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"But if Juliet's such a young gal, Duke, my peeled head and my white

whiskers is goin' to look uncommon odd on her, maybe."

"No, don't you worry -- these country jakes won't ever think of that. Be-

sides, you know, you'll be in costume, and that makes all the difference in the

world; Juliet's in a balcony, enjoying the moonlight before she goes to bed,

and she's got on her night-gown and her ruffled night- cap. Here are the

costumes for the parts." ssssssssss

He got out two or three curtain-calico suits, which he said was meedyevil

armor for Richard III and t'other chap, and a long white cotton night-shirt

and a ruffled night-cap to match. The king was satisfied; so the duke got out

his book and read the parts over in the most splendid spread-eagle way, prancing

around and acting at the same time, to show how it had got to be done; then

he give the book to the king and told him to get his part by heart.

There was a little one-horse town about three mile down the bend, and

after dinner the duke said he had ciphered out his idea about how to run

in daylight without it being dangersome for Jim; so he allowed he would

go down to the town and fix that thing. The king allowed he would go

too, and see if he couldn't strike something. We was out of coffee, so Jim

said I better go along with them in the canoe and get some.

When we got there, there warn't nobody stirring; streets empty, and

perfectly dead and still, like Sunday. We found a sick nigger sunning him-

self in a back yard, and he said everybody that warn't too young or too sick

or too old, was gone to camp-meeting, about two mile back in the woods.

The king got the directions, and allowed he'd go and work that camp-meeting

for all it was worth, and I might go, too.

The duke said what he was after was a printing office. We found it; a little

bit of a concern, up over a carpenter shop -- carpenters and printers all gone to

the meeting, and no doors locked. It was a dirty, littered-up place, and had

ink marks, and handbills with pictures of horses and runaway niggers on them,

all over the walls. The duke shed his coat and said he was all right, now. So

me and the king lit out for the camp-meeting.

We got there in about a half an hour, fairly dripping, for it was a most awful

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