A never intermittent procession of pedestrians and vehicles
made its way to the station; and every wagon, buckboard, buggy, and
cut-under had its flags or bunting, or streamer of ribbons tied to the
whip. The excitement increased as the time grew shorter; those on foot
struggled for better positions, and the people in wagons and carriages
stood upon seats, while the pedestrians besieged them, climbing on the
wheels, or balancing recklessly, with feet on the hubs of opposite wagons.
Everybody was bound to see _him_. When the whistle announced the coming of
the train, the band began to play, the cannon fired, horns blew, and the
cheering echoed and reechoed till heaven's vault resounded with the noise
the people of Carlow were making.
There was one heart which almost stopped beating. Helen was standing on
the front seat of the Briscoe buckboard, with Minnie beside her, and, at
the commotion, the horses pranced and backed so that Lige Willetts ran to
hold them; but she did not notice the frightened roans, nor did she know
that Minnie clutched her round the waist to keep her from falling. Her
eyes were fixed intently on the smoke of the far-away engine, and her
hand, lifted to her face in an uncertain, tremulous fashion, as it was one
day in a circus tent, pressed against the deepest blush that ever mantled
a girl's cheek.
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