like
a thousand of brick; he give 'em no rest day or night; he set every
livin' joint in me a-goin', and, not bein' able to stand it no longer, I
jumped spang onto my seat, and jest hollered,--

_"Go it, my Rube!"_

Every blame man, woman and child in the house riz on me, and shouted,
"Put him out! put him out!"

"Put your great-grandmother's grizzly gray greenish cat into the middle
of next month!" I says. "Tech me if you dare! I paid my money, and you
jest come anigh me!"

With that some several policemen run up, and I had to simmer down. But I
would 'a' fit any fool that laid hands on me, for I was bound to hear
Ruby out or die.

He had changed his tune again. He hop-light ladies and tip-toed fine
from end to end of the key-board. He played soft and low and solemn. I
heard the church bells over the hills. The candles of heaven was lit,
one by one; I saw the stars rise. The great organ of eternity began to
play from the world's end to the world's end, and all the angels went to
prayers.... Then the music changed to water, full of feeling that
couldn't be thought, and began to drop--drip, drop--drip, drop, clear
and sweet, like tears of joy falling into a lake of glory. It was
sweeter than that. It was as sweet as a sweet-heart sweetened with white
sugar mixed with powdered silver and seed-diamonds. It was too sweet. I
tell you the audience cheered. Rubin he kinder bowed, like he wanted to
say, "Much obleeged, but I'd rather you wouldn't interrup' me."

He stopped a moment or two to catch breath. Then he got mad. He run his
fingers through his hair, he shoved up his sleeve, he opened his
coat-tails a leetle further, he drug up his stool, he leaned over, and,
sir, he just went for that old pianner. He slapped her face, he boxed
her jaws, he pulled her nose, he pinched her ears, and he scratched her
cheeks, until she fairly yelled. He knocked her down and he stamped on
her shameful. She bellowed like a bull, she bleated like a calf, she
howled like a hound, she squealed like a pig, she shrieked like a rat,
and _then_ he wouldn't let her up. He run a quarter stretch down the low
grounds of the base, till he got clean in the bowels of the earth, and
you heard thunder galloping after thunder through the hollows and caves
of perdition; and then he fox-chased his right hand with his left till
he got 'way out of the treble into the clouds, whar the notes was finer
than the p'ints of cambric needles, and you couldn't he