The National tribune., 1900-05-17

IO ctSNEff IA Wu-TO
PLANTER. BRANDISHING
Hello, thar, yo! Who air vol and
what air yo' doin' thar"
| Shorty did not release his hold on the
| log, but raised his eyes sufficiently to see
| that his interlocutor was evidently a mid
dle-aged planter, who had ridden out on a
bare point opposite him. He held large
pepper-box revolver in one hand. Be
| hind him sat a negro on mule.
Hello, yourself, and see how you like
| it," answered Shorty, bringing his log up
to where he could lay his hand on it, and
| steering it into a safe haven in the brush.
"Who are you, and what are you a-doin'
| there"
The old planter seemed to swell up with
| rage at this cavalier answer to man OF
| his importance.
mel Willyum Messack, sab, O. Turkey
Creek, sab. I"
Glad to make your acquaintance, Col.
Meshach. How's your partners, Shad-
rach and Abednego? Rainy day, aint it?
Different from that you had in the fiery
| furnace. Hot times you had, then"
Damn yer imperdence, yo' hog-stealin'
scalawag," roared the old fellow, shaking
the pepper-box revolver. Don't yo' try
ter work that ole joke off on me. Hits in
the mouths of all yo whelps. know
I've done bin lookin' fer yo."
Thanks for the compliment" said
| Shorty, derisively. Cant say that I kin
return it. Ihaint cared durn about seein'
| you"
"Shet up" roared the planter. 81 knowed
| from the way my shoats was a-gwine that
some o. yo' sneakin' layers-out that air
| dodgin' Yer duty ter yer country was
alvin often my meat, and | started out
this mornin' through the rain ter find
yo'. How many air thar over thar O.
| yo'uns?"
We'll, 1 aint Assessor for this Town
ship, and 1 don't know as it's any O. your
business, anyhow, Mr.. Abednego."
"Cunnel Messack,- yo', Messack!
Don't yo' dar' call me out o my name.
I'll blow yer head off"
what, with that ole pepper-box, Cunnel
Shadrach? You couldn't hit a barn with
''Messack -" and the Colonel had the
symptoms of an apoplectic fit. When he
recovered his breath he, commanded:
Come right oven hyah at wunst, ,yo',
and all yo'Uns up that thar tree. done
see every one o yo'uns. Come over hyah.
Yo'uns can't git away"
Shorty turned to look at whom he was
addressing in addition to himself, and
Baker and Pete had climbed into the limbs
of low-growing !iye-oak, to get away
from the snakes. They had disposed of
themselves in the thick branches to rest,
but the angry colloquy had aroused them,
and they had crawled out toward the end
of the limb to see what was going on, and
all their faces were distinctly visible.
Not much, Abednego,"" said Shorty
tantalizingly 81 aint as bold about the
water as you were about the fire.. You
| come over here, if you want me. Gentle
men that want to see me call on me. /
don't go to them. Besides, l wouldn't go
| through six feet O. that muddy water to see
any old Jew mentioned in the Bible"
Jew! Jewi yO' internal hawg-thieves,
and sneakin' towards. I'll Jew yo', If l
| done come oveh thar"
But you won't come over here, all the
same. You Jews always wanted to go
over water dry shod. l always wondered
what become of you after that furnace
racket. suppose you went into the old
| clothin' biZniSS."
There was a fresh explosion of wrath
| from the gentleman ON the bank, ending
with:
But yo'uns can't git away. I've done
got you hived at last. I'm a-gwine ter
stay hyah an watch yo'uns, while send
out inter the country fo' help. Rlinkie,
(to the negro behind him, ride oveh as fast
as yo' kin ter Doc: Swanson, an tell him
| that I've got hull paSSel o sneakin' lay
outs hived hyah on my uppeh island, and
foh him ter git all the neighbors, and come
hyah ter,wunst, and Well git EN-. 1o,
mout circle round ter Jeb. Parsonss, and
tell him the same, and then go home and
| git my ole yaWger-rifle, and suthin' fer me
ter eat, fo' I'll likely have ter stay hyah
quite awhile. Make haste, now. Lay the
! hickory onter yer mule"
| 81 came up behind Shorty, in the cover
Of the brush, and said:
'Shoye that log over this way. Shorty.
and go on chinning him for a little while,
I've caught another log as good as this.
| Wen faSten 'em together with grapevineS,
and they'll carry us over to the other side.
We can't go over on that side, with that old
snoozer watchin' for us, but we kin fool him
while we're skippin' up the other side o
| the crick. Go on talkin' to him, and keep
his attention while we're fixing the raft"
| 81 worked the log around to his side of
| the island, and he and the boys were soon
binding the two together with grapevines
with some smaller logs between to give
sufficient buoyancy to carry the whole
squad.
Say" called out the planter. in more
| placatory tone, after little pause, "why
don't yo'uns go an jine yer rijimints,
| like decent men, and fout foh yer country,
same as others S doin'? Yo'uns We got
| ter go, anyhow, and why not be decent
have gwine. If yo'uns go now, you git
jest as much credit as anybody
why don't you 60 yourself, Cunnel?
You wanted the wah wussen we'uns did"
80, l can't go nohow. The country
needs men like me wuss at home than hit
does in the army. I've done got ter stay
at home and take keer o my plantation
and my niggehs. Whatd become o them
if | went inter the army? Somebody
must stay at home"
"Zackly. You held a leetle convention,
all by your lonesome, and unanimously
elected yersef ter stay at home. We'uns
held a leetle convention, all by ourselves.