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The men who stood round much approved this speech, and one of them said, It is desperate hard, and if a man sometimes does what is wrong it is no wonder, and if he gets a dram too much whos to blow him up? Jerry had taken no part in this conversation, but I never saw his face look so sad before. The governor had stood with both his hands in his pockets; now he took his handkerchief out of his hat and wiped his forehead. Youve beaten me, Sam, he said, for its all true, and I wont cast it up to you any more about the police; it was the look in that horses eye that came over me. It is hard lines for man and it is hard lines for beast, and whos to mend it I dont know: but anyway you might tell the poor beast that you were sorry to take it out of him in that way. Sometimes a kind word is all we can give em, poor brutes, and tis wonderful what they do understand. A few mornings after this talk a new man came on the stand with Sams cab. Halloo! said one, whats up with Seedy Sam? Hes ill in bed, said the man; he was taken last night in the yard, and could scarcely crawl home. His wife sent a boy this morning to say his father was in a high fever and could not get out, so Im here instead. The next morning the same man came again. How is Sam? inquired the governor. Hes gone, said the man. What, gone? You dont mean to say hes dead? Just snuffed out, said the other; he died at four oclock this morning; all yesterday he was ravingraving about Skinner, and having no Sundays. I never had a Sundays rest, these were his last words. No one spoke for a while, and then the governor said, Ill tell you what, mates, this is a warning for us. |
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