' A 'hypocritter' must
natcherally start by bein' a 'critter,' but a critter ain't
obliged to be a 'hypocritter' 'thout he wants to."
"I should hope not," interpolated Abel Day, piously. "Entomology
must be an awful interest-in' study, though I never thought of
observin' words myself, kept to avoid vulgar language an'
profanity."
"Husshon's a cur'ous word for a man," inter-jected Bill Dunham
with a last despairing effort. "I remember seein' a Husshon once
that--"
"Perhaps you ain't one to observe closely, Abel," said Timothy,
not taking note of any interruption, simply using the time to
direct a stream of tobacco juice to an incredible distance, but
landing it neatly in the exact spot he had intended. "It's a
trade by itself, you might say, observin' is, an' there's another
sing'lar corraption! The Whigs in foreign parts, so they say,
build stone towers to observe the evil machinations of the
Tories, an' so the word 'observatory' come into general use! All
entomology; nothin' but entomology."
"I don't see where in thunder you picked up so much larnin',
Timothy!" It was Abel Day's exclamation, but every one agreed
with him.
XX
THE ROD THAT BLOSSOMED
IVORY BOYNTON had taken the horse and gone to the village on an
errand, a rare thing for him to do after dark, so Rod was
thinking, as he sat in the living-room learning his Sunday-School
lesson on the same evening that the men were gossiping at the
brick store.
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