Gosh! I kind o' felt fer my gun!
Gol darn his pictur'! Think o' bein' kicked by a bird an' havin' to be
picked up an' carried off to be mended. We took a long, crooked trail
hum an' walked all the way. It's kind o' hard footin'."

Solomon spoke with the animation of a boy. At last he had found
something in London which had pleased and excited him.

"Did you have a good time at Sir Jeffrey's?" the young man asked.

"Better'n a barn raisin'! Say, hones', I never seen nothin' like
it--'twere so blandiferous! At fust I were a leetle bit like a man
tied to a tree--felt so helpless an' unsart'in. Didn't know what were
goin' to happen. Then ol' Jeff come an' ontied me, as ye might say,
an' I 'gun to feel right. 'Course Preston tol' me not to be
skeered--that the doin's would be friendly, an' they was. Gol darn my
pictur'! I'll bet a pint o' powder an' a fish hook thar ain't no nicer
womern in this world than ol' Jeff's wife--not one. I give her my
jack-knife. She ast me fer it. 'Twere a good knife, but I were glad
to give it to her. Gosh! I dunno what she wants to do with it. Mebbe
she likes to whittle. They's some does. I kind o' like it myself. I
warned her to be keerful not to cut herself 'cause 'twere sharper'n the
tooth o' a weasel. The vittles was tasty--no common ven'son er moose
meat, but the best roast beef, an' mutton, an' ham an' jest 'nough
Santa Cruz rum to keep the timber floatin'! They snickered when I tol'
'em I'd take my tea bar' foot. I set 'mongst a lot o' young folks,
mostly gals, full o' laugh an' ginger, an' as purty to look at as a
flock o' red birds, an' I sot thar tellin' stories 'bout the Injun
wars, an' bear, an' moose, an' painters till the moon were down an' a
clock hollered one. Then I let each o' them gals snip off a grab o' my
hair. I dunno what they wanted to do with it, but they 'pear to be as
fond o' takin' hair as Injuns. Mebbe 'twas fer good luck. I wouldn't
wonder if my head looks like it was shingled. Ayes! I had an almighty
good time.

"These 'ere British is good folks as fur as I've been able to look 'em
over. It's the gov'ment that's down on us an' the gov'ment ain't the
people--you hear to me. They's lots o' good, friendly folks here, but
I'm ready to go hum. They's a ship leaves Dover Thursday 'fore sunrise
an' my name is put down."

Jack told them in detail of the unfortunate event of the morning.

Solomon whistled while his face began to get r