board. Pulling up at a hydrant, Clancy said to His Honor:—
“As I was a-hangin’ onto this dom thing, a-thinkin’ it was going to bang into a big jam at two crossroads, I says, ‘By Gorra! that big pair of blacks wouldn’t bang into nuthin’! But this currazy contraption! It ain’t got no brain—no nuthin’, no soul—nuthin’ but halitosis!!’”
As Gadsby took a long look at Clancy’s “dom thing,” a vision was wafting through his mind of a calm, sunny patch of land, way out in Branton Hills’ suburbs, on which day by day, two big blacks and two big roans could—anyway, taking all things into account, a big conflagration, with its din, rush and panic, is no spot for such animals as “Big Four.” As for Old Bill’s squawk about animals “ruining our paving,” Gadsby thought that was but small talk, for paving, anyway, can’t last for long. But, that is a glorious spot, way out amongst our hills!
Gadsby took his party to a room in City Hall from which that burning factory was in plain sight; and as Nancy and Kathlyn stood watching that awful sight a big wall, crashing down, had a crowd rushing to that spot.
A man’s form was brought out to a patrol
[ 153 ]
