Said he, “It is jolly to meet again,
Like this, we two together.
And if there be no other thing
That you can think to say,
Then it’s ‘How do you do? ’ and ‘How do you do?’
And ‘How do you do, to-day? ’ ”
It was “Figger-four” Avery who secured from Hiram Look the most information about himself for general circulation. When, after the first few days of wonderment, the attendance at the Squire’s premises dropped off, it was “Figger-four” who remained loyal to the new attraction. Hiram tolerated his constant presence because the little man’s wide-eyed, wide-eared, wide-mouthed receptiveness of his tales flattered the eminent impresario of Imogene and her appanage.
Avery was so small and inoffensive that the showman never resented any questions that he asked. All others Hiram shooed off with profanity when they hinted concerning his affairs and intentions.
“Blast him,” growled Hiram to his brother, “I feel like a sap tree with a spile let into it when he’s around. I just drip and drip away to him and he sets and laps it down and I can’t seem to shut off. But he’s an obligin’ little fool.”
Avery’s soubriquet came from the appearance of his legs. A fever-sore years before had shriveled the left leg, and the knee was set permanently at an angle. As he bobbed along, alternately rising and sinking, he kept presenting with his legs the shape of a grotesque 4.