The Thread Man did not step half so far, and landed knee
deep in the icy oil-covered slush of the ditch. That threw him
off his balance, and Jimmy let him sink one arm in the pool, and
then grabbed him, and scooped oil on his back with the other hand
as he pulled. During the excitement and struggles of Jimmy and
the Thread Man, the rest of the party jumped the ditch and
gathered about, rubbing soot and oil on the Boston man, and he
did not see how they crossed.
Jimmy continued to rub oil and soot into the hated coat
industriously. The dogs leaped the ditch, and the instant they
struck the woods broke away baying over fresh tracks. The men
yelled like mad. Jimmy struggled into his overcoat, and helped
the almost insane Boston man into his and then they hurried after
the dogs.
The scent was so new and clear the dogs simply raged. The Thread
Man was wild, Jimmy was wilder, and the thirteen contributed all
they could for laughing. Dannie forgot to be ashamed of himself
and followed the example of the crowd. Deeper and deeper into the
wild, swampy Canoper led the chase. With a man on either side to
guide him into the deepest holes and to shove him into bushy
thickets, the skinned, soot-covered, oil-coated Boston man toiled
and sweated. He had no time to think, the excitement was so
intense.
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