The National tribune., 1900-06-21

posite side. and a-iine of negroes of both
sexes and all ages broke cover, and came
ont with every eye and mouth open to tie
| widest. 81 stepped back into cover,
startled by the apparition.
Keep back dah, Keep back, yo' fool
niIgehs,' Uncle Ephraim called out indig-
nantly. What foh yo' done mean, all
swarmin' down hyah lack flock OBJ pat
yo' mustn't come down hyah7 Hit'd make
aich ruction dat hit'd spile all2 Dis
! hyah's a great secret. hit am
| Please, Uncle Eph'm, / wanted to see
lie Yankees my own self, wild my own
eyes"
Il didn't belieb yo' rayIy had any Yam
KEGS, no, ho.-an' | wanted ter see whed-
der yo' wuz dreamin' as yo' jinerully is''
Jest le' me sOt my eyes on dem once,
an IN 90 right straight back"
'We'uns all wanted ter bring um suth-
in ter eat, too
Don't be hoggish erbout yer Yankees.
! Uncle Eph'm. We'uns has got jest as
good right ter see uIn, an help +um, as
! 20 has, were among the expressions
that made up the chorus in reply to Uncle
| Ephraim's protest.
list lack dat ole fool Eph," said 'Ner-
w Ann. 10 81 and Shorty, who had crossed
the road TO her. while Ephraim was bust
| ling around among the rest. He never
kin keep muffin ter hisself, so he can't.
| He wuz so big wild his secret dat he had
| ter take ebbery niggeh on de place off ter
one side an tell him, an den make him
promise ter keep his secret. Hit'll be a
Gawd's mercy if dey don't hyah OBJ hit
up ter de big house. Better take all dat
| dey've done brung yo', an shoe dem away
lack scat How's de leetle Yankee?'
| Hes doin' very well, thankee."
| m jest a-dyin' ter see him agin. All
de wimmen folks is. Bring him down ter
morrer mornin'. III had him sumfn' nice
ter eat. Hist, ] t'ink | hear some one
| comm down de road Git de t'ings FIN
dose folks, an shoe dem away"
The others caught the alarm, and rap
idly passing their gifts to ST and Shorty,
] disappeared in the brush. Each one had
brought something-co-n dodgers, sweet
| potatoes, bits of their bacon rations. etc,
| and one contributed d good-sized water
melon.
| ST and Shorty had only time to gather
| their stock back into the brush and crouch
down, when a man and woman rode by
| from some neighborly visit.
Including the watermelon 81 and Shorty
found that they had much more than they
could carry.
I've never bin Black Abolitionist,"
said Shorty, surveying the accumulation.
| but l am the blackest kind from this
| minute. Think o them poor people tax
] ing so much o their grub, and they haint
any too much, to give US. Wed be skunks
! If we didn't fight to free them. Hereaf-
| ter I'm goin' to be browner than old John
| Brown ever was. You hear me-"
They had to make two trips, and call
| in the services of Harry Joslyn and
Sandy Baker to get all their food up to
| the cabin.
In spite OF 81 and Shorty's misgivings,
Monty could eat ravenously of the water
| melon. When he woke up the next morn
| ing his fever was entirely gone. They
were all very much better, but in spite Of
| Sis eagerness he could see little hope that
| they would be able to march that night.
Gid and Monty were SO weak that they
could scarcely walk to the spring and
back. and Pete could not set his foot to
| the ground without great pain.
After a thorough wash all around, and
| fresh poulticing, 81 and Shorty climbed
the tall tulip-tree for an anxious survey
of the country.
The view was even more exciting than
the day before. They could actually
| than yesterday. But they seemed to move
with such inordinate slowness. The only
way that it could be told that they were
moving at all was by the clouds of dust,
and seeing the clear spot in the road
lengthen out behind them. 1t was much
| too far to tell to which side the troops
belonged, and 81 and Shorty secuted each
others guesses as to this or that sign.
| They We're both too eager to believe the
thing they hoped for, to have much conf
dence in their own judgment. The blaz-
ing sun overhead at length reminded
them that it was noon, and they must go
to the road to meet Aunt Minerva Ann.
We must carry Pete down to her,"
said 81. Her heart is set on seeing him,
and it won't do to disappoint her. She's
bin too good to US. ''T'll carry him down
and back"
with jealous asperity; nobody carries that
boy but me-"
They found 'Nervy Ann waiting for
them, with two of her particular cronies,
whom she had let into her secret. They
went into raptures over Pete, and Law
ished endearments upon him, until his
face was redder than Shorty's. They
could not pity his sore foot enough, and
with much pitying grooming unbound and
replaced the bandages in way that Pete,
in spite of his loyalty to Shorty, had to
confess was much more comfortable than
his methods. They pleaded to be allowed
to take Pete home with them and nurse
him, and get him away from the harnts.
which they were sure were responsible
for his troubles, as well as those of the
rest of the boys. The great wonder was
that any of them We're alive. But 81 nor
Shorty would consent, and Pete was
equally resolute. Aunt Minerva Ann was
going straight home. to make bread-and-
milk poultice. but they feared to wait for
her. They must go back to the cabin and
the tuIip-tree Aunt Minerva Ann
then produced another jug of sweet milk,
and from her capacious bosom brought
forth some boiled eggs. One of the other
women had brought a broiled chicken,
and the other a crock, containing q hare
stew. Each was jealously exacting that
Pete should eat and enjoy some Of her
gift before her eyes.
The partners hurried back TO their tree.
The sight from there thrilled them to the
marrow. The troops were certainly ad-
vancing, and they We're cavalry. More
over, they must be Union cavalry, for
there was another body of cavalry hur-
hying up the road to meet them. But the
distance made the movements of each
seem slower than the crawling of snails.
The hours Wore away toward sunset before
the two bodies came into each others
presence. Then the partners saw the lit
tie puffs as the advanced guards eneoan-
tered; they saw long lines of puffs stretch
ing across the open ground as the skirm-
ishers came together, and finally they
saw the Union cavalry rush toward thcir
enemies. and scatter them in a wild
charge. They strained their eyes TO fol-
low the movements of each, but they dis
appeared in the timber, and darkness pres
emily closed down.
The excited partners climbed down and
went back to their boys, and looked them
over anxiously. But even their sanguine