68 EYE SPY 
none o' yeu idjits hain't seen them har snakes 
a-flyin' over the meddy ez I sed, then ye dorit 
know nothiri about ^em. I tell ye I've seen 'em 'n' 
caught 'em !" 
" Say, Amos," slyly asked a jibing neighbor at 
his elbow, " wut did ye hev in the hayin'-pail that 
day?" 
" Waal," drawled Amos, after the momentary 
laughter had subsided, " wutever it wuz, it 'd do 
yeu a power o' good ef yeu'd take one long pull 
on't. It would be a eye-opener fer ye, p'r'aps, 'n' 
yeu'd larn suthin'. You've ben fed with a spoon 
all yer life, 'n' ye swaller wutever they give ye 
without lookin'. Thet's wut ails yeu. Say," he 
continued, trying to get in a word edgewise in 
the prevalent hilarious din, "you idjits er havin' 
a mighty sight o' fun over this 'ere ! I'll give 
ye a chance to show which on ye is the big- 
gest fool. Doos any one o' ye want to bet me 
that ye ain't a pack o' dunces ? Which on ye 
'11 bet me a scythe that wut I say about these 
ar flyin' snakes is all poppycut? Come, naow, 
I'm talkin' bizniss, and if ye ain't a lot o' cowards, 
p'r'aps you'll prove thet ye ain't. I say them 
snakes wuz a-flyin 1 around ez fast ez grasshoppers 
all over the meddy, 'n' ar flyin' thar naow, like 
all-possessed, 'n' I kin prove it. Naow who sez I 
kairit, and will wager me a new scythe on't?" 
A momentary lull followed this challenge, but 
