Harum's narrative was interrupted and
his equanimity upset by the onslaught of an excessively shrill, active,
and conscientious dog of the "yellow" variety, which barked and sprang
about in front of the mares with such frantic assiduity as at last to
communicate enough of its excitement to them to cause them to bolt
forward on a run, passing the yellow nuisance, which, with the facility
of long practice, dodged the cut which David made at it in passing. It
was with some little trouble that the horses were brought back to a
sober pace.

"Dum that dum'd dog!" exclaimed David with fervor, looking back to where
the object of his execrations was still discharging convulsive yelps at
the retreating vehicle, "I'd give a five-dollar note to git one good
lick at him. I'd make him holler 'pen-an'-ink' _once_! Why anybody's
willin' to have such a dum'd, wuthless, pestiferous varmint as that
'round 's more 'n I c'n understand. I'll bet that the days they churn,
that critter, unless they ketch him an' tie him up the night before, 'll
be under the barn all day, an' he's jest blowed off steam enough to run
a dog churn a hull forenoon."

Whether or not the episode of the dog had diverted Mr. Harum's mind from
his previous topic, he did not resume it until John ventured to remind
him of it, with "You were saying something about the surprise for your
wife."

"That's so," said David