says I , stupid like . ` Nobody , ' says he . ' A week ago Tuesday night I was lying here awake -- and I jest knew . I 'd suspicioned it before , but then I KNEW . I 've been keeping up for the wife 's sake . And I 'd LIKE to have got that barn built , for Eben 'll never get it right . But anyhow , now that you 've eased your mind , Jim , put on a smile and tell me something interesting , ' Well , there it was . They 'd been so scared to tell him and he knew it all the time . Strange how nature looks out for us , ai n't it , and lets us know what we should know when the time comes ? Did I never tell you the yarn about Henry getting the fish hook in his nose , Mistress Blythe ? '' `` No . '' `` Well , him and me had a laugh over it today . It happened nigh unto thirty years ago . Him and me and several more was out mackerel fishing one day . It was a great day -- never saw such a school of mackerel in the gulf -- and in the general excitement Henry got quite wild and contrived to stick a fish hook clean through one side of his nose . Well , there he was ; there was barb on one end and a big piece of lead on the other , so it could n't be pulled out . We wanted to take him ashore at once , but Henry was game ; he said he 'd be jiggered if he 'd leave a school like that for anything short of lockjaw ; then he kept fishing away , hauling in hand over fist and groaning between times . Fin ` lly the school passed and we come in with a load ; I got a file and begun to try to file through that hook . I tried to be as easy as I could , but you should have heard Henry -- no , you should n't either . It was well no ladies were around .
XXXXX was n't a swearing man , but he 'd heard some few matters of that sort along shore in his time , and he fished 'em all out of his recollection and hurled 'em at me .
Blythe Eben Henry Jim barb day file laugh lockjaw right