Joe was an old friend of Julie's pa. Joe went to Jim the
next day and told him what would happen if he ever
done it again.
I don't know how the news of this little affair leaked
out. Chances is that Joe Barnes told his wife and she
told somebody else's wife and they told their husband.
Anyways, it did leak out and Hod Meyers had the nerve
to kid Jim about it, right here in this shop. Jim didn't
deny nothin' and kind of laughed it off and said for us all
to wait; that lots of people had tried to make a monkey
out of him, but he always got even.
Meanw'ile everybody in town was wise to Julie's bein'
wild mad over the Doc. I don't suppose she had any
idear how her face changed when him and her was
together; of course she couldn't of, or she'd of kept
away from him. And she didn't know that we was all
noticin' how many times she made excuses to go up to
his office or pass it on the other side of the street and
look up in his window to see if he was there. I felt sorry
for her and so did most other people.
Hod Meyers kept rubbin' it into Jim about how the Doc
had cut him out. Jim didn't pay no attention to the kiddin'
and you could see he was plannin' one of his jokes.
One trick Jim had was the knack of changin' his voice.
He could make you think he was a girl talkin' and he
HYLAND
