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"Quietly, Sweeny," remonstrated Thurstane. "Mr. Glover marches with great pain." "I've no objiction to his marchin' wid great pain or annyway Godamighty lets him, if he won't grunt about it." "But you must be civil, my man." "I ax yer pardon, Liftinant. I don't mane no harrum by blatherin'. It's a way we have in th' ould counthry. Mebbe it's no good in th' arrmy."
Short, meagre, badly built, excessively ugly, they were nearly naked, and their slight clothing was rags of skins. Thurstane tried to buy food of them, but either they had none to spare or his buttons seemed to them of no value. Nor could he induce any one to accompany him as a guide. "Do ye think Godamighty made thim paple?" inquired Sweeny. "Reckon so," replied Glover.
He held out his hand carelessly; but as he saw what I had placed in it his expression suddenly changed, and he burst forth excitedly: "Great Scott! where did this come from? Why why, Professor, it looks like it was a pearl; but if 't truly is one it's about th' bustin'est biggest one that Godamighty ever made! Do you truly size it up for a pearl yourself?" "Most assuredly," I answered.
"What did she say?" "I couldn't remember the words it was the way they took away things a body's afraid of. It was about things never 'avin' really been like wot we thought they was. Godamighty now, there ain't a bit of 'arm in 'im." "What?" he said with a start. "'E never done the accidents and the trouble. It was us as went out of the light into the dark.
Glover was used up; he was trembling from head to foot with fatigue; he had reached shore just in time to fall on it instead of into the river. "Ye'd make a purty soldier," scoffed Sweeny, a habitual chaffer, like most Irishmen. "It was the histin' that busted me," gasped the skipper. "I can't handle a ton o' water." "Godamighty made ye already busted, I'm a thinkin'," retorted Sweeny.
"Well, I'm not Godamighty to mak' t' rain gie over," was the man's cheerful reply, as he took the bellows to the damp wood which lay feebly crackling and fizzing on the wide hearth. His exertions produced a spasmodic flame, which sent flickering tongues of light through the wide spaces and shadows of the hall.
An' there ain't no blime laid on Godamighty." An' me, I'd nussed the child an' I clawed me 'air sime as if I was 'is mother an' I screamed out, 'Then damn 'im! An' the curick 'e dropped sittin' down on the curbstone an' 'id 'is fice in 'is 'ands." Dart hid his own face after the manner of the wretched curate. "No wonder," he groaned. His blood turned cold.
The only milk he ever used came out of a can. Mid-afternoon he reported. When we wondered what could be done next, he said carelessly, "Godamighty! Let 'em stay in bed. If they freeze to death it will serve 'em right for comin' out here." Grumbling, ranting on, he slammed the door and strode out to the barn, saddled Bill the stronger horse of the brown team and led him to the door.
Like us they might be imprisoned in their shack and low on fuel; but, unlike us, there would be no question of their battling their way across the prairie to shelter. "Sufferin' sinners," grumbled Sourdough. "Think I got time to fool around with homesteaders when a bunch of critters is maybe dead or starvin' to death? Godamighty!"
"But," said Glad, "Miss Montaubyn's lidy she says Godamighty never done it nor never intended it, an' if we kep' sayin' an' believin' 'e's close to us an' not millyuns o' miles away, we'd be took care of whilst we was alive an' not 'ave to wait till we was dead." She got up on her feet and threw up her arms with a sudden jerk and involuntary gesture. "I 'm alive!
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