That a fight was on, I had not the slightest doubt in the world. I caught my breath in a gasp. I saw Jud loosen his arm in his coat-sleeve. Ump was as sensitive as any cripple, and he was afraid of no man. To my astonishment he smiled and waved his hand. "I 'm cheek to your jowl, Parson," he said; "set out the O-be-joyful."
"Hey, Roy!" called Peppers, "bring another pitcher for Humpty Dumpty." Then he kicked the table with his great cowhide boots and began to bellow:
"Zaccheus he clum a tree
His Lord an' Master for to see;
The limb did break an' he did fall,
An' he did n't git to see his Lord at all."
Ump and I were seated by the wall, tilted back in the tavern-keeper's split-bottom chairs, while Jud leaned against the door.
The rhyme set the Parson's head to humming, and he began to pat his leg. Then he spied Jud. "Hey, there! Beelzebub," he roared, "can you dust the puncheons?"
"When the devil 's a-fiddlin'," said Jud.
"Ho, the devil," hummed the Parson.
