Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1900-08-07

"MEBBE THE WHALE SwALLERED JOINER"
What's the matter that what's good
'nuff fur Elder Hopkins an everybody
else round we're amt good huff fur
yo'?
"'But 1 amt a-believin the story.
How's a man gwine to live right on
arter he's bin swallered by a whale?
THAT'S none of our bizness,' she
says.
"'But I'm maxim it my bizness,' says
I. What don't seem likely to me I
amt gwine to believe in
But yo' might keep shet about it
an not raise Il 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 L did or
not, an we was sassin away when we
heard a cry up on the hillside. 1t was
sunthin like the cry of a child, an the
old woman gifts up an listens an says:
''"Zeb, thar's leetle child wanderin
about in the bresh. Jest boot two or
three boots to draw it this way.
THE cry come ag'in, an then 1 know
ed what it was. 1t wasn't no lost
child, but n prowlin wildcat. hadn't
heard one fur two vars, but was dog
suah of the game. I'd hev told the old
woman, but she got mad bekase 1
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. If yo've
got a heart in yo'r busum. yo'lI go up
the mounting an find him an bring him
down in yo'r arms
~ amt huntin fur lost boys says
as fills my pipe.
"'Then L am. I'll go up thar myself
Better not
"'But 1 will. Befo' the Lawd, but 1
don't know what's come over yo', Zeb.
Fust yo' go an deny that the whale
swallered joiner, an then yo' 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 me?
81 amt takIn wild varmints fur lost
boys says 1 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
ness. Yo' sot right we're like an old
mewl. an I'll go up an find him. I'm
thankin the Iawd 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
Il wildcat was roamin round, 1 didn't
think the old woman would come to
any hurt. I 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 callin to Joey,
an now an then the cat cried out in an
swer. 1 was doin heap of laughin to
myself when the old woman calls back
to me:
Come on. Zeb. I've dun found the
childr
, Then bring him along says 1.
az can't. He's up a tree. Zeb, did
30 ever hear OF a lost boy climbin a
treeT
Not skassly, but mebbe they do tt
"'An his eyes are shinin like two
Goals Of fire. 1 never knowed that lost
children's eyes looked that way at
night
Il knowed the cat had 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 woman's back an
usin her teeth an claws like sin.
grabbed up a club an mixed in, but at
the fust blow the club broke, an the
cat turned on me- Lemme tell yo' SUM-
thin bout Wildcats. If yo' was TO be
pitched into a hole on top OF fo'teen
ouzzsaws, it wouldn't be as bad as