第97章

"It's JUST as I expected.So you had it in your pocket all the time;and like as not you've got the other things there, too.How'd it get there?""I reely don't know, Sally," he says, kind of apologizing, "or you know I would tell.I was astudying over my text in Acts Seventeen before breakfast, and I reckon I put it in there, not noticing, meaning to put my Testament in, and it must be so, because my Testament ain't in; but I'll go and see;and if the Testament is where I had it, I'll know I didn't put it in, and that will show that I laid the Testament down and took up the spoon, and --""Oh, for the land's sake! Give a body a rest! Go 'long now, the whole kit and biling of ye; and don't come nigh me again till I've got back my peace of mind."I'D a heard her if she'd a said it to herself, let alone speaking it out; and I'd a got up and obeyed her if I'd a been dead.As we was passing through the setting-room the old man he took up his hat, and the shingle-nail fell out on the floor, and he just merely picked it up and laid it on the mantel-shelf, and never said nothing, and went out.Tom see him do it, and remembered about the spoon, and says:

"Well, it ain't no use to send things by HIM no more, he ain't reliable."Then he says: "But he done us a good turn with the spoon, anyway, without knowing it, and so we'll go and do him one without HIM knowing it -- stop up his rat-holes."There was a noble good lot of them down cellar, and it took us a whole hour, but we done the job tight and good and shipshape.Then we heard steps on the stairs, and blowed out our light and hid; and here comes the old man, with a candle in one hand and a bundle of stuff in t'other, looking as absent-minded as year before last.He went a mooning around, first to one rat-hole and then another, till he'd been to them all.Then he stood about five minutes, picking tallowdrip off of his candle and thinking.

Then he turns off slow and dreamy towards the stairs, saying:

"Well, for the life of me I can't remember when I done it.I could show her now that I warn't to blame on account of the rats.But never mind --let it go.I reckon it wouldn't do no good."And so he went on a-mumbling up stairs, and then we left.He was a mighty nice old man.And always is.

Tom was a good deal bothered about what to do for a spoon, but he said we'd got to have it; so he took a think.When he had ciphered it out he told me how we was to do; then we went and waited around the spoon-basket till we see Aunt Sally coming, and then Tom went to counting the spoons and laying them out to one side, and I slid one of them up my sleeve, and Tom says:

"Why, Aunt Sally, there ain't but nine spoons YET."She says:

"Go 'long to your play, and don't bother me.I know better, I counted 'm myself.""Well, I've counted them twice, Aunty, and I can't make but nine."She looked out of all patience, but of course she come to count -- anybody would.

"I declare to gracious ther' AIN'T but nine!" she says."Why, what in the world -- plague TAKE the things, I'll count 'm again."So I slipped back the one I had, and when she got done counting, she says:

"Hang the troublesome rubbage, ther's TEN now!" and she looked huffy and bothered both.But Tom says:

"Why, Aunty, I don't think there's ten."

"You numskull, didn't you see me COUNT 'm?""I know, but --"

"Well, I'll count 'm AGAIN."

So I smouched one, and they come out nine, same as the other time.Well, she WAS in a tearing way -- just a-trembling all over, she was so mad.