Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-02-22

| SAAS 1Aoh "oo "SAA A1Sh SAAouotCN du'!
saw that unless something was done in
his behalf he must soon yield up the
fight. Something like a spasm of fear
flashed over his face, and in the glance
he cast about him there was the one
panic stricken appeal that all men yield
to at some time. 1t was hard to die
there by the terrible horns of the beast
astride him, whose eyes glared into his
and whose hot breath was in his face
What deathl
But the next instant he was calm and
cautious. There came to his assistance
his fine knowledge of the negro charac
ter.
'Isam," he said slowly and impress
sively. But Isam was praying. The
major could hardly trust his ears when
he heard the words.
But, Lor, don let i'm perish 70
yo' eyes. He's ben err bad man. He
cuss n sware, n play keerds, n bet on
horse race, n drink whislly"--
I'm he steal-goodness, he tex ter
steal'n like er duck ter water. Roast n
yers, watermilluns. chick 'n-nuthin too
bad fur 'im"--
"Isam -
Tain like err niger stealth, Lor.
Dey dun know no better en- can git
things emmy erway, while he got money,
but don let i'm perish rite TO yo'
eyes. TEX i'm by de slack er es brich
IS en shek i'm ov'r de flames, but don
let i'm drap'--
"Isam!'
| Tho word came upward in tones of
| thunder. Even Isam was obliged to
regard it. Ho did so from force of hab-
it.
"Yessir."
Then he sobbed forth, 20 Lordy.
Lordy, tot we wuz dun homo ag in. "
mo, SIR" said tho major sternly,
we are not at home, and I'll never get
ihere. l am going to die"
Isam gave yell that ought to have
| been heard mile away.
"Oh, don let i'm die. Skeer i'm,
skeer i'm, Lord, but don let i'm die!'
Yes" continued the major, II am
going to die, but let tell You something,
Isam. | have been looking into this
beasts eyes until | recognize him. v
A sound came from the haw bush like
the hiss of snake, as the negro with
ashen face and beaded brow gasped ont
an unintelligible word. The right
chord had been touched at last You
remember DR.. Sam p ls;m s only re
ply was moan that betrayed an agony
too deep for expression. well, this is
DR.. Sam. He got loose the other day
when tho plug t9l. out, and he and
will never give You another hour Of
peace as long as you live'-
The sentence was never finished
With Shrek that was blood curdlinS
in its intensity of fear and horror. the
negro came crashing down through the
bush with his hands full of leaves.
straight upon the deer.
This was the crisis.
The frightened animal made one des-
perate plunge, taking the startled ma
jor by surprise, and the next instant
found himself free. He did not remain
upon the, scene or he would have beheld
the terrified negro get upon his feet, run
round in IL frenzy of terror and close
his last circle at the foot of the bush, up
which he scurried again like IL squirrel.
old as he was. The major lay fiat up.
on his back, after trying i'll vain to rise.
Then the reaction came. He fixed
his eye upon tho negro above and
laughed until the tears washed the dirt
from his face, and lsam, holding his
head up so that his vision could encom
pass the narrow horizon, said slowly
and impressively:
Mass Craffud, eff do Lord hadn't
'sist ii on Isam cum n down ter run dat
deer off, spec by dis time You ii been
er-fopp'n 20 wings up yander, er else
sput'n on er grindi ON down yander.
And from his elevated perch lsam indi
Gated the two extremes of eternity with
an eloquent sweep of his hand.
But the major had small time for
laughter or recrimination. In the dis
lance there rang out family the full
mouthed cry of a hound. Isam heard
it. For him it was at once "a welcome
and stimulating sound. Gliding to
the ground, he helped tho wearied ma
ior to his feet and started on the run
for the boat, crying:
Run, Mass Cratfud-wors' n deer's
cummin Hits dem folks w at know
about dat corn en- watermilluns, en- yer
can't 'splain nuthin ter er houn dog.
broken uOWu us no WIS, inc mayor
realized that there was wisdom in the
negro's words and followed as best he
could. The camp traps We're thrown
into the boat, and the little bark was
launched. \ minute later the form of
a great, thirsty looking hound, the run
away's bette noir, appeared on the scene.
But the hunters who came after found
naught beyond the signs of a camp, if
they found anything, and soon follow
ed the hound, which had regained the
trail of the buck and yelping passed
into the distance. The boat had long
since passed the bend.
How Isam ever settled his difficulty
needs no explanation. But it may in
terest the reader to know that one day |
he bore message and check that set
tied the corn and melon debt, and they |
tell it in middle Georgia that every year
thereafter, until the war cloud broke
over the land, whenever the catalpa |
worm crept upon the leaf, two runaways |
fed from Woodhaven and dwelt in the |
swamps, "loos' en- Free.
THE END.