It seemed like an old friend.
"Well," said I. "I'm not at all tired, but I want to be
agreeable."
With that I sat down on a convenient stone, took off my hat,
wiped my forehead, and looked about me with satisfaction, for it
was a pleasant country.
I had not been sitting there above two minutes when my eyes fell
upon one of the oddest specimens of humanity (I thought then)
that ever I saw. He had been standing near the roadside, just
under the tree upon which I had seen the sign, "Rest." My heart
dotted and carried one.
"The sign man himself!" I exclaimed.
I arose instantly and walked down the road toward him.
"A man has only to stop anywhere here," I said exultantly, "and
things happen.
The stranger's appearance was indeed extraordinary. He seemed at
first glimpse to be about twice as large around the hips as he
was at the shoulders, but this I soon discovered to be due to no
natural avoir-dupois but to the prodigious number of soiled
newspapers and magazines with which the low-hanging pockets of
his overcoat were stuffed. For he was still wearing an old shabby
overcoat though the weather was warm and bright--and on his head
was an odd and outlandish hat. It was of fur, flat at the top,
flat as a pie tin, with the moth-eaten earlaps turned up at the
sides and looking exactly like small furry ears.
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