Over at the Stebbins homestead it was very much the same.
"Vosh," said his mother, "you was a dreadful long time at the barn."
"Well, mother, I staid till I"d spelled over every thing I could see.
There"s a good many names to things around a stable, and I spelled every one of "em."
"Did you git "em right, Vosh?"
"Guess I did."
"Would it do ye any good to have some other kind of spellin"-book, so you"d know more words?"
"That isn"t the trouble, mother. It kind o" seems to me I know so many now, I can"t remember half of "em."
"Don"t you git spelled down, now, Vosh. You won"t, will ye, not with Susie Hudson and her brother a-lookin" on?"
Vosh"s face put on a pretty sober expression as he muttered,--
"Guess I wouldn"t like that."
The quiet winter days went by rapidly, and nothing came in them to interrupt in any way the steadily growing excitement over the great spelling-match.
All the arrangements for it were discussed over and over, until at last there was nothing more to be settled, and the set day came.
"Corry," said Port, when the sleigh drove to the door after supper, and they were hurrying on their overcoats, "seems to me I couldn"t spell the shortest word I ever heard."
"If you get scared, you"ll miss, sure"s you live. Now, Port, we"ve just got to beat "em."
Vosh and his cutter came up at that moment, and Mrs. Stebbins stepped out with the remark,--
"Deacon, you must make room for me. I"ll swop with Susie. I want a talk with Judith and Sarah."
"Come, Susie," said Vosh. "I"ve been teaching my colt to spell."
There was no spare room in the big sleigh, for the farmhouse was left in charge of Ponto and the hired man.
Mrs. Farnham and aunt Judith would not for any thing have missed hearing for themselves how Penelope and Coriola.n.u.s, and Susie and Porter, managed their long words at Cobbleville.
The red cutter was jingling away down the road before the black span was in motion, but somehow the two sets of pa.s.sengers reached Cobbleville at about the same time. Eight miles of excellent sleighing does not last long before fast horses, and there was to be no such thing as being late.
"This is Cobbleville, Susie."
"It"s not so much bigger than Benton. I don"t believe we shall be beaten."
Something like that same suggestion cheered up Porter Hudson a little, as the deacon drove into the village; but the faces of Pen and Corry were very serious. There was a great trial before them, and they knew it,--a very great trial; for the tall-steepled, white-painted meeting-house in the middle of the village-green was hardly large enough to hold the crowd which was now pouring into it. The people had come from miles and miles all over the country; and those of the Cobbleville district were not only the more numerous, but seemed to be in a sort of exultation over a victory they were sure to win.
Deacon Farnham and his party managed to secure seats, and then they could look around them. Up on the platform, behind the pulpit-desk, were several very dignified gentlemen; and it did the Benton people good to see Elder Evans among them.
"He"s come to see fair play," whispered Corry. "He won"t let "em put out any words they ought not to. Our chance is good."
That was encouraging; and at that very moment Elder Evans arose, and came forward to say to his own parishioners,--
"Some of our friends of the Cobbleville district have visitors among their young people, and the committee have consented to their taking part in the exercises."
"That fixes you and Susie all right," said Corry. "They can"t object to you now."
Of course not; and the other final arrangements were speedily completed.
It was simple enough, or would have been if there had not been so many boys and girls who had not learned to stand still. The pews and the galleries, all but a few of the very forward pews, were given up to the general public.
The young folk from the Benton district were made to stand in the right-hand aisle, in a line that reached from the platform to the door.
The other aisle belonged to Cobbleville, and its line of spellers came near being a double one.
"Two to our one, Port," said Corry; "but they"ll thin out fast enough after we begin to spell."
There was no such thing as selecting places at first. The spelling began at the head of each line, alternating from one to the other. If the speller missed, he or she sat down wherever a seat could be found; but, as fast as words were spelled rightly, their happy victors were ent.i.tled to march to the heads of their lines, and so these were kept continually in motion. It was a proud thing to walk up the whole length of that meeting-house again and again, but it was not so proud to walk down the aisle hunting for a seat.
"I see how it is," said Port.
"Yes, it"s great fun; and the last one up gets the dictionary."
It had been agreed that neither of the school-teachers should give out the words, and Elder Evans had modestly insisted that the pastor of the Cobbleville church should perform that duty.
"Won"t he kill "em off, though!" exclaimed Corry dolefully.
"Won"t he play fair?"
"Why, yes, he"ll be honest enough, I s"pose. But then he p.r.o.nounces so!
Wait till you hear him."
It was about time to begin, and the two boys and Pen found themselves quite a little distance down the line below Vosh and Susie.
"That"s Elder Keyser. Oh, but isn"t that a big dictionary! Hush! he"s giving out a word."
n.o.body needed to be told that, for it was given in a deep, very heavy voice, that was heard all over the house; but Port at once understood all about Elder Keyser"s p.r.o.nunciation.
The poor word was in a manner tumbled neck and heels out of the good man"s mouth, with a sort of vocal kick to hurry it; and there were chances of serious injury to any syllable that should happen to stumble.
"Hypocrite!" shouted the elder to the curly-headed youngster at the head of the Cobbleville line.
"H-i-p"--
"That"ll do. Give an example, and take your seat."
"Example," piped the boy, "puttin" a bad cent in the contribution-box."
"Next. Hypocrite."
The bright little girl at the head of the Benton aisle spelled it correctly, and Elder Evans raised his head high to smile on her.