The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1900-11-09

Il KUN UP AG IN SUNTHIN IN THE DARKNESS.
through me. Yo' jest keep right on
coon huntin. and yo'n find a coon soon
er or later, and it'll turn out a mighty
bad find fo' yo'.'
Then | knowed she s'pectcd what I
was up to, but as she didn't say nuthin
mo didn't. That night when | went
over to the still felt q little skittish.
The old womanS words had kind of
skeered me. Them rcvenew fellers was
around loOkin fur stills. and was liza.
bic to run across 'em in the woods any
time. If they kctched me with n key
of moonshine on my shoulder. it meant
year in prison fur me fur suah.
When Jim Harper found l was skit-
fish, he says
If it's got to that pint whar Zeb
White, the celebrated bar killer and
possum hunter of Tennessee, has be-
come afraid of rabbits, then he'd better
stay home Of nights and play check
ers.'
Then Bill Hope chips in and says it's
wonderful that man who has killed
wildcat with club should be afraid of
woodchucks. The other two men
laughed at me and said | was gittin
old and feeble, and, of cO'se, the talk
r'iled me and made me determined to
go. 1t was about 10 o'clock when |
slung Il keg of moonShine on my Shout
ders and sot out. 1t wasn't a cloudy
night, but Il man wanted the eyes of a
cat to fOller the paths over the hills
and through the bresh. tried to think
1t was all right, but the old woman's
words kept comm back to me, and |
felt my knees grow weak as | scuffed
along. | was jest about half way over
the hills and had sot down to rest when
l heard bar snitlin in the bresh The
noise he made was a sort of niff-snuff,
with woof' at the end of it. That's
the way bar allus does when he
smells man at night.
Look yere, Zeb White says | to
myself as that bar kept comm nearer,
If yo' amt in a scrape then I'll eat
my butes. In the darkness and over
these hills 70 can't run fur shucks,
and how yo' gwine to fight a bar bare
handed?
"Yo' bet l wished l had needed the
old woman, but it was too late then.
thought the best way was to git I'D
and go along and give that varmint q
cold bluff, but | was trenholm all over
as | made forward. | tried to whistle,
but my lips was dry as paper | start
ed to sing but my own voice skeered
me. | was movn along slow and hop
In the bar would take the bluff when
run up agin sunthin in the darkness.
i put out my hand and felt the fur of q
bar, but | hadn't more'n teched him
when sunthin hit me 'longside the head,
and | went head over heels down hill
and into the bushes. 1t was as if a
mule had kicked me on the ear, and |
had jest sense huff to wonder how 1t
would feel when the critter begun to
tear me to pieces. | heard him snuffin
and snuffin and movin around, but he
didn't come to me. and bimeby heard
him movin away.
when l went head over heels. lost
the keg. | didn't stop to look fur 1t
when the bar moved off. but | crawled
back to the path and started off. | was
feelin the thankfulest man in Tennes-
see, though my head felt as big as a
bar'l, when somebody grabbed me and
flashed a light in my face. True as
you live, l had run ag'in three reve-
new fellers who was hidin and waitin
fur me.
"'Good evenin, Zeb White, said one
'om as they made suah it was me.
""The same says l, pullin myself
together as hard as | could.
"'Out fur leetle walk this eveninT
"T be-
Nice evenin to walk. Mebbe yo've
bin pickin wild flowers? BY the way,
whars the key of moonshineT
Il jest bluffed 'em right down." said
the old man, with a grim smile. "As
the keg was gone and they couldn't
tech me, wasn't afraid to talk. They
threatened and bulldozed, but l stuck
to it that was lookin fur coons, and
they dasn't hold me. Bmeby l started
fur home. l was mighty narvus about
mo- bars, but l got home without see