The west Tennessee star. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1888, 1888-10-05

pwine STARK SStaFfft',, ravin' mad for ter
think er such er thingl Ole Jake ain
gw5ne no SIGH err FOOLS arran' Yer
des cit ssope e. dem liazber goR7sg |
datkies. fur siel1ssz date -
TI'm gaiig 70 gee srou, ,IJncle Jake,
and nobody else. Come, now, Ayou
know who's your best friend. Who |
brings you cake and chicken-pie, and |
Lots of tobacco besides2 Brother Jim
/ threatened tofskin me alive If I didn't
/ let his tobacco alone, and it's all for
you, Uncle jake, you know it is. And
now you won't do the least thing to
obtige mel Very well; you just wait
and see haE you II feel Sunday when
you don't get any dinner from the
/ great house, nor tobacco, either. You'll
wish them you hadn't been so con
"YFall, now, Miss Ju, honey. yer
knows ole. Jake wudn't confuse yer
muffin sz he could do fur yer. Cor
din Yer de eircumHuence of yer mar
n yer par, Use allus ready to resist
| YET. @But -des@ see ere, chile, how onz
req nable yer is. Yer knows i das-
seat for my life go nigh dat oleaIa nted
house dis. time aerF GIT lss one 1. 3
F'Deed, chile, 1 druther DO gwine down
! tel der plantation fur der oberseer ter
4 gfb me fifty 1ashes a my bare back.
aAkQeed IA 'deedI had, Missy.
We'll, who wants you TO go by your
lone self? Of course, I'm going with
you. l intend to see for myself what
all this means, and I'm not afraid of
'hants' aud 'sperritsi I don't beIieUe
there's any such things"
L was.deternined to carry my point
in spite of old Jake's open and my own
secret terrOrs; and, therefore, assumed
a courage 1 was far from feeling.
"Der good Lord hab mussy on dis
debish ohilei Yer gwine ter der bad
place when yer dies, Missy; shores
yer born, yer is; ole Jake done tole yer
50. M volts wuss yer gwine git dis pO'
ole darby der wuss whippin' e cher
got eff yer par fines out yer capers."
ssFTe won't find EN- out unless you
-Fchoose to tell him. Now, Uncle Jake,
one word for all. Tn going to follow
VIII Mason and see what he's up to-
! Ifyou don't go with me and any thing
: happens to me; If the hants carry me
: off, 1orEWin Mason shoots me. or old
Bogncer stumblesands breaks my neck,
! any way, I'll come back and liant you
! for the balance of your life"
With uplifted hands and eyes, and a
groan Of despair, the old negro gave
j 8ays a
1t may seem strange, but all this
/, time it never occurred to me what a
$ Questionable enterprise I had under
j taken. Even had 1 realized its i'm
! pr6priety, should not have given it
3 up, being always determined to carry
2 out whatever | undertook, good or
bad. But that night taught me les
8 son I never forgot. 1t was the last
. time I followed my own sweet will
g regardless of consequences.
Il 1t was now one o'clock. Every
y thing was intensely still. The setting
y moon. cast a dim, spectral light between
= the boles Of the pine trees. The dis
~ tant boot of an owl or the faint mel
z ancholy call of the whippoorwil alone
II broke the silence. In spite of myself
- a cold chill ran over me as we drew
neansthS desbIate houses As for Jake
Y by the tfu1e~ we reached the gate, he
Il was physically as well as mentally in
, capacitated for going farther. His
70 eyes rolled, his teeth chartered, and h'
shook from head to foot.
e As slipped from my saddle, the old
'e man fell on his knees and implored me
not to go on. But it was useless; g
on. must and would. l believe If
u had known the gruesome house hel'
O. some horrible mystery that to look OF
IS would strike me dead, 1 should still
re have gone on. An impulse irresistibl
70 las destiny drove me forward.
Light as q shadow, fearing even t
~ bdeathe, 1 crept on to the haunte
e. house, to the room where we ha
u heard the noise, and peered through
IN the broken window But I could Sc
lie nothing and no sound reached my eal
Every thing was-denseiy-dark an
lg ideally still when suddenly. lou
y clear and shrilL the neigh OF a hors
sounded from a thicket of shrubs clos
~ EbyEthen within the room, close TO th
1g window, Missed into my very ear,
ne fierce oath was uttered. FoOtstep
X crossed the room, passed through tn
rS entry, and into the yard
nd Gleaat.. G odi what an 1ce-bolt of terrc
n shot through my veins as l now fir
9lr fuzzy realized my fearful position
alone in that evil place at the dead (
~ nightswith. no protector bat the te
or rifed Old negro perhaps half-wa
ng home by this time. Bitterly l rue
l my foolhardy frolic as / erouched c
ak the ground, listening breathlessly
le. the approaching footsteps. The
passed me SO close that the long gra'
'ly they pushed aside touched me, bl
they went on without pause to I'll
Ter thioket, and the horse was led ava
te' and Apparently 'refastened -elsewher
gu then they re-entered the house.
my sAs-soo1IS as the immediate dang
sly had passed my, courage revived az
~ instead Of rushing OF home, gil
len eneueh Sofeseape,l darose to my fe
ant and again looked thlsoHgh the windo
'de NV insssue4sca itisity was. soon fearful
!. 4 gratified / heRrdIR slight sound Ill
NE the snappingso of match, and a ligl
~ flashed up. 1t glimmered faintfy {
out the hand that held it--a white man
l1sj | hand-a gentleman's-I saw the di
ne mond on the little finger glitte
or Then as the wax taper blazed fully
TO il lighted up the dark face OF w
on Mason. f5ssles distorted with rage
fear with clinched teeth, disorder
one hair and wild eyes.
m 5 E4us4s then Sc. sllone llpon-oh, GS
on what was that stretched on the dus
floor, motiohless, nfeless, da
Isl stream flowing from the side!
I'll woman's bodyt lying in heap as if