Blyth, drumming with his
fingers on the table, and concentrating the whole of his critical
acumen in one eye by totally closing the other.
"Hang it, Blyth!" remonstrated Zack, "don't keep on looking at his arms
as if they were a couple of bits of prize beef! You may talk about his
muscular development as much as you please, but you can't have the
smallest notion of what it's really equal to till you try it. I say,
old Rough-and-Tough! jump up, and show him how strong you are. Just
lift him on your toe, like you did me. (Here Zack pulled Mat
unceremoniously out of his chair.) Come along, Blyth! Get opposite to
him--give him hold of your hand--stand on the toe part of his right
foot--don't wriggle about--stiffen your hand and aim, and--there!--what
do you say to his muscular development now?" concluded Zack, with an
air of supreme triumph, as Mat slowly lifted from the ground the foot
on which Mr. Blyth was standing, and, steadying himself on his left
leg, raised the astonished painter with his right nearly two feet high
in the air.
Any spectator observing the performance of this feat of strength, and
looking only at Mat, might well have thought it impossible that any
human being could present a more comical aspect than he now exhibited,
with his black skull-cap pushed a little on one side, and showing an
inch or so of his bald head, with his grimly-grinning face empurpled by
the violent physical exertion of the moment, and with his thick heavy
figure ridiculously perched on one leg.
Pages:
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492