"Well, no; he said they hadn't. He's an old bachelor, you know, and he said hornets were good enough neighbors as long as there weren't any small boys around."
"Couldn't we get him to let us go in on that nest?"
"That's just what I asked him, and he said—"
"Hold up, Steve—here he comes!"
"Good-morning, Captain Hollowboy. Toothache, eh? I'll get you something."
"Toothache, Deacon! No, it isn't toothache. Is this the drug store? Have I got here? Can't but just see."
"Steve," shouted Andy, "just look at his face! It's all mud."
Captain Hollowboy had taken away his great red bandana handkerchief to look around him, and Deacon Whitney was holding up both his hands.
"What is the matter, Captain?"
"Hornets, Deacon, hornets. The most pernicious and ungrateful of all insects. I have applied aqueously saturated alluvium, but I want some ammonia."