The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-01-10

river: Following the limo Of the fog, hs
could SEQ that the cabin was In q bend of
thu riyer-the Horseshoe, - he had heard
" cailed-andh no knew that he was at loast
four miles from home. BY this time the
Of In the woods he could hear the storm
coming, sounding like q l%ong-trawn sigh
at first. and then falling with a sweeping
rush and roar. Joe had no choice but to
sack shelter In the old house. He was q
stout-hearted younRster. aud yet he could
not resist the feeling OF unsssiness and
Of spending tho night in that lonely place.
But there was no help for II. Hs copld
never lind his way home in the darkness,
and 10 he made the best Of what seemed to
him a very bad matter. Yhs oabin was al
most q wreck. but II served to keep of the
rain.
jos went In and explored the inside az
carefully ~ he could in the darkness. A
wood rat or q flying squirrel ratified along
tho raftsrs ~ hs entered, and the loose
punchsons Of which the floor was made
bumped up and down az no walked across
about. he found q pile Of shucks-corn-
husks-and straw, and he judged that the
old cabin had sometimes been used as a
temporary barn, After satisfying himself
that no other person or creature had taken
shelter there, Joe tried to close the door.
A1o 4ounu Vu!S 60 Dc q ulHlCuls mdttor. Inc
stills Of the house had settled SO that the
door was ON the floor. He pushed it as
far - il would 90. and then CROPPED his way
back to the shucks and quickly made
q bed Of them. He was tagged out, and
the shucks and straw made Z comfortable
pallet. so comfortable. indeed, that by the
time Joe had made up his mind that IL was
a pleasant thing to lie there and listen to
the rain rushing down On the weather.
beaten roof, he was fast asleep.
How long he slept he did not know, but
suddenly hs awoks to discover that he was
not the only person who had sought sholtsr
IN the cabin. The rain was still falling On
low tone. He lay. quite still and listened
with all his cars. He soon discovered that
tho newcomers were negroes, whether two
or three he could not tell. Presently he
could distinguish what they said. The
storm had ceased, 30 that II no longer
drowned their voices.
II tell you what, mon," said one, ''ole
Injun Bill kin run, of he is chunky"
"Lor'! / had ter run ct / gwine ter keep
up wild ole Mink said the other.
BLESS you'll" responded the first voice,
II kin run when ! git do 'invertation, else
ole Bill Locke an bis Niger dogs would a
done cotch mo long ago."
"Dey amt meter besn after me-" said the
second voice. ''but I'm . spectin' un UNI
eve'y day, an when dey does-gentern,en!
I'm a.gvine tor scratch gravel. You hear
what I toll you!
II come 90 fas',' remarked the Arst voice,
'''dat all dem are buckeyes what I had done
bounce outer my pocket"
What you gwinc ter do wild so many
buckeyes?" asked the second voice.
Who? Me? Q, I wuz des savin' UNI up
fer dat ar white boy what stay long Wild de
printin' machine" said the first voice. HE
haolp ms'long ono time. Harbert, he say
dat white boy Is dsz ez good ter niggets ez
if dey all b'long ter i'm. an he say he rot a
head on i'm. Dat what Harbert say"
~ II see i'm" 1aid the second voice, 81
don't like white folks myself, but I speck
dat boy got good in i'm. He come fun
town."
joe Maxwell knew at once that ono of the
voices belonged to Mink, the runaway, and
Bill, whose reputation was very bad. He
knew also that the two negroes were talking
about him, and he was not only gratitied at
the compliments paid him. but felt safer
than il he had been alone in the cabin. In
Il spirit Of mischief, he called out in a
sepulchral tone of voice:
"Where'E Mink? want Mink!,
He tried to initiate the tone that be had
heard mothers sometimes employ when
they are trying to frighten crying children
into silence with the booger man. There
was no reply from Mink, but Joe could
hear the two negroes breathing hard.
Then initiating the voice of a woman, he
cried out: eaya#
"Where's Injun Bill? I want Iniun
Bill!,
Imagining how Mortified the negroes were
and how they looked as they sat on the
floor quaking with terror, Joe could not
restrain himself. He fell into a ft OF I'M
controllable laughter that caused him to
scatter tho shucks all over the floor. This
proceeding, wholly u~naccountable, added to
the terror of the negroes. Injun Bill, as it
afterw0rd appeared. made 4 wild leap for
the door, but his foot caught. in q crack
in thu floor. and he fell headlong. On top
of him fell Mink, and each thought he had
been caught by the thing that had fright
ened him. They had a terrible scufle on
the floor, .writhinR oyer and under each
other in their efforts to escape. Finally,
Mink, who was the more powerful of the
two. pinned Injun Bill to the floor.
"Who dis?' he cried, breathinghard with
fear and excitement.
mo! Dat who 'tis!'' said Iniun Bill.
a%nerily. "What you DOM pom top er me?'
This complication caused doe Maxwell to
laugh until he could scarcely catch his
breath. But at last he managed to control
his voice.
What in the name Of goodness are YOU
two trying to do?"
Name er de Lord!' exclaimed Mink.
who is you, anyhow"
dat what | like ter know" said Iniun
Bill in q surly tone.
why, you've just been talking about
me-. replied Joe. II lay there on the
shucks and heard you give me a preat
NAME" 2
rs dat you, little marster2' cried Mink.
well, suhl Eff dat don't beat my time!
How come you sech a fur ways fun yo' sur
roundin'sW
joe explained as briefly az possible that
he was lost. -
"Well, we'll, wellr' said Mink, by way of
comment. You !sholy gimme a turn dat
time. Little mo- mn I'd a thought de ole
boy had me. Eff I'd d bin BY myself whoa
! hear dat calm, | lay I'd "a to- down de
whole side or dc house. Dish yer niger
'lonR wild me. little marster, he name Iniun
Bill. He say
"'sh-'sh!.' said Iniun Bill, softly. Then
in whisper-"watch outn
Joe was about to say something, but
suddenly he heard the sound of approach
ing footsteps. The negroes by a noiseless
movement slipped close against the wall.
Joe lay still. Iho new comers entered the
door without hesitation. They had evil
IDENTIFY been there before.