He had been a lieutenant in the Continental army, and used rather
better language than the country folk ordinarily, which, as well as a
cynical wit which agreed with the embittered popular temper, gave him
considerable influence. Since the war he had been foreman of Colonel
William's iron-works at West Stockbridge. There was great distress
among the workmen on account of the stoppage of the works by reason of
the hard times, but Hubbard, as well as most of the men, still
remained in West Stockbridge, simply because there was no
encouragement to go elsewhere.
"Wat I can't make aout is that the lawyers an sheriffs sh'd git so
dern fat a pickin our bones, seein ez ther's sech a dern leatle meat
ontew us," said Abner.
"There's as much meat on squirrels as bears if you have enough of em,"
replied Hubbard. "They pick clean, ye see, an take all we've got, an
every little helps."
"Yas," said Abner, "they do pick darned clean, but that ain't the wust
on't, fer they sends our bones tew rot in jail arter they've got all
the meat orf."
"'Twas ony yesdy Iry Seymour sole out Zadkiel Poor, ez lives long side
o' me, an tuk Zadkiel daown tew Barrington jail fer the res' what the
sale didn't fetch," said Israel Goodrich.
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