“You deean’t say sae? Ah didn’t doot ’at God wad oppen’ t’ way, bud ah didn’t expect it quite sae seean. Wheease hoose is it?”
“It’s nobody’s house; it’s”——
“What! Is it t’ mautkill?”
“Hey!” shouted Blithe Natty, and he gave the haunch of the old donkey such a slap with his big, open hand, as who should say, “There, Balaam, what do you think to that?”
Balaam, for once in his life, was thoroughly astounded. He erected his ears, turned his wondering gaze on the triumphant blacksmith, and gave vent to a loud “Hee-ho” of most magnificent volume and a crescendo force that was quite startling.
“That’s right, Balaam,” said Old Adam, laughing heartily. “It’ll mak’ uthers cock their ears an’ oppen their mooth besides thoo. Halleluia! Halleluia!”
Either startled still more by the old man’s enthusiasm or else entering into the spirit of their triumph, Balaam gave tongue a second time, in a style that sent the two bystanders into such a fit of laughter that it threatened to endanger a blood-vessel.
“What in the world’s up now?” said Farmer Houston, who suddenly appeared upon the scene.
“Oop?” said Adam. “Why, ivverything’s oop! Methodism’s oop! Piggy Morris is oop! an’ oor sperrits is oop: mahne, an’ Nathan’s, an’ Balaam’s, an’ all!”