For the victim, cannily
anxious to prove his valor, insisted on having the operation conducted
before the front window; and after it was accomplished, the squads of
boys waiting at the gate for his apotheosis or downfall, gave an
unwilling yet delighted yell. He had not winced; and when, with the
fire of a dear ambition still shining in his eyes, he held up the tooth
to them, through the glass, they realized that he, and he only, could
with justice take the crown of that most glorious day. He must ride
inside the elephant.
So it came to pass that when the procession wound slowly up from the
cross-road, preceded by the elephant, lifting his trunk at rhythmic
intervals, Nicholas Oldfield saw his little Mary, her eyes shining and
her cheeks aglow, sitting proudly upon a sledge, drawn by the
handsomest young man in town. A pang may have struck the old man's
heart, realizing that Phil Marden was so splendid in his strength, and
that he wore so sweet a look of invitation; but he remembered Mary's
vow and was content. A great pride and peace enwrapped him when the
procession halted at the Flat-Iron Lot, and the minister, lifting up
his voice, explained to the townspeople why they were called upon to
pause.
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