The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-06-25


''Oh, will you hush?" cried Buster
JOHN.
You know what fool things young
| things are" repeated Mr.. Coon They
listen to what their elders say and
think it is nothing but talk The young
| thing is always a smarter thing than
| the old thing. and sometimes he is toe
smart. I remember that one night
slipped away from the others after
nanny had been gone long time. /
was careful TO make no noise on the
tree, but when l reached the ground !
\ felt so happy that 1 jumped in the air
and whirled around for joy. The air
was cool and fresh. the swamp smelt
1 good and the dark was fine. 1 could
when the big shine-thing is blazing
over the trees.
so 1 shook myself and started for
the pond in the swamp. There | caught
some small fish. and they tasted ever
so much better than those nanny
| brought home. Then / wandered out OF
| the swamp and went on the hill where
the brambles are. hunting for birds and
birds nests. l found two birds and one
nest. with tiny eggs in it, and the eggs
/ tasted so nice that j wanted more. and
I went rambling all over the hill ever
so far Suddenly I heard a dog bark.
The sound of IL made me shake and
shiver. and l stood listening. Presently
l heard the bark again, and it was so
close at hand that it sounded like a
dreadful roaring"
Il boun' you had ter hump yo'Self
den,' suggested Drusilla.
Mr.. Coon, with his eyes half shut, for
he was sleepy, kept right on the track
Of his narrative.
"A dreadful roaring. / went away
from there as fast as my legs could
carry me, and ran right TO the swamp.
/ could hear the dog coming, too; and,
FAR off. 1 could hear some one crying
out"
THAT was the man cheering the dog"
Buster John explained.
THE dog" said Mr.. Coon, seemed to
be coming closer and closer, and l be-
gan to run harder than ever. l remem-
bored that my nanny had said some
thing about water and dogs, and 1 ran
straight for the big pond in the swamp;
the Son of Ben Ali knows where it is.
l slipped into the water and swan to
the middle. where there's the stump of
an old tree. | had hardly reached ii
when the dog came in sight on the bank
of the pond and began to whine and
bark. He ran around to see if 1 had
gone out on the opposite side, and then
he caught sight of me. He jumped
into the water with a great splash, and
leave me. / climbed upon the stump,
and when he came near 1 jumped on
his head and bit him on the neck with
all my might. He went under, but I
turned him loose, and came to the top
and swan around and round. He came
up trying to shake the water from his
ears, and they tapped on the pond like
the wings of a duck that is trying to
rise in a hurry. Before he got through
Tapping I had jumped on his head
again and when he went down l clawed
him with my hind feet. He tried to cry
out, but all he could do was to make
bubbles on the water. 1 jumped on his
head twice after this, and the third
time he never came up any more. 1
vent out on the bank, shook the water
off my clothes, and cantered toward
home. AS L went along, feeling very
proud. l heard the man calling his dog.
First he blew a horn. He blew ii a
long time, and then called and called;
but the dog. being at the bottom of the
mill pond, could make no answer.
When I reached home L found MAN.
my there. She had heard the dog bark
and had made haste to get out of his
way. Then, finding one of her children
missing, she knew that something had
happened or was going to happen. She
was sure of ii. She heard the dog run
ming, and she knew the missing young
one would be caught. If he wasn't
caught, she hoped he would be badly
scared; it would serve him right for
not obeying the rules she had made.
When / got home you may know /
was tired. Nanny dried my clothes
while / told her what had happened.
and she would hardly believe it: but
she could plainly hear the man calling
his dog. first with his voice and then
with his horn. He kept that up for
some time. and. finally, on his way
home. he passed right under our house,
calling his dog and footing his horn
and | was the only one of the family
that dared to look out as he went by.
We'll, ] had no more adventures I'M
til one night, having come home my
self / heard a crowd of dogs barking.
The noise they made grew louder and
louder, and presently | heard NANNY
the tree as hard as she could.
She came up so fast that l could hear
pieces of bark fall to the ground. She
was scared nearly to death.
They are after me- she cried and
| didn't have time to take to water!
Sure enough, the dogs came charging
through the bushes, bowling and pant
ing like mad, and they gathered around
the tree and howled and barked until
the men came UP with torches l was I
curious to see what was going on. |
TO move. ] came out and sat on the
limb and looked down at them. They !
were all black men, except one. The /
one that had the biggest torch helc 1t !
behind him, and moved 1t back and |
forth behind him.
'''There he is. he yelled, L see his |
eyesi' The man with cut thing began |
to hit the tree. L never knew what was |
going to happen until lie tree began to |
sway Then I could fe Il 1t falling. AS |
it fell ran down the rec until came |
to one of the largest limbs, and, by the |
time ! had climbed nat, the tree hit |
the ground with a NJ Use that sounded |
as the clouds sound hen they clap to-
gether and make a big, quick shine. |
The limb shook so lard that ! came |
near falling off: but l held on the best |
7 could. and in a moment / heard a |
great noise of fig hting, screaming, |
bowling and growing. 1 was wild with |
fear. but | could do nothing. Close TO
the limb 1 was clinging to was black
man . lding a torch. The hight blinded |
my eyes and the hot smoke stified me.
[ thought none had seen me. but the
man who was not black man was
apart from the others, and
when l looked at him | found he was
cooking at me.
II kept looking at him and he at me
lntil I was no longer afraid. l had the
feeling that he was a friend (close to
,ousin-thing) and l wanted to go TO
lim. But how could L? 1t was the son
# Ben Ali, and he said nothing to the
,thers But the thick smoke came in
ny nose and / sneezed. The black man
relled: Here's another and climbed on
he tree. He was about to strike me
With the torch, but the son of Ben Ali
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