I hustled over, and, sure enough, there was an old scow tied to a stake. I ran back quiet and told Mark. “Have them others come along?” says I.
“No,” says he, “but I calc’late they’re hidin’ hereabouts.”
I was just going to ask some more questions when I heard a holler inside the mill, and then a racket like half a dozen men running, and out of the door came a man, and then another man, and right on his heels another. That was three. And then, you can believe it or not, out came a fourth. That was two more than went in, and I was getting mighty puzzled. I was getting something besides puzzled, too, I can tell you, and that something was scairt. There was too many folks mixed up in this thing to make it comfortable.
Well, sir, it wasn’t enough to have all these men boil out of the mill, but what should Mark Tidd do but reach out his foot and trip the last man so that he went heels over appetite and rolled over about seven times. In a second Mark jumped up and sat on him solid and sudden, and when Mark Tidd sits on a man sudden that man is feeling something particular uncomfortable. I’ll bet he thought the whole bunch of his ribs was plumb caved in.
“I’LL BET HE THOUGHT THE WHOLE BUNCH OF HIS RIBS WAS PLUMB CAVED IN”
“Binney, Tallow!” Mark yelled as loud as he could. “Run for the dam. Stop that boat from gettin’ away.”
Binney and Tallow! I was considerable flabbergasted, but to have Binney and Tallow join in with the rest of the circus was more than I could stand. Mark seemed to know they were there, but how he knew it I couldn’t see. The whole business was too much for me.
I didn’t know just what to do, so I rushed over and helped Mark sit on his man, though goodness knows that wasn’t necessary. Mark was doing all the sitting anybody needed.
The man under Mark wriggled and twisted and made some noises with his voice like he wasn’t enjoying himself to speak of. He sounded like he wanted to be let up, and in a jiffy Mark rolled off of him and let him up. But he didn’t move off. No, he just sat up and grunted and began to feel of himself and let out sounds of misery.