How will this do?"

'Report says that Monday's Agricultural Demonstration
--a full report of which will be found in
another column--was not without its comic relief,
beloved of dramatists. On dit that--'"

"On what?"

"Dit. Misprint, perhaps."

'On dit that two highly respected sons of the
brine, recently settled in our midst, and one of
whom has recently been elected to teach our young
ideas how to shoot, were so fired with emulation
by the ploughing in Class C as to challenge one
another then and there to a trial of prowess, much
to the entertainment of our agricultural friends.
The stakes were for a considerable amount, and
the two heroes who had elected to plough something
more solid than the waves, quickly found
themselves the observed of all observers. Rumour,
that lying jade, hints at a lady in the case.
Certain it is that the pair, whose names have of
late been syn--been sy-nonymous--with,'--

"--O Lor'! here's a heap of it, master!"

"Skip the long syllables an' get on."

"H'm--m--"

'--acquitted themselves to the astonishment of the
judges, and of everybody else in the field.
Search out the lady, as our Gallic neighbours say.'

--"Where's Gallic?"

"Don't know. Ask Shake Benny. He supplies the Troy Notes to the
'Herald.'"

"Oh, does he?"

"Yes: he gets his gossip off Philp; and dresses it up. That's how it's
done. Philp has a nose like a ferret's: but he was unfort'nit in his
education. You may trust Philp to get at the facts--leastways you can
trust him for gossip: but he can't dress anything up. . . . Why, what's
the matter with the child?"

Fancy Tabb never laughed: and this was the queerer because she had a
sense of humour beyond her years. Though by no means a gleeful child
she could express glee naturally enough: but a joke merely affected her
with silent convulsive twitchings, as though the risible faculties
struggled somewhere within her but could not bring the laugh to birth.

These spasms of mirth, whatever had provoked them, were cut short--and
her explanation too--by a heavy footstep on the stairs.

"Cap'n Hunken!" she announced, and went to open the door. "Most like he
wants to talk business with you same as Cap'n Hocken did this morning,
and I'd better make myself scarce. That's the silly way they've taken
to behave, 'stead of callin' together."

"Ay, you're sharp, missy," sai