Page:Paine--J Archibauld McKaney collector of whiskers.djvu/69

  "They will be missed, because they were distinctly decorative," he added.

From the end of the bar there came the subdued harmony of an impromptu quartet singing:

Wilkins opined that it was time to move, and Mr. Colby promised to deliver his melodious hirelings at their destination in shipshape order. I will say for Mr. Colby that he did deliver his consignment intact, but their arrival at my place was unpleasantly spectacular. From the railroad station they marched into my grounds in column of twos with half the village at their heels. Mr. Colby's Harvard friends had festooned their whiskers with bows of crimson ribbon and at frequent intervals they shouted a stentorian cheer which wound up with:

[51