Amongst other things, Josiah had bought a barrel of salt, and the piano feller that had stuck to Josiah so tight that day, offered to help him on with it. And the organ man—not goin’ to be outdone by the other—he offered too. Josiah kinder winked to me, and then he held the old mare, and let ’em lift. They wasn’t used to such kind of work, and it fell back on ’em once or twice, and most squashed ’em; but they nipped to, and lifted again, and finally got it on; but they was completely tuckered out.
And then Josiah got in, and thanked ’em for the liftin’; and the organ man, a wipin’ the sweat offen his face—that had started out in his hard labor—said he should be down to-morrow mornin’; and the piano man, a pantin’ for breath, told Josiah not to make up his mind till he came; he should be down that night if he got rested enough.
And then Josiah told ’em that he should be glad to see ’em down a visitin’ any time, but he had jest bought a organ.
I don’t know but what they would have laid holt of Josiah, if they hadn’t been so tuckered out; but as it was, they was too beat out to look anything but sneakin’; and so we drove off.
The manty maker had told me that day, that there was two or three new agents with new kinds of sewin’ machines jest come to Jonesville, and I was tellin’ Josiah on it, when we met a middle-aged man, and he looked at us pretty close, and finally he asked us as he passed by, if we could tell him where Josiah Allen lived.
Says Josiah, “I’m livin’ at present in a Democrat.”
Says I, “In this one horse wagon, you know.”
Says he, “You are thinkin’ of buyin’ a sewin’ machine, haint you?”
Says Josiah, “I am a turnin’ my mind that way.”
At that, the man turned his horse round, and follered us, and I see he had a sewin’ machine in front of his wagon. We had the old mare and the colt, and seein’ a strange horse come up so close behind us, the colt started off full run towards Jonesville, and then run down a cross-road and into a lot.