The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1897-10-29
AMANREE
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CHAPTER XVII,
COPYRIGHT BY AMERICAN PRESS ASST


or SO he found himself growing faint
and weak. He was not only an old mSn,
but the exciting scenes through which
he had passed in the last few hours, to-
gether with the physical pain he had
endured, were quite sufficient to tax his
strength to the utmost. He fought
against the feeling until at length the
rocks and trees seemed to be whirling
round and round and the frozen high
way to be sliding from under his feet,
and then he dropped to the earth and
gasped:
20 Lawd, doan' let it cum jest yit!
Give de ole man strength 'nuff to reach
dem Yankees, an den yo' kin take him
away! I dun can't stop yere, o Lawd!
I'ze got to keep trabblin till I finds Mars
Custer an tells him dat Miss Sunshine
wants him!''
After a rest of three or four minutes
he rose up and moved on. He slipped
and staggered as he advanced, but he
shut his teeth hard and would not yield
to the weakness seeking to pull him
down. Two events happened to brace
him up and restore portion of his
strength. He had gone distance of
about two miles and was just passing
the cabin of "poor white" which had
been deserted for the last month when
Mrs. Baxter suddenly appeared. She
had travelled two miles toward the Yam
kee lines after leaving Rest Haven in
stead of going the other way, but it was
to strike pass leading over the range
into the Shenandoah. She had been
waiting there in hopes to hear from Ike,
who had told her that he would return
for his revenge. Uncle Ben was no
doubt possessed of the information she
longed for, and though realizing his
feelings toward her she made bold to
step out and accost him.
What, yo' yere!' shouted the old
man at the top of his voice as soon as he
set eyes on her. go de Lawd, wom-
an, but if I eber git hands on yo' I'll
kill yo' fur shore!''
Had Ike cum when yo' left the
placer" she asked, pretending not to no
tice his outburst of anger, but at the
same time preserving respectful dis
tance between them.
"Yo' ole cat! Yo' ole she. debbil"
he exclaimed as he rushed at her. ''Yo'
am de one who brung all dis trubble
to Miss Sunshine, an I'll broke ebery
bone in yo'r bodyp'
She retreated before him and held up
her hand as a caution to him to listen.
The soldiers and guerrillas had begun
firing on the camp. The distance was
two miles or more, but the morning
h1oxr,inor
the reports of the muskets came plainly
to their ears. Both realized at once
what was going on. The woman
laughed as she observed:
likes goin to. git 'em fur shore! Ike
will be an ossifer now and ride the best
critter in the company. Reckon yo'
must "a bin hidin out when Ike got
thar, or yo' wouldn't be yere now. He
was goin to burn yo' un alive"
The reports of the guns told Uncle
Ben that the two men in camp had been
attacked, and that he had not mo-
ment to waste with the woman. All his
strength and resolution had returned,
and without needing her words he start
ed off at stout pace. She felt certain
of his mission. and she was determined
to detain him if possible. Mrs. Baxter
was not only fearless woman under
all circumstances, but in such crisis
as this she was desperate. If Uncle Ben
brought help, all that had been gained
would be lost, and Ike might be killed
or captured with the rest of the gang.
She stepped aside to let the old slave
pass and then followed at his heels,
threatening, taunting and commanding
by turns and almost daring to lay hands
on him. If: she had been armed with
knife or pistol, she would have attacked
him at once. As she was not she con-
tinued to follow him in hopes Of en-
countering some one on the highway.
If a white man, and she cried out to
him that the black had dared to raise
his hand against her, Uncle Ben would
be seized, if not shot down in his tracks.
Aggravated and annoyed by the pain
of the blows inflicted by Ike Baxter,
maddened by the woman's words and
her continued presence and rendered
desperate by the danger of the general
situation, it was no wonder the old man
suddenly turned at bay with the glare
of hunted wolf in his eyes. She was
too close to him to escape. Springing
forward, he seized her by the shoulders,
lifted her from the ground, and with
a mighty effort he flung her clear of the
road. At that point the ground sloped
sharply away toward ravine, and as
the woman struck the earth with stun
ming force she rolled over and over un-
til she finally brought up against bush
so feet away.
"De Lawd furgive me, but couldn' 7
dun help it!'' groaned Uncle Ben as he
continued his way. "Dey's arter Miss
Sunshine, an dey's arter me, an dey g
arter Mars Kenton, an de good ole mis-
sus am lyin dead in de house, an what S
gwine to becum of us all I dunno!'
With eyes fastened on the pathway,
with teeth hard shut, with words Of
prayer rising to his lips and constant
struggle against the feeling of despair
seeking a lodgment in his heart, the
faithful old slave pressed on, mile
after mile, and suddenly found himself
confronted by party of horsemen in
blue uniforms. The goal had been won,
and as he realized it up went went his
arms, and he sank down on the icy road.
Runaway darky, but he isn't pur-
sued that I can see" observed the cap
tain of the troop as he ordered halt.
''Some of you men liven him up with
sip of whisky"
A sergeant dismounted and put a
flask to Uncle Ben's lips and forced
some of the contents down his throat.
In couple of minutes the old man sat
up and looked around.
Were you running away?' asked
the captain as he rode closer.
'Whar-whar's Mars Custer?" gasp
ed Uncle Ben in reply.
General Custerp Oh, he's some