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I suppose your never-failing spear will be put in requisition again, when the spring opens; will it not?" "Der yes, your worship, unless I turn my attention to the catching ditter eels, or other slippery varments," returned the hunter, with a sly, significant twinkling of his eyes, as he brushed by the rebuked cajoler, and pushed on without waiting for a reply.
The hog-feeder listened, but was unmoved: he obstinately declined to accept his freedom, his plea being that "the varments" would "'stroy up his creeturs" if he were not there to look after them. "De black sow, she got a fine litter o' pigs now, an' de foxes is a'ter 'em de blessed time." After this no more could be urged, and Jerry, scraping his foot, went out with a mind full of content.
But when she found that it led to no disturbance, that the children only huddled round the child Jan and his slate like eager scholars round a teacher, Dame Datchett was wise enough to be thankful that Jan possessed a power she had never been able to acquire, that he could "keep the young varments quiet."
"'No matter 'zackly how, marster, it's them. I'll warrant them's hard plums for a Christmas pudding. Ha! ha! they get it this morning, them tarnation Hessian niggers! "'Ann, thee'll never forgive the Hessians thy sausages and pork. "'Forgive not I. All my nice sausages and buckwheat cakes, ready buttered and all for them 'are yaller varments.
The outer branch, near the prints of one of the horses, was bent upward, as a lady breaks a flower from its stem, but all the rest were ragged and broken down, as if the strong hand of a man had been tearing them! So I concluded that the cunning varments had seen the twig bent, and had torn the rest, to make us believe a buck had been feeling the boughs with his antlers."
Master Salter's swine suffered neglect at the hands of several successors to the office Abel had held, and Master Salter whilst alluding to these in indignant terms as "young varments," "gallus- birds," and so forth was pleased to express his regret that the gentle and trustworthy Abel had given up pig-minding for nursing. The pigs' loss was the baby's gain.
'Never mind about Baldy; he has been in such business too often not to know how to take care of himself. 'How long do you expect to begone? inquired Ethan. 'Mebbe all night, if thar ain't much danger. Ef I find the varments ar' too thick I'll stay by yer, and if they ain't I'll leave fur several hours. Leastways, whatever I do, you'll be sure to look out for the skunks.
There were a hundred men around him and hanging on to the rope, when a druggist, whom most of them knew, burst through the crowd, and whipping out a knife cut the rope within a few feet of his neck. 'What in hell are you varments trying to do? roared the druggist. 'This man is a cousin of mine. Going to hang him, are you? Well, you'll have to hang me with him when you do.
But his valor was not put to the proof, for Tommy Green molested her no more. Jan washed his face in the water-meadows, and went stout-heartedly home, where Master Lake beat him afresh, as he ironically said, "to teach him to vight young varments like himself instead of minding his book." But upon Master Chuter, of the Heart of Oak, the incident made quite a different impression.
Datchett was deaf. Also, she not unnaturally considered that, in looking after "the young varments" in school-hours, she fully earned their weekly pence, and was by no means bound to disturb herself because they squabbled in the street. Meanwhile Jan gradually got the upper hand of his lubberly and far from courageous opponent, whose smock he had nearly torn off his back.
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