"Now, Larry," said the blacksmith, when this ceremony was over, "you'll have to suffer a little pain while I get this magic band round the achin' tooth. Open your mouth now."
Larry did as he was directed, and in a minute the smith deftly wound the flaxen thread round the tooth, and knotted it tightly.
"Put your hands on your knees now, like a good man, and bend down towards the anvil here," said Ned. "That's just right. Stay that way now for a while, an' don't stir an' don't look up. You'll be all right soon."
Whilst speaking he was tying the two ends of the flaxen thread tightly and securely to the horn of the anvil. When this was accomplished he put the bar of iron into the fire, gathered the glowing embers around it, and commenced to blow the bellows vigorously.
It was a comical picture altogether.
There was Larry, his hands resting on his knees, his head bent down until his nose was within a foot of the horn of the anvil, a stream of water running from his open mouth, his eyes fixed upon the floor, while he tried to groan cheerfully, in fear lest he might be taken as complaining.
Ned now and then blew the bellows, pulled out the bar of iron, looked at it, thrust it back again into the glowing fire, went about the forge uttering the same inarticulate sounds that had so awed Larry at first, and treading very softly, perhaps because he did not wish to drive away the spirit of the charm. In one of his excursions he softly undid the bolt, opened the door, peered out into the night, listened, and smiled.
All this went on for a full hour at least, and then the blacksmith came over and stood beside the anvil, sledge in hand, while he commenced to blow the bellows more vigorously than ever.
At last he broke the silence by saying that he hoped Larry was not in very great pain, and assuring him that relief could not be very far off now.
Larry could only groan in reply, and then Ned went on to tell, with evident pride, of all the wonderful cures he had effected, and all the poor sufferers he had literally snatched from the jaws of death. And all Larry could do was groan and moan as cheerfully as possible, while he wondered if the time for his cure would ever come.