"There ought to be one there, but I should be afraid of trouble," answered Le Moyne seriously.
"Name me one or two good men for poll-holders, and I will risk any disorder."
"Well, there is Eliab. He's a good man if there ever was one, and capable too."
"How about Nimbus?"
"He's a good man too, honest as the day is long, hard-headed and determined, but he can't read or write."
"That is strange."
"It is strange, but one of the teachers was telling me so when I was there. I think he has got so that he can sign his first name—his only one, he insists—but that is all, and he cannot read a word."
"I should have thought he would have been one of the first to learn that much at least."
"So should I. He is the best man of affairs among them all—has good judgment and sense, and is always trying to do something to get on. He says he is 'too busy to get larnin', an' leaves that and preachin' to Bre'er' 'Liab.'" "Do they keep up their former intimacy?"
"Keep it up? 'Liab lives in Nimbus' lot, has his meals from his table, and is toted about by Nimbus just the same as if they were still boys. Nimbus seems to think more of him than he would of a brother—than he does of his brothers, for he has two whom he seems to care nothing about. His wife and children are just as devoted to the cripple as Nimbus, and 'Liab, on his part, seems to think as much of them as if they were his own. They get along first-rate, and are prospering finely, but I am afraid they will have trouble yet."