Hurry up! It's ten
o'clock. I was born at sun-rise, so I'm 'going on' eighteen and
can't waste any time!"
III
DEACON BAXTER'S WIVES
FOXWELL BAXTER was ordinarily called "Old Foxy" by the boys of
the district, and also, it is to be feared, by the men gathered
for evening conference at the various taverns, or at one of the
rival village stores.
He had a small farm of fifteen or twenty acres, with a pasture, a
wood lot, and a hay-field, but the principal source of his income
came from trading. His sign bore the usual legend: "WEST INDIA
GOODS AND GROCERIES," and probably the most profitable articles
in his stock were rum, molasses, sugar, and tobacco; but there
were chests of rice, tea, coffee, and spices, barrels of pork in
brine, as well as piles of cotton and woolen cloth on the shelves
above the counters. His shop window, seldom dusted or set in
order, held a few clay pipes, some glass jars of peppermint or
sassafras lozenges, black licorice, stick-candy, and sugar
gooseberries. These dainties were seldom renewed, for it was only
a very bold child, or one with an ungovernable appetite for
sweets, who would have spent his penny at Foxy Baxter's store.
He was thought a sharp and shrewd trader, but his honesty was
never questioned; indeed, the only trait in his character that
ever came up for general discussion was his extraordinary,
unbelievable, colossal meanness.
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