'Zekiel then put up both
of his feet and kicked with them in such a way that Hiram was unable to
approach him.
'Zekiel called out, "It's Hiram Maxwell," and the room rang with the
laughs and cries of the girls.
'Zekiel, having guessed who it was, was marched off to the right of the
line of girls.
Strout called out, "Let's play something else," but the sentiment of the
company seemed to be that it wasn't fair to the others not to give them
a chance, so the game continued. Quincy was the next one called, and to
still further increase the disgust of Strout and Abner, instead of Hiram
leaving the door, as before, one of the girls stepped out from the line,
at a signal from Huldy, and kissed Quincy. He guessed that it was Miss
Huldy Mason, and was greeted with the same cries that Strout had heard.
He took his place at the left with the latter.
Strout leaned over and whispered in Abner's ear, "That was a put-up job.
I'll get even with Hiram Maxwell before I get through."
The game continued until all the men had been called in. With the
exception of Emmanuel Howe, none of them were able to guess who it was.
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