'I see,' says father, 'I
see it now, you etarnal villain,' and he made a pull at the old
fashioned sword, that always hung over the fireplace (we used to call
it old Bunker, for his stories always begun, 'when I was at Bunker's
hill'), and drawing it out, he made a clip at him as wicked as if he
was stabbing at a rat with a hay fork; but Jim, he outs of the door
like a shot, and draws it too arter him, and father sends old Bunker
right through the panel. 'I'll chop you up as fine as mince meat, you
villain,' said he, 'if ever I catch you inside my door agin; mind
what I tell you, YOU'LL SWING FOR IT YET.' Well, he made himself
considerable scarce arter that, he never sot foot inside the door
agin, and I thought he had gin up all hopes of Sall, and she of him;
when one night, a most particular uncommon dark night, as I was
a-comin' home from neighbour Dearborne's, I heerd some one a-talkin'
under Sall's window. Well, I stops and listens, and who should it be
near the ash saplin', but Jim Munroe, a-tryin' to persuade Sall to
run off with him to Rhode Island to be married. It was all settled,
he should come with a horse and shay to the gate, and then help her
out of the window, jist at nine o'clock, about the time she commonly
went to bed. Then he axes her to reach down her hand for him to kiss
(for he was proper clever at soft sawder), and she stretches it down
and he kisses it; and, says he, 'I believe I must have the whole of
you out arter all,' and gives her a jirk that kinder startled her;
it came so sudden like it made her scream; so off he sot, hot foot,
and over the gate in no time.
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