"Why must they keep harpin' on that possibility all the time?"

The thing was printed, in fact, between "Let Harpin Cust shine your face with his new razors" and "See that line of clocks at Chislett's for sixty cents.

Turning down Main Street at the City Hotel corner, on the way to my office, I had to pass the barber-shop of Harpin Cust, in front of which I found myself impelled to stop.

Harpin appeared to be putting the last snipping touches to the Colonel's too-long neglected side-whiskers.

Harpin Cust now leaned, gracefully attentive, on the back of the empty chair, absently swishing his little whisk broom.

Before him was planted Potts, his left foot advanced, his head thrown back, reading to Harpin from a spread page of the Argus.

Each week he searched the columns of the police paper in Harpin Gust's barber-shop, fixing in his mind the lineaments of criminals there advertised as wanted in various corners of our land.

The torn part of the main-top-sail flew forward, and caught in the after-part of the fore-top, where it stood spread, as one might say, held by the top, cat-harpins, rigging, and other obstacles.

"You're still harpin' on that, Sheriff?

Dey were still a-harpin' back to dat forty acres an' a mule dey were promised what dey aint never got.