The Van Buren press., 1894-09-01
cir made out'n air they can't hurt . hu-

man. low.
There was such peculiar note in his
voice that Bud turned around with q
long. searching look At him.
"Afr ye aimin' ter hunt fur the crit
teri" he whispered. almost trembling
to think OF the profanity Of such a
thing as disturbing ha'nt.
"Ef hit air handy ter do 80 l aim
ter"
Coon spoke with his usual quiet
drawl, but with such deliberate en-
phasis that the assertion carried con-
viction to Buds wondering ears
sFur sure, CoonY' Bud was we'd at
such daring.
"Yes, ef-"
"Yes-ss!r .s.#..-5z
The boys were on their feet in an in
slant, faced, with dilated eyes, toward
that yawning fissure.
Back there, in the darkness, swayed
a ghostly, grayish figure, a.
"Yes-ss, yesss. yes ssh mocked the
ha'nt Then its horrible, nncarthly
voice died away in "a low mutter. as
the darkness closed upon the fading
figure. = EkAkA&1s45A
Bud felt his hair rising with terror.
and his tongue clung to the roof of his
mouth. He could not speak. Too
terrified to stir he gazed, fascinated.
ut the spot whore the angered ha'nt
had disappeared.
Goon's face was still a trifie pale.
and his eyes were darker than usual:
but he tried to steady his voice as he
spolee: "Hit war the ha'nt, fur sure,
Bud"
AN hit war a-mocking' of We, Coon.
low hit war powerful mad at ye. fun
amin ter hunt It," Buds voice trem-
bled but he was trying to appear in
different as to whether the ghost was
angry enough to attempt to injure
them. satiE s56kt
I'm amin ter hunt hit" Coon per-
sisted. His hair seemed rising still
.nnd his knees felt unstendy. but his
resolution did not falter.
Alarmed at such audacity, his COM
rade tried in vain to turn him from his
purpose. Coon doggedly resisted. Bud
finally desistcd IN sheer despair, and
the boys were silent for awhile.
Les smndge him out, Bud" Coon
said, at last. in low whisper.
Bud turned around in horror at such
daring irreverence.
''Smudge out ha'ntlr he gasped.
"D'vc dast, Coon? What'll hit do ter
yc, dye reckon?'
II low we uns mought jest 'speeri-
mint on hit, anyways Coon returned,
deliberatingly. .Ye see, nobody knows
jest what Il ha'nt mought take hit
inter his head ter do. But we uns
could Experiment, an mebbe hit
mought do some good.
.sIlit mought blast the craps
.Well, hit mought, but ag'in hit
moughtn't. We-uns would know fur
sure eff hit war that-away then"
Hit mought kill us dead" Bud VEN
tured, dismally.
I'D like mighty well ter jest know
fur certing what ha'nt would do"
persisted Coon. "Granny's alters
a-tellin' about er seeing on 'em, an
nary word about 'em a-doin' nothing.
onless hit war skeerin' somebody
mighty nigh ter death. An l amt
skeery," suggestively, 'ef hit air any
thing else"
Nav, an amt, neither. Well. we
uns kin do hit, mebbe."
Bud sighed; but heroically deter
mined to follow where his friend might
lead.
AN hit would be mighty satixfyin'
ter know jest what ha'nt war made
o., an jest what he war obligated ter
do" Coon again asserted.
In spite of his deliberate manner he
was plucky little fellow, utterly fear
less where ha'nts were not concerned,
and of too inquiringa turn of mind to
take the world on Others hcarsay.
h "Ef -unswnr kilt, itwould hap
pen some time, anyways" Coon de-
scided, philosophically; and Bud, too,
was ready for the experiment.
The gray light was giving way to
the warmer tints Of day, and far down
in the valley were now the sights and
sounds Of everyday life. The boys
courage revived under these influ-
ences
Coon unfolded his plan. The hunt
on the mountain was given up at once;
more important work was now on
hand. The. only. exit from the cave
was on this ledge, and Coon was to
guard II while Bud crept around the
rock to narrower part. In former
hunting excursions the boys had often
''smudged," or sm olSed out, the coons
that had Ia ken refuge in the hole
Bud was to attend to the smudging,
while Coon stood ready with his gun at
the entrance to meet the ha'nt if it
should flee from the smoke.
There amt critter nor yet hui
man ~ kin endyure the smoke" Coon
argued. "Mebhe ha'nt kin; but we
uns kin find out fur sure this away"
1t was some time before Bud could
get a good fire started at the mouth Of
the smaller hole; for it was slow work
gathering dry leaves and twigs to feed
it with, as the climbing was so rough
and steep. But at last he had gathered
a good-sized pile on the narrow ledge.
Taking out flint arrowhead and .
piece Of pink from his trowsers' pocket,
he laid the two together and struck
the blade of his jackknife sharply
across them till he had obtained the
needed sparks.
A moment more, and the leaves be-
gsu to burn.
Coon, aw-w. Coonr' ne called, soft
iy, peering around the jutting rock,
holding firmly by one brown hand
Coon was waiting patiently at the
mouth of the cave: he started forward