Jack made no answer. He was plainly disgusted with himself for having been made a fool of. The Englishman continued: “An’ wha’ do’est thee think, gude people. Maister Willin’ say’es as how that thin’ has a tail one hundred an’ feefty thousand miles long.”
Several laughed as Bill delivered this speech, and one man said: “I knowed Andrew Willing were daft. Only a man all wrong in the upper story would be sayin’ an’ doin’ such crazy things. The next thing you’ll be tellin’ us Bill, is that the doctor has gone mad, too.”
“It war he as ope’d the dure fer me an’ Jock,” replied Bill, “an’ he near cracked ‘is ’ead i’ two joost laughin’ at hour fuleishness. ‘Jock,’ ’e said, ‘I thought you ’ad more brains nor this. I woonder h’at you. Coom h’up steers, Maister Willin’ don’t make no secret o’ that gabled room. It are open ti respection’, or somethin’ like that ’e said, so we went h’in kind o’ fearfu’ like.”
“I was’ent fearful,” spoke up Jack quickly. “Speak for yourself, Bill.”
“Thee got as white h’as a sheet, mon,” returned Bill excitedly. “Thee was’t afeer’d ti luke aside. Thee nee’r expected ti come out’en theer alive, an’ wi’ a whole skin.”
“Go way with you for a bloody liar,” retorted Jack hotly. “I never was afraid of anything yet.”
“Haa liar his it!” cried Bill, squaring off. “Ca’ me haa liar, do’est thee? Hi’ll teach thee to hinsult thy betters.”
“Come, come; stop your quarreling,” said a man stepping between them. “Don’t you know that Jack could wipe up the earth with you, Bill, if he just wanted to? Why you would be a dead man in two seconds. See, daylight is breaking, and the most of us are chilled through. We’ll have snow before many hours. Let us all go to our homes, and to-night we will meet at the post office, and you can finish your tale.”
Jack had turned away in disdain as Bill squared at him. “Fight that thing,” he muttered, “well I recon as how I want a man to stand up against, not a puppy,” and looking defiantly at the crowd he walked toward his forge, while the others slowly dispersed to their separate homes.