El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-02-15
AB'STUN.

| "deys muffin wrong wifi Ab'slum. He
in got muffin en- he inside 'ceptin boot
! laigs an sawdus', else he gwine be lax uh
lamm.'
1t was arranged that Ab'slum was to
be delivered G. o. d. and firmly tied to a
fencepost at my suburban home next
day.
| l arose early the following morning at
/ 6 by my alarm clock, which, however,
may have made it anywhere from 3 to
1880, the thing was wont to strike at
any hour which took its cratic fancy.
Upon looking from the window the first
sight which met my eyes was Ab'slum.
attached to the fence by a piece Of rope.
His owner sat upon the stile putting at
cob pipe and watching the house as
/ though determined to Illustrate any at
tempt at escape upon my part.
! "Yessuh," he grinned as L accosted
him, men Ab'slum's bin heah all mite.
Lawd, boss, Ab'slum he uh monst'us
smaht dawg, yessuh, an Use afeared
eff dom fotch IN heah at mite he gwine
! fin de way home"
''Well,' 1 said, you beat the record.
| Bring him back to the stable"
When the beast had been firmly at
tached to a staple, the old negro proceed
ed to properly introduce us.
"Now look a-yeah, dawg," he observed
sternly, Selling the brute by the ScruH
of his fat neck, dis heah gem'men's yo'
boss, heah me? An eff yo' dom have
yo'seff yo' gwine get de hide wo' often
yo' back"
Ab'slum acknowledged the introduction
by a sinister smile, accompanied by .
rumbling from some spot deep in his
anatomy.
1t was apparent that Abslum did not
approve of me; also that he possessed a
remarkably fine set Of molars.
"Now, boss" continued the old negro,
turning to me, dat dawg he aim gwine
bite nobody lessen he hongry."
In proof of which cheering assertion
he grasped the animals jaws and sep
arated them until 1 feared he would
come in halves, like a railroad sandwich,
pocketed the So bill rendered him and
shuff1ed down the road singing some
choice ditty concerning a person known
as his honey"
1 decided to convince Ab'slum at the
start that he was my slave and glared
at him sternly. The man who asserted
that animals quail before the power of
the human eye was liar. Ab'slum did
not quail Instead he made a frantic
dash for my person, and, finding himself
held by a rope, converted himself into a
canine whirlwind shrieking with rage.
The strands of the rope began to pop,
and / suddenly remembered that it was
breakfast time.
When 1 looked from the window, an
hour later, no Ab'slum was to be seen.
The sta BILE remained, also short piece
of rope. but Ab'slum had disappeared as
completely as though the earth had open
ed and swallowed him.
With remembrance of Ab'slum's ex-
pressive countenance before me, 1 dashed
into the kitchen to lock the door, almost
frightening the Irish cook into Mysteries.
1t was an awful situation. 1 wonder
ed how long the food and water in the
house would last, and if the neighbors
would not some day find the bleached
bones of the cook and myself lying upon
the floors of the kitchen and library re-
spectively. 1 ragged at the fate which
could thus cut off the life of bachelor
IN comparative youth.
Finally l fell asleep in chair, watch
ing dreamily the shadows of evening fall
ing and wondering if l would again see
the sun rise.
1 was aroused by the cook bursting into
the room, clad in bonnet and shawl, with
wild, Irish profusion of lamentation.
"How'm I to git home tonight" she
shrieked. with ravenin beast amblin
about in the yard an waitin for a chanst
to grab my new stockin's?"
"Why." 1 said in a feeble, cowardly
way, 81 guess you'll have to sleep in the
spare ROOM
"Yis,'' she retorted, IAN have every old
gossip in town a-sayin 1 lives at a old
batchelder's! If you was any kind of
man, you'd
Here she burst into tears and wept
with the abandon of a spinster of Al.
Presently she recovered and burst out
of the room. and in few moments her
voice cut into the night from the kitchen
window.
She was yelling MURDER at the top
of her country trained, farmland. awak-
ening voice. Plainly something must be
done, and at once.
Hurriedly clothing myself in three
pairs of trousers and two overcoatS, L
grasped the poker and made for the door.
determined to reach that old negro or die
in the attempt.
As my hand felt for the gate in the
darkness there was a savage growl from
somewhere before me. and l hurriedly
turned and made for the house, STUN
bling over the step and barking my shins
with painful thoroughnesS.
Another growl. this time close at hand,
and 1 sprang to my feet with wall of
terror.
There stood the old negro, holding Alb
'slum by the remnant of rope.
"Huht yo'seff, boss?" he inquired SYM
pathetically.
"Have you got him?" 1 exclaimed ex-
citedly.
"Yessuh,'' he replied. 81 dun fotch
yo' back Ab'slum. He cum home long
bout dinneh time, but Use afeared tub
fotch IN back TO- mite else he gwine fin
de way
"See here, uncle" 1 said weakly, seat
ing myself upon the step, Il don't be-
Heve 1 want him at all. Here's a dollar,
uncle Take him home with you and
keep the money"
"pankee, suh," he grinned, "tankee,
subj Ab'slum he uh monst'us smaht
dawg, sub, 'ceptin he aim use tub be
way FUN home"
When he had been swallowed up In