Jeb got up slowly from his stool and took hold of the upper end strands of the hammock. He pulled it back and forth a few times, while Sary smiled alluringly up at him. Then he cleared his throat and began to speak.
"This world was made fur love. Oh, what woul' arth be widdout de flowers of love to parfume our way?" Jeb coughed.
Now this was just the sort of romance Sary had always dreamed of but never heard before, and she sighed heavily as her visitor coughed. If Jeb needed encouragement, she was not the one to disappoint him!
He gave the hammock a strong tug as he began another line. Sary had to catch hold of the edges to prevent herself from being thrown backward.
"Man wuz not made to live alone. Th' Good Book says so. What so glorious ez a sweet bride waitin' t' welcome a man after a hard day's labor? What man is thar what woulden give his wealth of all Crows-see-us fer love?"
Jeb pronounced the unfamiliar word very carefully, but Sary had never heard of Crœsus, so it mattered not how Jeb said it. But Polly and Eleanor were clasping each other tightly now, to keep from making a sound that would ruin the entertainment.
Again Jeb cleared his throat with difficulty and pulled at the hammock as if he was trying to drag a whale from the deep sea. Sary uttered no complaint, however, even though her neck almost snapped at each sudden jerk. She was wise enough to realize that the momentous time had come for Jeb. He might never again summon courage, if he failed to-night!
Without further warning, then, Jeb began his memorized lines, and as he progressed with the "love sonnet" he unconsciously swung the hammock higher and higher.
"Ef Ah wuzn't shore we-all w'ar made fur each other Ah wooden be ha'r beggin' fur yur heart an' hand."
A long and mighty pull on the hammock almost landed Sary out in the grass, but she clung like a vise to the hempen ropes.