"Admiration noted—and you might examine little Dahlia here, who's the spit of her Ma, fulminate me if she ain't, fact if you're ramblin by some ten, twelve years hence, why ride on over, have another look, make an offer, no price too small or too insulting I wouldn't consider. Or if you're willing to wait, take an option now to buy, got her on special, today and tomorrow only, dollar ninety-eight takes her away, heartbreakin smile and all. Yehp—there, lookit, just like 'at. Throw you in an extra bonnet, I'm a reasonable sort, 'n' the minute she blows that sweet-sixteenth birthday candle out, why she's on them rails, express to wherever you be."
* * * * * * * * * *
"fulminate me if she ain't"
I just profess my ire that Pynchon isn't making my brain work too hard and then he brings fulmination into the picture! Yes, yes. Merle is using it here to mean "express vehement protest" (as Lindsay did early. Lindsay fulminated Merle). But "fulminate" is totally a Gravity's Rainbow word. Unless it's a later Against the Day word when we get to the chapter with the explosives. Fulminate salts are friction sensitive explosives. That's probably why the word means "vehement protest." Because the person is exploding in anger. Heck, maybe Merle is actually using fulminate to mean "blow me up if I'm lying!" It's 1893! People probably expected to be blown up if they ever wronged somebody.
"if you're ramblin by some ten, twelve years hence"
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
Because I refused to purchase a five year old girl as my future bride.
"make an offer, no price too small or too insulting"
Was it okay to sell your child in the late 1800s? I suppose children were more property than autonomous beings. I'm starting to suspect that Merle really does give Dally corn liquor on a regular basis. This guy is the definition of uncouth! And also maybe the definition of sex slaver!
"the minute she blows that sweet-sixteenth birthday candle out, why she's on them rails, express to wherever you be"
This reminds me of all the weird perverts who keep track of young actresses' birthdates so they can, um, legally say the perverse things in public that they've been saying in private for way too many years. I think the poor Olsen twins suffered from this nonsense quite a bit. I only mention the Olsen twins because it seemed so egregious. "You mean you can't wait to talk about fucking the baby from Full House? What is wrong with you?" is a conversation I never had but I'm sure many friends of pervs did. I only mention that I only mention the Olsen twins because I'm sure all young female actresses have to deal with this shit.
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