“Not really?”
“So he told us.”
“Lawsy me! And here I was a-talking to him jest as though he was you or me.”
Jerry’s surprise amused the young homesteaders, and, after laughing at it, Ted asked:
“Why shouldn’t you? We were fellow passengers.”
“Me talk to Silas Hopkins like I did if I’d knowed who he was? Not on your alfalfa! I wouldn’t have dared open my yip, let alone a-disputing with him. Lawsy me! Rosey, come here!” he suddenly called. “Who do you suppose it was that I was a-arguing with?”
“How should I know, if you didn’?”
“It was Silas Hopkins!”
“Lawsy!” gasped the bride, rolling her eyes up.
It was the boys’ turn to be surprised at the effect of the name upon the two Westerners, and they wondered at it.