, those Caledonias didn't do so badly. I give them that
much. Look at the water fly! I'll bet those folks near the judges' stand
wish they'd brought their umbrellas. Now you see why these are the best
seats, don't you? I told you I'd been to Firemen's Tournaments before.
What? You'll have to talk louder than that if you want me to hear with
all this noise.... Oh, that'll be all right. They'll be so hungry they
won't notice it.

Here, be careful how you wabble that hose around. Good thing they turned
the water off at the plug just when they did or we'd have been--Here's
our company. Where's Caledonia now? Eh? Pretty work! Pretty work! Say,
do you know that hose full of water's heavy? Now watch Riley. Riley's
the one that's got the nozzle. Always up to some monkeyshine. Ah!
See him? See him? Oh, is n't he soaking them? Oh-ho! Ho! Ho! ha! ha!
hee-hee! Yip.

Blame clumsy fool!... P-too! Yes, in my mouth and in my ears and down
the back of my neck. All over. Running out of my sleeves. Everything
I got on is just ruined. Completely ruined. Come on. Let's go home.
There's nothing more to see, much. Aw, come on. Well, stay if you want
to, but I'm going home, and get some dry clothes on me. You get me to go
to another Firemen's Tournament and you'll know it. Look at that monkey
from Caledonia laughing at me. For half a cent I'd go up and smack his
face for him.... Aw, let up on your "Where's Caledonia now?" Give us a
rest. Well, are you coming, you folks?... Kind of a fizzle this year,
wasn't it?

However, after supper, with dry clothes on, it isn't so bad. The streets
are packed. All the firemen are parading and shouting: "Who? Who? Who
are we?" The Caledonias got one more prize than our boys. Well, why
shouldn't they? Entered in three more events. I don't see as that's
anything to brag of or to carry brooms about. All the fife-and-drum
corps are out, and the bands are all playing "Hiawatha" at once, but
not together. Not all either. There's one band in front of Hofmeyer's
playing "Oh, Happy Day! That Fixed my Choce." That's funny: to play a
hymn-tune in front of a beer-saloon. Hofmeyer seems to think it's all
right. He's inviting them in to have something. "Took the hint?" I don't
understand.... Oh, is that so? I didn't know there were other words to
that tune.

See that woman with four little ones. Her husband's carrying two more.
"I want to go howm. Why cain't we gow howm? I do' want to gow howm
pretty soon. I want to g