One o'clock
`` No , I do n't , '' said Strout , `` but I bet a dollar that it 's some of that city chap 's doin 's . Is he ` round about town this mornin ' ? '' `` No , '' said Abner , `` he went to Bosting on the same train with Miss Lindy Putnam , for I fetched her down , and I saw him git inter the same car with her as I wuz drivin ' off . '' One o'clock soon arrived , and the large party that had regaled themselves with the appetizing viands and non-alcoholic beverages supplied by mine host of the Eagle Hotel came back to the Town Hall in the best of spirits . The majority of them were smoking good cigars , which had been handed to them by the proprietor , as they passed from the dining-room . When asked if there was anything to pay , Mr. Parsons shook his head and remarked sententiously , `` This is not the only present that the town has received to-day , '' which was a delicate way of insinuating the name of the donor of the feast without actually mentioning it . The election of a dozen minor officers calls for no special attention , except to record the fact that Abner Stiles , who had cautiously taken a position several settees removed from Strout , arose as the nominations were made for each office , and in every case nominated Mr. Obadiah Strout for the position , and it is needless to add that Mr. Obadiah Strout had at least one vote for each office in the gift of the town .