in the
highway about his feet, and cursing soulfully, he gained the town
office and grimly sat himself down.

He knew when the train from down-river and the outside world had
arrived by the riotous accessions to the crowds without in the square.
Firemen in red shirts thronged everywhere. Men who wore feathered
hats and tawdry uniforms filled the landscape. He gazed on them with
unutterable disgust.

A stranger awakened him from his reverie on the vanities of the world.
The stranger had studied the sign

SELECTMEN'S OFFICE

and had come in. He wore a frock coat and shiny silk hat, and inquired
whether he had the pleasure of speaking to Captain Aaron Sproul,
first selectman of Smyrna.

"I'm him," said the Cap'n, glowering up from under knotted eyebrows,
his gaze principally on the shiny tile.

"I was just a little surprised that there was no committee of
reception at the station to meet me," said the stranger, in mild
rebuke. "There was not even a carriage there. But I suppose it was
an oversight, due to the rush of affairs to-day."

The Cap'n still scowled at him, not in the least understanding why
this stranger should expect to be carted into the village from the
railroad.

"I will introduce myself. I am Professor William Wilson Waverley,
orator of the day; I have had some very pleasant correspondence with
you, Captain Sproul, and I'm truly glad to meet you face to face."

"You've got the advantage of me," blurted the Cap'n, still dense.
"I never heard of you before in my life, nor I never wrote you any
letter, unless I got up in my sleep and done it."

With wonderment and some irritation growing on his face, the stranger
pulled out a letter and laid it before the Cap'n.

The selectman studied it long enough to see that it was an earnest
invitation to honor the town of Smyrna with a centennial oration,
and that the town would pay all expenses; and the letter was signed,
"Captain Aaron Sproul, First Selectman and Chairman of Committee,
Per Consetena Tate, Secretary."

"I never saw that before," insisted the Cap'n.

"Do you mean that you disown it?"

"No, I reckon it's all official and regular. What I just said about
not havin' seen it before might have sounded a little queer, but
there's an explanation goes with it. You see, it's been this way.
I--"

But at that moment fully a score of men filed into the office, all
of them with set faces and indignant demeanors. The Cap'n was not
well posted o