Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1899-12-07

The Hudson was too wide to swim; the
Sound river too boisterous in either run OF
the tide, and even better guarded than was
the land. To pass the Harlem was not pos
sible, both banks being sentried by the
enemy, and thus | was held betwlxt the
barrier gates" the lower lines, and the two
rivers. In time every foot of this ground
would be secured, and the end looked to be
that l would succumb.
But the end was not yet. l was well
armed and stronger by dram than when
came in. | left open the windows, changing
my seat to the long table, partly stretching
myself along the bench to render me less
conspicuous. From here | commanded a
view of the front door and all within the
room, being myself quite in the darkness.
Thus | waited for full quarter of an hour
with dead silence all about until the black
brought in my food and a candle, setting the
light at the end of the table farthest from
me, pulling down the windows, and drawing
the curtains, though it was far from beng
chilly | was about to resent this disposition
of the candle as a piece of impertlnence, as
it barely cast a shadow at that distance,
when | suddenly considered the advantage
of being in gloom and so let it bide. L
finished everything before me in short order,
and, as though the man had anticipated my
wants, my plate was Immediately recharged
with a liberal supply of ham and eggs, while
q bowl of bonnyclabber was placed beside it:
Now, instead of withdrawing as he had
done before, the black sat himself opposite
me, with every wink the whites OF his eyes
swapping in the light of the distant candle.
After watching my jaws gradually slow
down as | drew near the end of the supply,
and while / gave long sigh of relief and
t;t,a fOrt bp
ward and, speaking softly, said:
"Yous hungry, sah!"
slightly" remarked; 81 have cen had
hard dav of it,"
"Who be you lookin' fo'?' ne asked, abb
ruptly. ,o,,
answered with a forced ferceness that made
him grin. "Who is the host here?"
"Nat Burns, sab; he's away, sab. | looks
to de house deD l t'au't you might be
spec'in' some one, sah."
Not l." l replied, having no desire to
confde in a negro hostler. HAS anyone
been here to-day|
Eyes, sah," he answered, rolling his eyes.
"Heap O soldiers, sab. Deys maxim de
house upset all froo lookin' for somebody
"Looking for whom?" | asked, now
| nightly interested.
L
| But dey nebber finds dem here, no, sab!
| When am you goin' on, sah?"
l. | had hard work to restrain my curiosity
about those who were being looked for. If
| the girl was Gertrude King, and | felt fair
| ly sure of it, then she, too, had escaped ar
rest so far, though it gave me strange feel
| ing about the ribs to think that she might
| be suffering even as had been. To his ques-
| ton | carelessly answered:
| "Not tonight, at all odds" For at once
considered that if the house had been
searched, it was the safest place could find
in which to abide.
"Ah, by the way" 1 inquired easily,
"know you of party named King?
! "King?" said he, rising and taking up the
candle. mo, sab; no King, 'ceptin' the
good King Gawge."
| He held the candle so that for the first
time l had good look at him. saw then
that he was not full-blooded negro, his hair
being silky and waved, his nose straight,
with fine nostrils and his mouth lacking
the thick lips as his skull lacked the prog
| nathous development of the true African.
| His hide was abnormally black, however,
| and his tongue that of the southern darky
| improved by contact with the purer speech
of the north. With all its fine points his
face bore no signs of great intelligence, and
as he looked at me it was almost expression
less.
| feared that if it ever had been, the tav-
ern was now no longer a refuge for those OF
my party, for it seemed clear that Nick
Stryller had lost the proprietorshlp, his
place having been taken by one Burns (of
whom | had never heard), whose very host.
Ter was Of rank tory breed. | was glad l
had not put myself into the darliy,s hands
now even being afraid to ask for Stryker
for dread of arousing suspicious against me
"If yous boun' b stay all night, sab,
soon hab nice room, sah,' he continued,
while | was watching him, and taking the
light with him, he went out with no apology
for leaving me in the dark.
Being alone again, ! filed my pipe and
awaited his return with the means to lighl
it, The difference betwiXt the man | had
been an hour since and was at that moment
! was amazing, so great is the power of nutri
ment to life both body and spirits. | was
ready for another nights wandering il
needs be, though / banked my stars for lacl
of the necessity. Stretching myself along
the bench, | was almost doing from sheer
comfort when [ heard the tramp OF horse!
in the yard, and the next minute the dool
opened and two boisterous voices ran9
through the room demanding lights anC
service.
The violent rattling of chair on the floor
which one of the newcomers had used as
means of gaining attention, had hardl!
ceased when the negro returned with th'
candle. | could not see the faces of eithe
of the parties from my position (Which
deemed advisable to retain), naught bu
their legs showing, but for two they made
vast noise. The negro, without seeming t.
notice my apparent absence, placed bottle
. and glasses on the table farthest removed
6 from mne and the two, after ordering
: meal, sat down and began drinking.
= And without stint they drank, if one coult
;. Judge by the sound of pouring. The sngl
q candle but broke the gloom of the apart
! ment, though it was helped out by the moon
! light, which strcamed through the soutl
!, windows and over the sanded boards. By
q | made out that one of the party was
q cavalryman, his muddy boots and shor
v clothes proclaiming the fact, as well as tn
:. sabretasche that trailed on the floor by tn