Splendid biceps ! Now , boys , see here : this is what I call muscle . ' And Nan delivered a short lecture with Dan 's sinewy arm to illustrate it . Tom retired to the alcove and glowered at the stars , while he swung his own right arm with a vigour suggestive of knocking someone down . ` Make Tom sexton ; he 'll enjoy burying the patients Nan kills . He 's trying to get up the glum expression proper to the business . Do n't forget him , Dan , ' said Ted , directing attention to the blighted being in the corner . But Tom never sulked long , and came out from his brief eclipse with the cheerful proposition : ` Look here , we 'll get the city to ship out to Dansville all the cases of yellow fever , smallpox , and cholera that arrive ; then Nan will be happy and her mistakes wo n't matter much with emigrants and convicts . ' ' I should advise settling near Jacksonville , or some such city , that you might enjoy the society of cultivated persons . The Plato Club is there , and a most ardent thirst for philosophy . Everything from the East is welcomed hospitably , and new enterprises would flourish in such kindly soil , ' observed Mr March , mildly offering a suggestion , as he sat among the elders enjoying the lively scene . The idea of Dan studying Plato was very funny ; but no one except naughty Ted smiled , and Dan made haste to unfold another plan seething in that active brain of his . ` I 'm not sure the farming will succeed , and have a strong leaning towards my old friends the Montana Indians . They are a peaceful tribe , and need help awfully ; hundreds have died of starvation because they do n't get their share . The Sioux are fighters , thirty thousand strong , so Government fears 'em , and gives 'em all they want . I call that a damned shame ! ' Dan stopped short as the oath slipped out , but his eyes flashed , and he went on quickly : ` It is just that , and I wo n't beg pardon . If I 'd had any money when I was there I 'd have given every cent to those poor devils , cheated out of everything , and waiting patiently , after being driven from their own land to places where nothing will grow . Now , honest agents could do much , and I 've a feeling that I ought to go and lend a hand . I know their lingo , and I like 'em .
I 've got a few thousands , and I ai n't sure I have any XXXXX to spend it on myself and settle down to enjoy it .
Club Dan Nan Plato Ted Tom emigrants right sexton starvation