WALL, one day jist shortly after sap season wuz over, we wuz all sottin' round Ezra Hoskins's store, talkin' on things in general, when up drove Si Pettingill with a load of brooms. Wall, we all took a long breath, and got ready to see some as tall bargainin' as wuz ever done in Punkin Centre. 'Cause Si, he could see a bargain through a six-inch plank¹ on a dark night, and Ezra could hear a dollar bill rattle² in a bag of feathers a mile off, and we all felt mighty³ sartin suthin' wuz a goin' to happen. Wall, Si, he sort er stood 'round, didn't say much, and Ezra got most uncommonly⁴ busy—he had more business than a town marshal on circus day.  
Wall, after he had sold Aunt Nancy Smith three yards of caliker, and Ruben Hendricks a jack-knife, and swapped⁶ Jim Lawson a plug of tobacker fer a muskrat⁷ hide, he sed: "How's things over your way, Si?" Si remarked: "things wuz 'bout⁸ as usual, only the water had bin⁹ most uncommon⁵ high, White Fork had busted¹⁰ loose and overflowed¹¹ everything, Sprosby's mill wuz washed out, and Lige Willits's paster wuz all under water, which made it purty hard on the cows, and Lige had to strain the milk two or three times to git the minnews out of it. Whitaker's young 'uns wuz all havin' measles¹² to onct, ............