She mistrusted he had wandered off the Fair ground, and that clever creeter wuz willin' to leave all the allurements that wuz allurin' her here to hunt for him.
I sez, "I don't believe he is there.

But, oh, where shall we find him?
and what state will he be in when found!" Knowin' the past as we did, we feared for the worst.

But jest then Billy Huff happened to pass by and stopped and asked what wuz the matter.
"Oh!" sez I, with the tears runnin' down my cheeks in copious as torrents, "my pardner is lost!" "Where did you lose him ?" sez he.
I told him how it wuz and he sez, "I'll bet I can find him for you; I remember his talkin' last night about a certain place." [Illustration] Sez I in tearful axents, "Oh, do! do try, and ease the heart of a distracted companion." But when he mentioned the place he thought he wuz I repelled the insinuation with scorn.

It wuz one of the most hilarious and vain places of revelry at the Fair, where there wuz lots of bally girls and etcetery, and I sez: "No, indeed! He may have gone into some meetin' house and wandered up into the steeple onbeknown to him, or some educational exhibit, or Bible rooms, but never, never in that place." But yieldin' to his arguments I consented to go with him sayin' we would stay at the door while he reconoitered.

But jest as we got to the door who should we see comin' out radiant and smilin' but Josiah Allen and Uncle Sime Bentley.
Billy sez, "What did I tell you ?" I couldn't frame a reply, I had no frame that fitted the remark, but as Billy disappeared to once it didn't matter.