am ready to testify that that first look she gin me wuz mad as a settin' hen with a brindle dog round, before I could hardly git the run of that look and set it down in my mind memorandum, she put on a dretful warm smile, yet as queer lookin' as any I ever see, and I have seen queer lookin' smiles in my day and gin 'em, too, yes, indeed! and she come forward, holdin' out her hand with the lace and ribbin danglin' from it, and sez she, "How good of you to come, you will spend the day with me, won't you?"
"Spend the day!" sez I, agast at the idee; "why, we have come to your reception and Bazar for that Heathen, but if I had knowed how that colt wuz goin' to act we would tied it to the fills, we couldn't leave it to home, for it hain't weaned. I feel mortified and sorry to think it pitched into you so, and upset them Danglers," I wuz jest a-goin' to say, but bethought myself and sez, "them young chaps, I feel dretful sorry, and am willin' to repair damages jest so fur as I can. I'll give you one of my hats; and that fiddle," sez I, "if it needs new strings I stand ready to git 'em, we have got more cats than we need round the barn, and I can furnish a dozen strings as well as not, and I'll tell the young man so." And I advanced towards 'em.
But she hurriedly drawed me off the other way, and sez she real warm, "How good of you, how extremely good of you to stay to the reception!" And then she sez, lookin' round sort o' helplessly and mournfully towards the Danglers, and then at me agin:
"You—oh!—let me see—yes—you come right up into my room, and dear Mr. Allen must come into the reading room. They have caught the colt, I see; I will rejoin you in a minute."
