Вдалині від божевільного натовпу

           Nowthenext—AndrewRandle,youareanewman,Ihear.Howcomeyoutoleaveyourlastfarm?"

           "P-p-p-p-p-pl-pl-pl-pl-l-l-l-l-ease,ma’am,p-p-p-p-pl-pl-pl-pl-please,ma’am-please’m-please’m—"

           "’A’sastammeringman,mem,"saidHeneryFrayinanundertone,"andtheyturnedhimawaybecausetheonlytimeheeverdidspeakplainhesaidhissoulwashisown,andotheriniquities,tothesquire.’Acancuss,mem,aswellasyouorI,but’acan’tspeakacommonspeechtosavehislife."

           "AndrewRandle,here’syours—finishthankingmeinadayortwo.TemperanceMiller—oh,here’sanother,Soberness—bothwomenIsuppose?"

           "Yes’m.Herewebe,’ab’lieve,"wasechoedinshrillunison.

           "Whathaveyoubeendoing?"

           "Tendingthrashing-machineandwimblinghaybonds,andsaying’Hoosh!’tothecocksandhenswhentheygouponyourseeds,andplantingEarlyFlourballsandThompson’sWonderfulswithadibble."

           "Yes—Isee.Aretheysatisfactorywomen?"sheinquiredsoftlyofHeneryFray.

           "Ohmem—don’taskme!Yieldingwomen—asscarletapairaseverwas!"groanedHeneryunderhisbreath.

           "Sitdown."

           "Who,mem?"

           "Sitdown."

           JosephPoorgrass,inthebackgroundtwitched,andhislipsbecamedrywithfearofsometerribleconsequences,ashesawBathshebasummarilyspeaking,andHeneryslinkingofftoacorner.

           "Nowthenext.LabanTall,you’llstayonworkingforme?"

           "Foryouoranybodythatpaysmewell,ma’am,"repliedtheyoungmarriedman.

           "True—themanmustlive!"saidawomaninthebackquarter,whohadjustenteredwithclickingpattens.