Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1900-12-28

while yo' played the fiddle. l also
want to talk to yo' bout Noer and his
ark
"'I've got sore thumb and can't
fiddle, and, as fur Noer, he will keep
till some other time. Nuthin rushin
bout NOer.'
with that she turns on me and
looks me squar in the face, and arter
a mint she says:
"'Zeb White. don't yo' 20 to foohn
with NOcr and his ark or sunthin pow
erful bad will come out of it. Dan
Skinner may feel pcekish. or he may
be dyin. but what we wants to know is
how all them critters found their way
into the ark. How did it happen that
the hens didn't eat up the later bugs
while they was walkin togetherr
"'Dunno'
"'Why didn't the foxes eat all the
hens"
"Dunno.'
"'Why didn't the bars eat the pigs?
"'Dunno.'
"'Of co'se yo' don't, and that's why
! want yo' to squat right down we're
with me and try and fgger it out. l
shan't never be satisfied to die till I
find out how the elephants and bosses
and cattle managed to git into that ark
without treadin on the sarpints and
bugs
Il seen that her jaw was sot fur
row." continued Zeb, "but had sold
that whisky and must git it out that
night, and so / told her I'd go along
over to SINNERS and put in the next
two nights with her on Noer She
looked at me ag'in, but didn't say
nuthin till was on the doahstep. Then
she p'inted her finger at me and said:
go right along, Zeb White, but if
the Lawd don't dun git yo into a
heap of trubble over it then don't
know chestnuts from punkins"
81 hurried off without sayin anything
back and half an hour later was bring
in up the kegs. 1t was dod rotted biz
ness. had to slide down rope, hitch
on to a keg and then climb up and
pull the keg arter me. Ought to had
Niger to help me. but thar wasn't
one around TO trust. I'd got up fo'
kegs all right and was comm up to
pull the fifth one up when sunthin
happened. Jest as | was ncarin the
top of the hole ! heard a growl and
'whoof and big bar made n stroke
MT my head with his paw. | was that
durn skeered that | jest let go and
drapped to the bottom of the shaft and
got jar that made my bones ache fur
a week.
what they calls the situashun was
this: was down in a hole and bar
was waitin fur me to come up and do
bizness with him. Yo' kin see that the
pesky varmint had all the advantage
He could smash my skull with one
blow of his paw as my head come
within reach. ! yelled and hollered at
him. thinkin to skeer him away, but he
looked over the edge of the hole at me
and growled and shifted and seemed
minded to fall on top of me. 1t wasn't
five minits befo' ! wished | was home
talkin bout Noer, but wishin was no
good. kept quiet fur two or three
hours and then started to climb up.
The bar was thar. He was thar at
midnight and sunrise, and I'm tellin
yo' that he was thar at noon and at fo'
O'Clock in the AFTERNOON. The shaft
was as dry as bone and was thirsty
huff to drink swamp water. The
way things was fixed that bar could
keep me down thar till ! persisted,
and when he appeared as if he was
like TO do It felt that | hadn't used
my old woman right and wanted to
nsk her to furgive me. Bout fo' o'clock,
while was keepin mighty quiet,
hears rifle shot above. and directly
arterward a human face looks down