Let 'er go, Abner,
and keep her up till all the fiddle strings are busted."
Like trained soldiers, they sprang to their places. Quincy and his
partner took places near the end of the line. He explained to her that
he had never danced a reel, but thought he could easily learn from
seeing the others, and he told her that when their turn came she need
not fear but that he would do his part.
The Deacon and his wife led off, and their performance caused great
enthusiasm. Sam Hill was not a good dancer, so he resigned Miss Tilly
James to Professor Strout. Miss James was a superb dancer, and as Quincy
looked at her his face showed his appreciation.
His partner saw the glance, and looking up to him said, "Don't you wish
you could dance as well as that?"
"I wish I could," said Quincy. "I have no doubt you can," he added,
looking at his partner's rosy face.
"Well," said she, "you do the best you can, and I'll do the same."
Professor Strout and Tilly did finely, and their performance gained them
an encore, which they granted. One by one the couples went under the
arch of extended arms, and one by one they showed their Terpsichorean
agility on the kitchen floor, over which Mandy Skinner had thoughtfully
sprinkled a handful of house sand.
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