The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-03-01

Ut was beech trec) and Went ana
broke something in my ankle and some
thing III my chest and couldn't stand
Consequently of course, couldn't stick
him up. The pain was pretty thick. but
feeling what fool | was seemed TO
make me forget it. Anyway. finding it
was useless thinking of sticking him
up, tried to hobble into the fern ana
get out Of sight. and finding coul'n
crawl rolled. But, of course. You can
| roll away from chap. and he came
after HE, and my mask fell off Will, |
rolled. and r., recognized me-
. Mon Dieu! It is the boy Maine.
he said. Speak. child! What in the
wide world was this?'
II disguised my voice and said
wasn't Maine. and that he'd better
leave me alone or it might be the worse
for him yet. But he wouldn't go, and
CHANGING to get queer about the head
somehow went off. l suppose. though
1T wasn't for long. When came to, he
was gone but he rushed back in a min
nte with that rotten old top hat he
wears full of water Lsd got from the
puddle in the stone pit. He doused my
head and made me sit up with my back
against troe. Then. feeling the fright
fulness of il, again begged him to go
and let me be. said:
6 You don't know what your do
ing. I'm no friend to you. but the
deadliest enemy you We got in the world
very likely. and if hadn't fallen down
Mt critical moment and broken myself
l should have stuck you up. NJ. Michel
So now you know.
''He said to himself The poor mad
boy. the poor mad boy will run a
toutes jambes for succor' But told
him not to. l began to get a rum hot
pain in my side then. but I felt 1 would
gladly have died there rather than be
obliged to him. said:
You called ME an 'aborigine,"
which is the most terrible thing you
can call an Australian born chap, and
you wanted to pass it off with knife
with corkscrew and tweezers in it.
But you couldn't expect ME to take it
feeling as did. Now the fortunes Of
war have given you the victory, and. if
you please 1 wish you d CO.
''He wouldn't. though. He said he
wouldn't have hurt my feelings for
anything. He seemed to overlook alto
gether what 1 was going to do to him
and asked me where it hurt me- 1 told
him. and he said it was his fault-fancy
that-and wished he was big enough to
carry ME back. I kept on asking him
to go. and at last. after begging my
pardon like anything for about week
it seemed, he went. But I heard him
shouting and yelling French yells in
the woods. and after bit he came back
with two men and hurdle. They pres
emily took me back, and what Frenchy' 8
said since to the doctor I don't know
In fact. l didn't know anything for
days. Anyway I've had nothing but a
mild rowing and very good grub. and
I'm not to be even hogged, though
that's probably because broke a rib or
two. not including the bone i'll my leg
But I'm all right now, and think it
was about the most sporting thing a
chap ever did for Frenchy to treat me
like that. eh2 shouldn't have thought
1t was in Frenchman to do it, espe-
cially after told him what I was go
ing to do.
Eyes" said. "that's all right. But
what about bushranging?"
cts pretty sickening," he said.
"bqt feel rs if all the keenness was
knocked out Of me. If chap can't so
much as fall out of tree on a wander
er's path at the nick of time without
smashing himself. what's the good Of
him?"
Besides. said. "if it hadn't been
F'renchy, but somebody else of differ
ent turn Of mind, he might have taken
you at disadvantage and killed you !"
''In real bushranging that is what
would have happened. admitted Free
kles. "As it is, feel months. perhaps
years. will have tn go by before feel
to banker after it again. And mean
time I shan rest in peace till I've paid
Frenchy.'
"How2" asked.
''Well. 1 believe it's to be done. He's
often come to see me while was on my
back in bed. and he's told me a lot
about himself. He's frightfully hard up
and Roman Catholic. and hopes to
lay his bones in In belle France, with
luck. but he doesn't think he'll ever be
able to manage it. He told me all this,
little knowing my father was extremely
rich. Well. you see. the mater wants
somebody French for the kids at home,
which are girls. and knowing Frenchy
bars this climate I think Australia
might do him good. He's 53 years old.
and it seems to me if the guv' nor wrote
and offered him his passage and good
screw he d go. Ihave made it a personal
thing, to myself, and told the guv'nor
what good little chap he is and what
a beautiful accent he's got and the
thing that happened in the wood
The affair dropped then. and about
six weeks after. when Freckles was get
ting fit again. he walked with me one
half holiday to see the place where he
was smashed up. The bough was q
frightful high one to drop from even in
daylight; also it was broken. Freckles
got awfully excited when he spotted it.
Ai,<S.I, L.. Z =.