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A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court | Mark Twain | |
The Yankee And The King Sold As Slaves |
Page 5 of 7 |
"Proceed, my liege; after you is manners." The king gasped: "Follow me down, and then back thyself against one side of the trunk, and leave me the other. Then will we fight. Let each pile his dead according to his own fashion and taste." Then he descended, barking and coughing, and I followed. I struck the ground an instant after him; we sprang to our appointed places, and began to give and take with all our might. The powwow and racket were prodigious; it was a tempest of riot and confusion and thick-falling blows. Suddenly some horse-men tore into the midst of the crowd, and a voice shouted: "Hold -- or ye are dead men!" How good it sounded! The owner of the voice bore all the marks of a gentleman: picturesque and costly raiment, the aspect of command, a hard countenance, with complexion and features marred by dissipation. The mob fell humbly back, like so many spaniels. The gentleman inspected us critically, then said sharply to the peasants: "What are ye doing to these people?" "They be madmen, worshipful sir, that have come wandering we know not whence, and --" "Ye know not whence? Do ye pretend ye know them not?" "Most honored sir, we speak but the truth. They are strangers and unknown to any in this region; and they be the most violent and bloodthirsty madmen that ever --" "Peace! Ye know not what ye say. They are not mad. Who are ye? And whence are ye? Explain." |
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A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court Mark Twain |
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