'em cook
victuals for me. I'd hev nothin' to wish for then but a mouth as big as
the Saco's."

"And I wish this custard pie was the size o' Bonnie Eagle Pond," said
Ike Billings. "I'd like to fall into the middle of it and eat my way
out!"

"Look at that bunch o' Chiny asters tied on t' the bail o' that
biscuit-pail!" said Ivory Dunn. "That's the girl's doin's, you bet;
women-folks don't seem to make no bo'quets after they git married. Let's
divide 'em up an' wear 'em drivin' this afternoon; mebbe they'll ketch
the eye so 't our rags won't show so bad. Land! it's lucky my hundred
days is about up! If I don't git home soon, I shall be arrested for
goin' without clo'es. I set up 'bout all night puttin' these blue
patches in my pants an' tryin' to piece together a couple of old
red-flannel shirts to make one whole one. That's the worst o' drivin' in
these places where the pretty girls make a habit of comin' down to the
bridge to see the fun. You hev to keep rigged up jest so stylish; you
can't git no chance at the rum bottle, an' you even hev to go a leetle
mite light on swearin'."

IV. "Blasphemious Swearin'"

"Steve Waterman's an awful nice feller," exclaimed Ivory Dunn just
then. Stephen had been looking intently across the river, watching the
Shapleys' side door, from which Rose might issue at any moment; and at
this point in the discussion he had lounged away from the group, and,
moving toward the bridge, began to throw pebbles idly into the water.

"He's an awful smart driver for one that don't foller drivin' the
year round," continued Ivory; "and he's the awfullest clean-spoken,
soft-spoken feller I ever see."

"There's be'n two black sheep in his family a'ready, an' Steve kind
o' feels as if he'd ought to be extry white," remarked Jed Towle. "You
fellers that belonged to the old drive remember Pretty Quick Waterman
well enough? Steve's mother brought him up."

Yes; most of them remembered the Waterman twins, Stephen's cousins, now
both dead,--Slow Waterman, so moderate in his steps and actions that you
had to fix a landmark somewhere near him to see if he moved; and Pretty
Quick, who shone by comparison with his twin. "I'd kind o' forgot that
Pretty Quick Waterman was cousin to Steve," said the under boss; "he
never worked with me much, but he wa'n't cut off the same piece o' goods
as the other Watermans. Great hemlock! but he kep' a cussin' dictionary,
Pretty Quick did! Whenever he heard any new wor