Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1900-07-26

| What's the matter that what's good
huff fur Elder Hopkins an everybody
else round we're amt good nun fur
yo'Y
but l amt a-believin the story.
arter he's bin swallered by a whaler
That's none Of our bizness,' she
says.
but I'm maxim it my bizness,' says
1. What don't seem likely to me 1
amt gwine to believe in
but yo' might keep shet about 1t
an not raise fuss. Who air yo', Zeb
White, that yo' disputes the Bible?
THAT started the row." said the old
man. IAN we had some purity hot words.
said didn't believe the story, an she
said she didn't keer whether I did or
not, an we was sassin away when we
heard cry up on the hillside. 1t was
sunthin like the cry Of child, an the
old woman gifts up an listens an says:
"'Zeb, thar's a leetle child wanderin
about in the bresh. Jest boot two or
three boots to draw 1t this way
1.-THE cry come ag'in, an then know
| ed what 1t was. 1t wasn't no lost
child, but a prowlin wildcat. l hadn't
heard one fur two vars, but I was dog
suah Of the game. I'd hev told the old
| woman, but she got mad bekase I
| wouldn't boot an called me names.
When the third cry comes, she says to
me:
"'Zeb White, that must be Joe Ba-
ker's leetle boy Jim, an he's wandered
| two miles away from home. II yo've
| got heart in yo'r busum, You go up
the mounting an find him an bring him
| down In yo'r arms
az amt huntin fur lost boys says I
as fills my pipe.
"Then am. I'll go up thar myself
"'Better not
"'But will. Befo' the Lawd, but I
don't know what's come over yo', Zeb.
Fust yo' go an deny that the whale
swallered joiner, an then 20 won't
move hand or foot to save an inherent
child from perishin. Mebbe yo' air git
tin ready to turn Mormon an run away
from meY
az amt takin wild varmints fur lost
boys says as the scream come ag'in.
Its no wild varmint. It's the
voice Of leetle Joe Baker. an he must
be skeert almost to death Of the dark
ress. Yo' sot right yere like an old
mewl, an I'll 60 up an find him. I'm
thankin the Lawd yo' hain't got no
children Of yo'r own
with that she grabs up a stick an
starts up the hill. While knowed that
a wildcat was roamin round, / didn't
think the old woman would come to
any hurt. 1 hoped the cat would yell
out an skeer her. an SO 1t was ten min
its befo' follered on. She went push
In through the bresh an calm to Joey,
an now an then the cat cried out In an
swer. l was dom a heap Of laughin to
myself when the old woman calls back
to me:
"'Come on, Zeb! I've dunsfound the
childg
"Then bring him along.i says 1.
81 can't. He's up tree Zeb, did
20 ever hear Of lost boy climbin a
treeY
"'Not skassly, but mebbei they do it.
"'An his eyes are shinn like two
Goals Of fire. never knowed that lost
children's eyes looked that way at
night
II knowed the catohad clumb a tree
An was lookin down at the old woman,
an had jest opened my mouth to cry
out a warnin when the cat Kissed an
growled an ratified the bark with her
claws. That was 'nuff. The old wom-
an gin a yell an started to run, but at
the fust move she fell over a log.
reckon that cat must hev bin mighty
mad bout sunthin, fur she screamed
out an jumped to the ground an In two
jumps was on the old womans back an
usin her teeth an claws like sin. !
grabbed up club an mixed In, but at
the fust blow the club broke, an the
cat turned on me. Lemme tell yo' sun
thin bout wildcats. If yo' was to be
pitched into hole on top of fo'teen
buzzsaws, 1t wouldn't be as bad as
hevin a row with one full grown Wild
cat. She would GIN me atbite an then
gin the old womany ,clawin, an thar
was no gettin awaytfromjher. We had to
fight fur our lives; an II never did SIGH
fightin In all my days. We'd hev both
bin done up excepttthat dashed the cat
agin a tree an stunned her, an. while
she lay thar we sfied to ttheihouse an
locked the doah. We hadn't skassly
got in befo' the icritter was ,screechin
round, an. not ibein able tot git lat us.
she went round to the shedIan ibit an
clawed my oldsmewl till he was no
good all winter.
I'VE was a,dpefful\ sight 'totsee when
| we got into fhe housA--ma an the old