“Middle of what?” says Binney.
“Middle of a crowd of spirits, of course,” says I.
“Well, why in tunket couldn’t you have said so right off without so much palaver?”
“I had to explain it to you gradual,” says I, “or you wouldn’t ever have catched the idea.”
“Did Jason ever see one of them spirits?” says Tallow.
“Claims he’s seen dozens,” says I.
“Was he scairt?”
“Accordin’ to his tell he got consid’able chummy with ’em,” says I. “He was braggin’ up to the grocery how they come and pulled his ears and stuck their fingers down his back and called him by his first name.”
“If I was a spirit,” says Binney, “I’ll bet I could git more fun than pullin’ Jason’s ears.”
“Well,” says Mark Tidd, “what you f-f-fellers say if we all turn spirits and do quite a heap more ’n jest p-pull his ears? I’ll bet Jason hain’t so brash as he lets on with spirits kickin’ around. I’ll b-bet if he was to meet up with a crowd of ’em unexpected-like, he’d have a conniption fit and fall in the m-middle of it.”