For a moment I stood looking round upon the ring of clean-cut, eager
faces, tongue-tied and somewhat non-plussed; but seeing with what
unaffected and hearty good will they greeted me, nor heeded my
disfiguring attire, I made my bow and plunged into a full and
particular relation of Jessamy Todd's encounter with the man Tom. As
my narrative progressed, the interest of my audience waxed, and I was
gratified and stimulated by a ripple of excitement and hushed
exclamations which, as I ended, swelled to a ringing cheer for Jessamy
Todd. Thereafter my hand was shaken heartily by one and all, with many
laudations on my descriptive powers, in the midst of which my uncle
Jervas touched me on the shoulder and, bowing my adieux, I took my
departure and thus presently found myself in the open air walking,
rather sheepishly, between my two relatives.
Once beyond eyeshot of the curious, my uncle Jervas paused and fell
back a step, the better to behold me, peering through his glass at
each individual article of my attire and murmuring such ejaculations
as:
"Astounding! Astonishing! Amazing!"
"Tells me he had 'em of a highwayman, Jervas!" volunteered uncle
George.
"A most distressing vision!" sighed my uncle Jervas. "A positive
walking disgust! And yet--hum!"
"And a very creditable pair o' black eyes, Jervas."
"True, George! Our youth has been observing life at close quarters, it
seems."
"B'gad--he has so, brother!" chuckled uncle George.
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