Sharp County record., 1881-04-14

| managed TO reach Ihe door ana 10 open
a crack wide enough to peep through.
81 Laws, Isrulr cried Hannah, falling
upon her knees again, all in tremble.
" Isrul, it am the judgment-day, as | is
a sinner! An there goes de debbil
now arter Jube! Didn't l allus say
he'd git dat boy, shoreP He wouldn't
say his pra'rs, nerso much ez min me,
what fotch him up by han. Come in,
Isrul an latch the do, for he'll be arter
you mex. o, laws, eff be VI only be
satisfied wi you and Juba, Isrul! You
is wickeder an me-wickeder sinners,
you know yer is, ole man-you know
yer is"
Her sole man. attempted no self-de-
fense. With a dexterity quite unusual
with him, he had managed to latch and
chain the door, but now he was leaning
up against the Intel, speechless and
knock -kneed with terror.
All at once there was quick, heavy
rap upon the door.
Hannah howled and sunk lower on
her knees. "Its de debbil!' she whis-
pered, in a sepulchral tone. "He's
done come fer yer, Isrul! Speak up,
ole man-speak perlite, sorter, an
maybe he'll be easy on yer. Answer
him, Isrul"
"Who-o-who dar?' chattered Israel,
with dismal whine.
"Open the door," shouted an angry
voice without. 81 thought everybody
was dead inside there. It's nobody but
me-the keeper Of the elephant, that
broke loose and will tramp down all
your things here, to say nothing of youl
rascally boy, who ought to be well
whipped. The beast will kill him if
can't get a pitchfork, or something.
Haven't you a pitchfork somewhere:
Hurry-your boys in lot of danger
Stir about-wilI youP Let's have a
pitchforkr'
Ski, vi, Hannahr' exulted Israel, be-
ginning to straighten his bent knees.
Eyer debbirs nothin' but an elerphunt,
arter all. Hi-jes' yer run an fetch
the pitchfork fer de gemman."
Eyer go an git it yerself, Isrul; | is
engaged was the wife's prompt re-
sponse.
Hurry up there" shouted the voice
outside. "Fetch me the fork or the
beast will kill your boy, for certain"
Il say" answered "Ole Isrul," with
his mouth at the latch-hole-"I say,
massa, Use clean crippled, an bed-rid
with the rheumatic, an the ole 'ooman
here, she's skeered clar into spasims.
You'll find the fork in the shed, so jes'
help yerself, as we's enable ter, mas
sa.n
With loud mutterings of anger the
keeper departed in search of the pitch
fork. While he was gone the elephant
had regularly freed Jube. Too closely
pressed to secure the shelter Of his room
in the cabin loft Jube instinctively had
made for the only other accessible place
of refuge. Into the big oak-tree he had
scrambled, by the aid OF the drying
scanold suspended from its boughs.
( Nor, thoroughly scared as he was, did
he stop in the lower branches. Not
knowing what might be the stretching
capacity of that awful proboscis which
had once enfolded him, he clambered
hand over hand, until at a considerable
elevation he reached the second fork
inc of the tree. Perched therein he took
time to draw his breath and look dowr
at his enemy. Evidently this enemy
was determined not to consider himself
bafded. He was charging Jube's strong
hold with the intrepidity of Napoleon''
"Old Guard" and the concentrated
strength of a battering- ram. But the
oak, although its day of kingly glory
was past, was stronger than the ele-
phant. Its bare limbs trembled under
the shock, yet the mighty roots held
firm. The blow, however, dislodgeG
the drying -scahold, so that, broken from
its fatal clinging it fell with great crash
to the ground. In default of other prey
the lephant at once charged upon this
framework of poles, with its burden oI
half dried tobacco-cuttings. He stamped
and tore at and pulled to pieces the
structure, tossing the cuttings until hi;
eyes and mouth and proboscis were wei
filed with the dust of the dried tobacco.
Frenzied by the fumes and the taste Of
the weed he hated with a deadly hatred
as we'll as maddened by the agony of it;
smarting and burning, the animals rage
seemed to know no bounds. OverjoveC
at his reprieve from destruction, Jubt
began faint, hysterical laugh as the
infuriated beast plunged and charged
snorting and sneezing, about the tree
At last the elephant sounded his trump
again frantically, setting off at the tol
of his speed for the river flowing at the
base of the hill.
So, for time, the coast was left clea
but Jube was too thoroughly scared tt
think of deserting his present place o
security; and, in a little while, hi
majesty, relieved of the tobacco, AGAR
advanced to the attack. This time ht
was better armed, having filled hi
trunk at the river with copious sup
ply of water. Taking fair aim at poo
Jube, he let him have the benefit of The
whole stream, blowing it into his face
with directness and force for which
the boy was utterly unprepared. Oh
course his balance was destroyed, anC
tumbling from his perch, he doubtless
would have fallen headlong to the
ground, but that he had the good fort
une to land in the fork below where he
was just beyond the reach of the dread
ed proboscis. Encouraged by this sue