I pass like night from land to land,
I have strange power of speech;
So soon as e'er his face I see,
I know the man that must hear me,
To him my tale I teach.
--_Rime of the Ancient Mariner._
Having the funds to tide over a couple of days, I set out early
next morning for Syracuse. At 11:00 P. M. we tramped tired and
foot-sore into the village of Fayetteville, having traveled twenty
miles, the longest day's journey yet made.
My donkey was fagged out. The stable men could hardly get him into
his stall; but Mac had great recuperative power, and was so frisky
in the morning that we resumed the march to the Salt City. It was
still some distance to the city when an incident happened to mar
the pleasure of our peaceful walk. In passing a large dairy farm,
Mac's grotesque figure excited either the admiration or the
contempt of an ugly-looking bull, which left a small bunch of
cattle in the field and trotted along the dilapidated fence. His
actions were frightfully menacing, and I urged Mac to a faster
gait. Suddenly the bull broke through the fence, bellowing, and
made for us, head down.
My first thought was to save Mac's life. The leather-rimmed
goggles he wore placed him at a disadvantage, aside from the fact
that the road was icy and denied us a secure footing. Then, too,
Mac carried seventy-five pounds burden, including my grip, the
saddle and rifle. I was wholly unprepared for the bull; my
revolver was unloaded, I having made it a rule to withdraw the
cartridges every morning. As the brute lunged at my donkey, I
struck Mac with my whip and wheeled him about with the reins in
time to dodge the enemy. Recovering himself, the enraged bull made
another lunge at my spry partner, and still another, the third
time scraping off a tuft of hair with one of his horns. I could
only assist Mac with the reins while striking the bull over the
face with the cutting rawhide. I yelled for help. A quarter mile
away stood a farm house, and in front of it two men gawking at our
"circus," indifferent to our peril.
I never was more active than during those awful moments; Mac
afterward said he never was so busy in all his life. So rapidly
did we three pirouette, the bull after Mac, the donkey after me,
and I after the bull, that the two human statues in the distance
must have taxed their optics to distinguish which was which. So
dizzy did I become that I wheeled Mac round and started in the
opposite direction, the enemy bellowing, I calling, and the donkey
braying to beat a fire-boat whistle. Finally, I heard the glad
sound of approaching wheels from up the road, and at a glance saw
a horse and buggy. As it came nearer, I distinguished a woman
driving, and my heart sank. Surely she would not have the courage
to venture into our very midst; she must soon turn round. A man
might drive to our aid.
Still we three kept busy, until the rig wheeled down upon us, the
prancing horse so distracting the bull that he shied to the
opposite side, and, forgetting us, set out on a trot after the
receding vehicle, lowing vexatiously. I held my breath. Soon we
collected our senses and hustled on until the enemy was lost to
view. There are many who would call our rescue a marvel; Mac said
it was just our "luck;" but I thought it miraculous.
A prominent hotel in Syracuse welcomed me as its honored guest,
and crowds cheered us to the door. I had consumed six weeks
traveling from New York, a distance of 340 miles, although by rail
the mileage shrinks to 303.
It was Friday, January 8. I was tendered a private box at the
theatre that evening, and the following day Mac and I appeared on
the stage between acts, at both the matinee and evening
performances, I receiving five dollars for each appearance.
Saturday I devoted to business; and was invited to the Elks'
entertainment in the evening. At noon on Monday we headed for
Auburn.
A heavy snow accompanied a fall of the mercury. Great drifts had
formed during the night, reaching anywhere from inches to feet,
and from yard to yard. My spirits were low. The first eight miles
to Camillus were covered in four hours. After a good rest and poor
fodder, we strode on over the white and solitary road seven more
miles to Elbridge, where, at eight o'clock, I registered at a cozy
hostelry, and ordered that Mac be cared for and my supper at once
be prepared. Then I hastened to canvass the stores, disposing of
three photos at fifteen cents apiece. My over-night expenses would
be a dollar and a half; I lacked forty-five cents of the amount.
But that did not disconcert me. The hotel was composed of bricks,
and its proprietor was one of them: a jovial Grand Army man who
wore a big soft hat, and a blue coat with brass buttons. His
cranium was chock full of entertaining reminiscence, too.
At that time, men were engaged with mule-teams hauling stone for
repairing the canal, and the hotel was filled with an incongruous
lot of teamsters and laborers. Judging by their roguish remarks,
it would be wise of me to place my donkey under lock and key; but
when I hinted it to my host, he assured me my fears were
unwarranted.
I was assigned a large chamber on the main floor, next to the
dining room. There was no lock to the door; I complained about it.
"Nobody will molest you," said my host. I soon fell to sleep. Long
before daylight I was awakened by the juggling of plates and
cutlery, and the racking of a stove. It was impossible to sleep
during such a hubub, so I proposed to smoke. Rising from bed and
groping in darkness, I hunted for the electric light button
hanging from the ceiling, but had proceeded only a few steps when,
suddenly, I fell headlong over a huge, hairy substance, which
moved and yawned.
Hamlet's ghost! Was this really midwinter's night dream? I sat on
the floor for a moment to set my dislocated big toe on the off
foot, then staggered timorously to my feet, found the cord, and
turned on the light. Could I believe my eyes? There lay Mac
A'Rony. He gazed at me in mute bewilderment and blinked like an
owl, then presently rose to the occasion, brayed, and charged at
the donkey in the mirror. It was enough to awaken the whole
village when the excited animal rushed around the room with the
mirror frame for a collar, vaulting chairs, bed, and table, and
exerting his best efforts to kick holes in the walls and ceiling.
"What in damnation is the racket!" yelled the proprietor, as he
came running to my room. I thought to disarm him by being the
first to complain, for I expected some harsh invectives to be
hurled my way.
"You said I should not be molested!" I said indignantly, standing
on a mantle shelf in my night shirt.
"Well! It's the first time my house was ever turned into a
stable," retorted the erstwhile jovial Grand Army man.
"And it's the first time I ever was made to room with a jackass,"
I returned, in a rage.
By this time Mac had stuck a foot in the frame-collar in trying to
clear the stove, and had fallen. I quickly leaped from my perch,
and my now more conciliating host helped to disengage the beast
from his wooden harness, and give him a forcible exit. Then we
dressed, and set to work clearing the room. Of course, the cook
rushed in to have her say; otherwise, that hotel was suspiciously
quiet, considering what had happened.
When I went to breakfast the landlord met me with a smile; it
surprised and pleased me. I concluded that the practical jokers
had settled everything to his satisfaction. My table mates were
unusually uncommunicative; their conversation hung mournfully on
the weather. My breakfast finished, I went to my host and informed
him of the state of my finances.
"Two mule-drivers were discharged last night," he observed. "I
could have got you a job if you had told me in time."
Right here an aged townsman came in, stamping the snow off his
boots, unwound a great tippet from his neck, and regarding the
clay-besmeared floor, delivered his opinion to the landlord.
"Gol blast me! If I run a house a lookin' like this, I'd close up
and go out of the business," the granger remarked, with a critical
eye to the floor and a wink at me.
"I agree with you," said I; "Price ought to pay a quarter to have
the floor cleaned.
"It would be worth twice that sum to me to see you clean it," he
returned, humorously.
"It's a bargain!" so saying, I pulled off my coat, and called for
a mop and a pail of hot water.
The landlord seemed to regard the incident as a good joke; so did
Pye Pod. Rolling up my trousers and shirt sleeves, I fell to work.
The old man fled to spread the news, as soon as he saw I was in
earnest. My first sweep with the old mop shattered it; the
landlord lost no time procuring a new one. Then I went at it as
though it were my special line of trade, and so deeply absorbed
was I in the novel undertaking that less than half of the
population of the village filed into the room without my comment.
There were men and women, young and old and middling, and children
bound for school; all around, backing against the walls and
windows, commenting, laughing, and joking; while I just mopped,
and with new jokes helped make merry, for I felt that was an
experience of a lifetime for all of us.
A pretty girl snapped a kodak at me; she took fifteen orders for
pictures within a minute. I was gratified to see all enjoy
themselves. Still I kept mopping, and watched the clock to see how
much time was left before school. MY time was coming; I wanted
everybody to hear my story. They didn't know a thing about me or
Mac A'Rony, except through newspaper reports, which are not always
reliable. Finally, I dropped my mop and straightened up to rest my
lame back.
"Does that suit you?" I asked the landlord.
"A handsomer job was never done this floor," said he; "you have
earned your money."
Every one evidently wished to see me paid. As I received the cash,
I whispered to my host to hand me the key to the door, expressing
my purpose with a sly wink, which he hardly interpreted. The
silver jingled with the brass in my hands, and I went to the door
and locked it. Then walking to the desk, I turned, faced my
audience without a blush, bowed low, and said:
"Ladies and gentlemen, and children of Elbridge;" then gave a
brief account of my travels from New York. My words pleased, and
were greeted with laughter. But they had not heard my peroration.
"We rarely appreciate anything that costs us nothing," I began my
conclusion. "In New York, a show such as I have just provided
would cost at least a dollar and a half for orchestra chairs and
fifty cents for the family circle; this seems to be the family
circle. Now, to save the bother of printing tickets and posters,
we admitted you to the show without delaying you at the door in
the frosty air, and one and all, old and young, must pay me five
cents before you leave this room. The door is locked, and I hold
the key. Those of you ladies who left your purses on the piano can
borrow of your gentlemen friends, who, doubtless, will be ready to
help you out of your dilemma. Some of you may demur, and complain
of hard times, but said excuses will not hold with me; I carry
hard times with me whither I go on my long journey, whereas you
have yours only in one place. As soon as all have paid me, the
door will be unlocked, and not until. I thank you for your
unsolicited audience, and trust that the next time we meet the
circumstances will be as happy for us all as they have been this
January morning."
My speech must have been forceful, for the nickels poured into my
hat. As each individual paid I motioned him or her to the opposite
side of the room, to guard against humbugging. The landlord had to
come to the financial relief of a few, but the door was opened in
time for school, and everybody departed with evident good feeling.
My host was the most astonished of all, and, with a hearty grip of
the hand, predicted that I would reach my destination. Without
delay I settled my account with him, saddled Mac A'Rony, and with
$2.80 to the good started for Auburn. The last denizen of the
village to bid me God-speed was the philanthropist who unwittingly
procured me my "bill" for the hotel show, and then filled my purse
for me.