The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-07-18


ITS ali your fault jude" replied Betsy.
blowing out the tallow dip and lying down.
IF you hadn't tuned up TO cry / wouldn't
a cried, and mann wouldn't a got mad"
But Jest think Bet. Maybe the Yanks'll
come fore day. and tharS nap and nam
gone to bed same as common Seems like
weuns ought to be sittin up singin' hines
or dom some h'n different to what we do
Ian sake. jude! l wouldn't sing hime
IN the dead o night for nothin' you could
give ..ey me-
o yaller beads in Browns step"
No; | wouldn't sing lonesome hime in
the dead O. night for nothin' and nobody
1t 'ud make me feel like we was a-watchin'
with dead corpse"
Judith fell back, covered her head with
t the quit and exclaimed in haIf-smothered
tones OF horror: Bet. if you say airy
mother word about a dead corpse l tell
you, pint blank, III boiler jest as loud as
After a moments silence, Judith. half
sunocated, uncovered her head and peered
around the room, when, her eyes falling on
Johnny lay, she whispered:
Sis, is Johnny asleep"
Yes, don't wake him." drawled Betsy.
drowsily.
Il amt goin' to wake him If he was
asleep l was goin to say, s'posin'-" The
magnitude of the superstition
Sposin' what?" asked Betsy. turning in
the bed with increased interest.
off with paps mules, unbeknownst, down
the raiders?"
"shucks! Johnny's too little" replied the
prosaic Betsy, who straightway turned over
and went to sleep; and Judith, deprived of
a listener, soon followed her sisters exam
pie and was wrapped in slumber.
But the little Ow-headed boy in the trun-
die bed remained awake. His sisters had
Beer been mis- mistaken in thinking him asleep;
upon the pencil of moonlight that slanted
through the window, dimly Illuminating the
room, his childish ina gnation fed upon
p1ny woods superstitions transformed the
shaft of light into the apparition of a long
white hand reckoning him to the world
outside. But the fancy faded when he
heard Judith's wild supposition. and his
heart gave a great bound. 1t had not be-
fore occurred to him that he might save
the mules which he loved so we'll and that
he knew were necessary to the support
of the family. The idea, carelessly sown by
Judith, grew in his little brain like a grain.
swamp well, and he felt certain that he
could run the mules off into its reoesses
and keep them there safely till the raiders
had left Oakville. He wondered that the
plan had not occurred to him at once. AS
soon as his sisters were asleep he would
start. While he lay quietly in bed thus
mothers room struck II, and the, slow, reg
ular breathing of his sisters told him that
they were both in deep slumber.
Rising cautiously from the trundle bed
and slipping on his clothes, he tiptoed to
the window, caught the sill with both
hands, gave spring, wriggled through the
opening, and dropped lightly to the ground.
Safely outside, the thought came to him
that he must take something along to eat.
The mules could Craze on the young cane
that grew abundantly in the swamp. Con-
graduating himself on the happy thought,
he glided through the open hallway to the
pine cupboard to see what it contained;
In it was a yellow dish heaped with cold
boiled bacon, collards and corn pone. ON
the next shelf was cup of sorghum mo-
lasseS and a pitcher of buttermilk.
Taking a cottonade bag from nail and
removing the garden seed it held, he whis-
pered to himself:
II can carry the bread and meat in this
seed bag O. pap's, and I can make out to
take them merlasses in a bottle. But these
here collards that's wet and cold, this is
the onleSt way they can be carried, said
he, filling his mouth with them, and giving
voice to a suppressed laugh. In the morn
in, when nanny finds m gone, and the
collards gone, too, she'll know couldn't
a-carried EN- no other way and she II be
powerful glad 1 took a bite O. somethin'
fore l lef.''
Carefully lifting the pitcher of butter
milk, he took drink which seemed to go
the wrong way.
TITS quare; when I think about leavin'
Replacing the pitcher on the Shelf he
turned his head
Jest listen at pap snorin! He's clean
forgot about them Yanks.'
Here, with a scratch and a yawn, Tige
rose from the floor and came forward, Wag-
"Tige, you must come, too, and hep save
pap's mules" said Johnny Ratting the dog
and followed him TO the stable.
When all was ready for the flight, mount
ed on Cindy and leading Beck, Johnny
paused in the lane for f, parting LOOK s+ az
high in the heavens, and it's rays, sitting
through the half-grown foliage of the oaks.
dappled the rough board roof of the cabin
with the shadow of baby leaves, which
f1ickered and danced as the night wind
blew. The soft radiance fell also. on the
pink blossoming peach trees, bleaching the
dewy flowers till they were white and
glistening Whatever the moonbeams
touched they beautified with silent peace.
Suddenly from the Oakville way came
mighty sound - boom-oom-oon-ooom
that shook the very. ground and rolled
away to the wilds of Bearheaven swamp,
and reverberated through the distant hills
as far as Hickory Hollow.
Johnny delayed no longer. Followed by
Tige, barking furiously he was well on his
the echoes died away. The inmates of the
cabin were speedily frightened out of their
SlumberS.
"John, John, wake UP! Thars the cam
non! The raiders are come to Oakville!"
said Susan. excitedly, and at the same mo-
ment two screams rang from the. back
room and the girls bounded in. But 1t was
not till the alarmed family had dressed
itself that Johnny % "; e. missed; ,a,roa 20
the frightened girls Their bewildered faces
testifying to their ignorance OF their
brothers whereabouts, the anxious mother
FASTENED to the door and called;
Johnny, Johnny Come to yer man.
sonny, she wants you.
Meanwhile from Oakville there came
confused sound of human voices and Dark
ing dogs while many little lights began to
appear, some of which were stationary
while others moved about like fire flies, APP
pearing and disappearing as thelr rays
were intercepted by intervening OBJECTS
In the yard Susan met her husband re-
turning from the stable.
I'm afeard he's taken Tige and gone to
Oakville. -
John. -.
and Johnny's gone to fetch EN-.
NO Susan, the bride and saddle are
missin' too. and the gates latched."
''Then," said the distressed mother,
"Johnny's run off with the mules. He was
the raiders would carry EN- off, Yes, he's
run the mules off to Hickory Hollow to
save EN- and, oh, John. he may be shot
and killed on the road like my other boy
in Virginia, and I'll never soc him ag-ln1.
and dropping into q chair, susan cline
buried her face in her apron.
oakville had fallen! But the old town
had not surrendered without blow, anu
municipal honor remained spotless. The
city fathers felt thrill of pride even IN
defeat.
Everything had gone off in style-even
the old rusty cannon. The load of scrap
iron had passed out the proper end, thus
Yet for some reason-perhaps from mac
curacy of aim perhaps from the queer
shapes of the projectiles, old nails. cork
screws sardine boxes etc-the greater
part of the load was found next day stick
ing in the sides and rafters of the bridge,
lack Green. old Browns fifteen-year-