You're right; play it on us, too; play it on
us same as the others; it'll keep you in practice and
prevent you making blunders. We'll keep away from
you and let on we don't know you, but any time we
can be any help, you just let us know."
Then we loafed along past the Nickersons, and of
course they asked if that was the new stranger yonder,
and where'd he come from, and what was his name,
and which communion was he, Babtis' or Methodis',
and which politics, Whig or Democrat, and how long
is he staying, and all them other questions that humans
always asks when a stranger comes, and animals does,
too. But Tom said he warn't able to make anything
out of deef and dumb signs, and the same with goo-
gooing. Then we watched them go and bullyrag Jake;
because we was pretty uneasy for him. Tom said it
would take him days to get so he wouldn't forget he
was a deef and dummy sometimes, and speak out be-
fore he thought. When we had watched long enough
to see that Jake was getting along all right and working
his signs very good, we loafed along again, allowing to
strike the schoolhouse about recess time, which was a
three-mile tramp.
I was so disappointed not to hear Jake tell about the
row in the sycamores, and how near he come to get-
ting killed, that I couldn't seem to get over it, and
Tom he felt the same, but said if we was in Jake's fix
we would want to go careful and keep still and not take
any chances.
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