The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1900-11-24

"IRUN UP AGIN sUNrHIN ~ THE DARKNESS. -"
through me. 'Yo' jest keep right on
coon hunun. and yo1l find a coon soon
er or later, and itH turn ont a mighty
bad find TO yo'.'
Then | knowed she spectcd what
was up to, but as she didn't say nuthln
mo- l didn't. That night when | went
over to the still felt little skittish.
The old woman's words had kind Of
skeered me- Them reyenew fellers was
around lOokln fur stills, and was La
bic to run across 'em IN the woods any
time. II they ketched me with key
Of moonshlne on my shoulder, it meant
a year in prison fur me fur suah.
When Jim Harper found I was sklt-
fish. he says:
III 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 a man who has Killed a
wildcat with a club should be afraid Of
woodchucks. The other two men
laughed at me and said | was gittln
old and feeble, and, Of cO'se the talk
r'iled me and made me determined to
90. 1t was about 10 o'clock when
slung kcg Of moonshlne on my shout
ders and sot out. II wasn't a cloudy
night, but a man wanted the eyes Of a
cat to follcr the paths over the hills
and through the bresh. tried TO think
Il 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 a bar snlflin In the bresh. The
noise he made was a sort Of snlff-snuff,
with a 'woof at the end Of It. That's
the way bar allus does when he
smells a man at night.
"'Look yere, Zeb White says to
myself as that bar kept comm nearer,
If 20 amt In a scrape then I'll eat
my butes. In the darkness and over
these hills 20 can't run fur shucks,
and how yo' gwine to fight a bar bare
handedY
"Yo' bet | wished had needed the
old woman, but It was too late then. l
thought the best way was to git up
and 60 along and give that yarmint a
cold bluff, but | was tremblin all over
as l made forward ! tried to whistle,
but my lips was dry as paper. ! start
ed to sing, but my own voice skeered
NE. was movin along slow and hop
in the bar would take the bluf when
l run up ag'in sunthln in the darkness.
l put out my hand and felt the fur of a
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. II was as If a
mule had kicked me on the ear, and l
had Jest sense 'nu1f to wonder how IL
would feel when the critter begun to
tear me to pieces. / heard him snuflin
and snufIin and movin around, but he
didn't come to me, and bimeby | heard
him movin away.
when | went head over heels. | lost
the keg. l didn't stop to look fur 1t
when the bar moved of, but l crawled
back to the path and started off. / was
feelin the thankfulest man in Tennes-
see, though my head felt as big as a
bari, when somebody grabbed me and
flashed a light in my face. True as
you live, 1 had run ag'in three reVe-
new fellers who was hidin and waitin
fur me.
"'Good evenin, Zeb White said one
of 'em as they made suah 1t was me.