persoom one of her childern are sick, and she sprung right up out
of bed, and come out to get some weather-wort, or catnip, or
sunthin'."

And as I spoke I drawed Josiah down a side path away from her.
But he stopped stun still and sez he, "Mebby I ought to go and
help her Samantha."

Sez I, "Josiah Allen, sense I lived with you, I don't think I have
been shamder of you;" sez I, "it would mortify her to death if she
should mistrust you had seen her in that condition."

"Wall," sez he, still a hangin' back, "if the child is very sick,
and I can be any help to her, it is my duty to go."

His eye had been on her nearly every moment of the time, in spite
of my almost voyalent protests, and sez he, kinder excited like,
"She is standin' stun still, as if she is skarit; mebby there is a
snake in front of her or sunthin', or mebby she is took paralysed,
I'd better go and see."

Sez I, in low, deep axents, "You stay where you be, Josiah Allen,
and I will go forward, bein' 2 females together, it is what it is
right to do and if we need your help I will holler."

And finally he consented after a parlay.

Wall, as I got up to her I see she wuzn't a live, meat woman, but
a statute and so I hastened back to my Josiah and told him there
wuzn't no need of his help and he wuz in the right on't -- she wuz