The Press., 1890-10-16


 upon the poor little adventures. The shadow of the tree had shifted with the higher rise of the moon, leaving WjN. Brown out in the light; but he. no long. CT took care to screen his Tapt regard of his guest, and this may have been be- caused he perceived that he was not a consequential factor in producing her placid contentment.
 ssYou nor me hain't held as pretty 2 pair ez them, whispered Jugg, his exult- ation over the game asserting itself in lis language.
 sThey'd be winners,- sir; winners" Jack asserted, vivaciously. r@
 My sons & prince" ]" and Jugg's pa ternal vanity easily hkened his grace fully posed son to some vaguely 1emem- bered hero of lime lit theatricals.
 '.And my daughters Q p-r-i-n-cess," retorted Jack, adopting the others spell ing out whim of speech rather mock ingly and with immense emphasis on that syllable which made the word ex- elusive to fenininity. Ss
 The two men were not likely to be harmonious in eulogium of their off spring. They were silenced, however, by the youngsters themselves, who be- gan to sing together. It was a ditty with nonsensical words but a 4captivat- ing melody, and the night air receiveds it with all acoustic kindness; with dis crimination, too, for it carried the tune full notes far beyond the reach of the doggerel rhymes. At the end of the verse what sounded for an instant like an echo, but which developed into re- frain by third singer, came from the distance. The voice was high and. strong, with strenuous unction seldom, heard elsewhere than at 8 religions camp meeting, and with the unmistakable. twang of an Afro-American. Will and Deuce sang another verse and again the approaching voice repeated the chorus with ariose vim. The campers emerged from their tents and wagons, the senti-- mental loungers at the tree stood up, their fathers joined the increasing group and all watched the persons who were coming into view on mustang ponies.
 One of these was the assertive vocalist, and she looked more like witch than siren as she rode into the throng. She was negress, with the sooty blackness of native African, but without the usual accompanying ugliness of face. Half a century had not bent her stal- wart form, and as she alighted from the horse she stood 8 physically commanding figure, even in gathering of men. A. bright handkerchief turbaned her head and a gaudy shawl wrapped her shoul- ders.
 ''Tse glad to see yo'sels, an Is hopin' my singin' hasn't 'sturbed yo," she said oratorically. "When heahs music l caint try to hold my gawp-deed I Icaint. Dough singin' haint my perfes' n 'ble 'ployment. Pse houdoo fortin' teller"
 Her companion was a man of 30, with shaven yellow face, but with none of the facial characteristics of mulatto. His garb was that of cowboy. He still sat astride his horse, in silent scrutiny of he company, and this singular eying of the campers would not have passed unno- ticed if the negress had not been en- crossing the general attention.
 "What's your night riding forY' Boss Donald roughly demanded to know. "Are you sure you haven't stolen these horses? guess you'd better stay with us till morning, to see if somebody doesn't come chasing you"
 Chasing us?" and the yellow mans first utterance was quizzical. "We ain't chased-we chase" He checked him. self abruptly, and added in | docile tone: ''Oh, we'll stop the night with you if you want us."
 "He's my son" the negress volubly re- sumed. ''Deed, folks, he's my son. We's trabblin' towa'd Oklahoma"
 Fortune seekingw Will Brown sug gested.
 "An' fortin' telling, boy" and she chuckled over her own wit. "Who wants Queen Sheeb t prophecy? Er does yo' ruther buy 8 houdoo cha'm?
 The superstitious instinct of gambler spoke out in Jack High. "What you got, auntie?' he asked.
 "Genuwin houdoo luck cha'ms, sah. Nebber fail, sah," and she brought out a handful of small bags. "Made O rattler skin, sah, an filled wid seben luches- hahd to get, sah, an cheap at dollah."
 "Al aike?" and he examined the charm bags with his eyes, seemingly averse to touching the uncanny things.
 "Jes' alike, sah-fr'm crows tongue t dead chile's toe nail, dey's ebery one got de right seben ingred'nts into 'em. An dey was put t'gedder wifi de true houdoo cer'mony at de tu'n ob de moon."
 Jack chose one of them, put it into his pocket, and handed a paper dollar to Queen Sheeb. Old Jugg Brown bought one, too, and also paid for it with one of the dollars won from Aleck Wiams. The yellow man slid out of his saddle and eyed the money as it was received by the negress. His eagerness was very demonstrative. He took the two notes from her hand and held them up for a close inspection, searching for some pc culiarity of their print. Then he became suddenly domineering in manner aud dictatorial in tone.
 ''I want you, and you" he cried, indi- eating the two men who had bought the charms. 'This is counterfeit money, and I've got a warrant for your arrest.n'. 7
 "For my arrestY gasped Jack.
 Old Jugg was dumb with amazement.
 Here's the document" the stranger said, producing crampled but still legal looking paper. 'sIt calls for John Doe and Richard Roe, and the names will dc for you, I guess. Pm deputy sheriff and government detective, and you'll let me search you, if you please"
 He went at the searching in such a prompt, professional way that the as- founded men offered no objection. He first took all the money from Jack High, examining and marking it piece by piece, and then he seized upon Old Jugg