And the very next time she went to kissin’ the dog so voyalently as not to notice us, my Josiah whispered to me and sez, “Did you have any idee that wuz what the old man wuz a doin’? I knew he wuz always a settin’ up there in the moon, but it never passed my mind that he wuz a fryin’ potatoes.”
But I sez, “Keep still, Josiah. It is a deep subject, a great undertakin’, and it requires caution and deliberation.”
But he sez,”I haint a goin’, Samantha! Nor I haint a goin’ to let you go. It is dangerus.”
But I kinder nudged him, for she had the dog down on her lap, and was ready to resoom conversation. And about that time we got to the entrance of the spring, and one of her relatives got down and opened the carriage door.
I wondered ag’in that she didn’t introduce us. But I didn’t care if she didn’t. I felt that I wuz jest as good as they wuz, if they wuz so haughty. But Josiah wantin’ to make himself agreeable to ’em (he hankers after gettin’ into high society), he took off his hat and bowed low to ’em, before he got out, and sez he, “I am proud to know you, sir,” and tried to shake hands with him. But the man rejected his overtoors and looked perfectly wooden, and oninterested. A big-feelin’, high-headed creeter. Josiah Allen is as good as he is any day. And I whispered to him and sez, “Don’t demean yourself by tryin’ to force your company onto them any more.”
“Wall,” he whispered back, “I do love to move in high circles.”
Sez I, “Then I shouldn’t think you would be so afraid of the undertakin’ ahead on us. If neighborin’ with the old man in the moon, and eatin’ supper with him, haint movin’ in high circles, then I don’t know what is.”
“But I don’t want to go into anything dangerus,” sez he.
But jest then Miss Flamm.spoke to me, and I moved forward by her side and into a middlin’ big room, and in the middle wuz a great sort of a well like, with the water a bubblin’ up into a clear crystal globe, and a sprayin’ up out of it, in a slender misty sparklin’ spray. It wuz a pretty sight. And we drinked a glass full of it a piece, and then we wandered out of the back door-way, and went down into the pretty; old-fashioned garden back of the house.
Josiah and me and Miss Flamm went. The dog and the two relatives didn’t seem to want to go. The relatives sot up there straight as two sticks, one of ’em holdin’ the dog, and they didn’t even look round at us.