"Then what," returned her brother, "what is he doin' settin' up in his
office all afternoon with ink on his forehead, while Fisbee goes out
ridin' with her and stays for supper afterwerds?"
Although the problem of Fisbee's attendance remained a mere maze of
hopeless speculation, Mildy had been present at the opening of Miss
Sherwood's trunk, and here was matter for the keen consideration of the
ladies, at least. Thoughtful conversations in regard to hats and linings
took place across fences and on corners of the Square that afternoon; and
many gentlemen wondered (in wise silence) why their spouses were absent-
minded and brooded during the evening meal.
At half-past seven, the Hon. Kedge Halloway of Amo delivered himself of
his lecture; "The Past and Present. What we may Glean from Them, and Their
Influence on the Future." At seven the court-room was crowded, and Miss
Tibbs, seated on the platform (reserved for prominent citizens), viewed
the expectant throng with rapture. It is possible that she would have
confessed to witnessing a sea of faces, but it is more probable that she
viewed the expectant throng. The thermometer stood at eighty-seven degrees
and there was a rustle of incessantly moving palm-leaf fans as, row by
row, their yellow sides twinkled in the light of eight oil lamps. The
stouter ladies wielded their fans with vigor. There were some very pretty
faces in Mr. Halloway's audience, but it is a peculiarity of Plattville
that most of those females who do not incline to stoutness incline far in
the opposite direction, and the lean ladies naturally suffered less from
the temperature than their sisters. The shorn lamb is cared for, but often
there seems the intention to impart a moral in the refusal of Providence
to temper warm weather to the full-bodied.
Old Tom Martin expressed a strong consciousness of such intention when he
observed to the shocked Miss Selina, as Mr. Bill Snoddy, the stoutest
citizen of the county, waddled abnormally up the aisle: "The Almighty must
be gittin" a heap of fun out of Bill Snoddy to-night."
"Oh, Mr. Martin!" exclaimed Miss Tibbs, fluttering at his irreverence.
"Why, you would yourself. Miss Seliny," returned old Tom. Mr. Martin
always spoke in one key, never altering the pitch of his high, dry,
unctuous drawl, though, when his purpose was more than ordinarily
humorous, his voice assumed a shade of melancholy. Now and then he
meditatively passed his fingers through his gray beard, which followed the
line of his jaw, leaving his upper lip and most of his chin smooth-shaven.
"Did you ever reason out why folks laugh so much at fat people?" he
continued. "No, ma'am. Neither'd anybody else."
"Why is it, Mr. Martin?" asked Miss Selina.
"It's like the Creator's sayin', 'Let there be light.' He says, 'Let
ladies be lovely--'" (Miss Tibbs bowed)--"and 'Let men-folks be honest--
sometimes;' and, 'Let fat people be held up to ridicule till they fall
off.' You can't tell why it is; it was jest ordained that-a-way."