With a cheer, and a tread that shook the ground, the men set out.
Perez remained standing before the tavern, till the last man had
passed, by way of guarding against any new move by the selectmen, and
then mounting his horse, rode along the column.
They were about half a mile out of Stockbridge, when Abner,
accompanied by Paul Hubbard, approached Perez, and remarked:
"The fellers all on em says, ez haow ye'll hev tew be cap'n o' this
ere kumpny. Thar's no use o' shilly-shallyin the business, we've got
tew hev somebody ez kin speak up tew the silk stockins. Hain't that
so, Paul?"
Hubbard nodded, but did not speak. It was gall and wormwood to his
jealous and ambitious spirit, to concede the leadership to another,
but his good sense forced him to recognize the necessity of so doing
in the present case.
"Abner," replied Perez, "you know I only want to get Reub out. That's
why I interfered when the plan looked like falling through. I don't
want to be captain, man, I'd no notion of that."
"Nuther had I," said Abner, "till ye tackled the Squire, an then I see
quick ez a flash that ye'd got ter be, an so'd all the other fellers.
We sh'd a kerflummuxed sure's taxes, ef ye hadn't done jess what ye
did.
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