The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1901-02-07


startin' back when the came terrible
blast uf win, en- to keep FIN bein' car
ried into the rivah All crouched low OH
the levy. All heard a creakin', schriek-
ing crash en- the wearhouse wuZ gone,
stranger. All struggled to nah feet
en-, shoutin', plunged aftah the tosSin',
grindin' wreck, fghtin' en- prayin' to
fin nah parents. A piece of fioatin'
wreckage struck nah head en-, half
conscious, chokin'. blinded, chilled Ell
exhausted, All b'arly made nah way TO
the levy agin. All coulden' tell yo' what
all happened durin' the res uf tibet
night, though some trifin' things i'm
pressed themselves upon me with start
lin distinctness. At one time, when
the waves washed clean ovah me. All
noticed with momentary surprise the
salty taste of the watah. then All re-
membered tibet the flood wuz FIN the
sea en- not the rivah. At another time
All placed nah hand on somethin' hard
en- scaly, en- when it began to move All
realized tibet it wuz a moccasin snake.
1t wuz too scared to strike. sub.
daylight broke en- All looked about
TO Edward. At fust All coulden see
| hide nor ha'r uf him nor uf eny other
Twin human critter, though the wuz
some uf mos every other sort uf animal
en- reptile thar. The wuz hogs en- cat
tie, bosses, sheep. en- every hyar en- thar
a wrigglin' snake. All dom believe tibet
Noah made any bettah shown All saw
nah saddle boss Bill the thoroughbred
tibet nah uncle gev me vars befo', en-
All whistled shrill on nah ingahs ez
All used to do to call him up FIN the
pastur'. He answered with glad whin-
ney en- worked his way along agin the
storm to whar All wuz crouchin', en- he
rubbed his nose again NAH shoulder
Ell whinnied soft like ez though he wuz
glad to see me Twin. His eyes wuz al
mos human.
"Ah twisted nah fngahs in his
long. wet name, en-, putin an arm
eroun' his neck, stood creek en- looked
fab away up the line uf the levy to-
ward the plantation whar Genie lived.
Ah saw mans figure in the distance
en- All knew ii mus be Edward. All
worked nah way carefully erlong still
holdln on to Bill en- the cattle en- sheep
moved on erhead ez though they wuz
glad to be driven. All kivered mile er
mo IN this way en- could see the old
pecan tree on the Dupree plantation
wavln en- tossin' in the storm. but
the house wuz gone. Lookin' up the
levy agin, All saw Edward standin'
recklessly en- wavin' his arms frantic
like en- lookin' to the windward uf the
levy Lookin' again to the pecan tree.
All saw three pussons. one NAH Genie
en- NAH heart beat fas'. All whistled
en- hollered at the top uf NAH voice to
Edward. but coulden' get his attention.
All saw him strip off his coat en- plunge
into the ragin' sea during brief lull
in the sto'm. All hurried on ez fas' ez
All dared Two er three times it looked
ez though he would be beaten back agin
the levy or thrown clar over into the
runnin' rivah beyond. He swan mostly
below the surface with wonderful
en- peculiar stroke. All could see him.
only at intervals ez he rose on the cresr
uf wave en- All thought uf nah words
to Genie: Yo'r Yankee hez no SIGH
love ez mine fo' yo' Genie ez All saw
him CALAMITY buffet the waves. Genie
wuz motionless. en- All knew that she
was prayin' fo' Edward.
HE had kivered half or mo- uf the
distance when the sky became sudden
ly black en- the sto'm came on full fo'ce
agin. The win he'd whipped eroun' to
the no 'thwest en- came on fiercer then
evan. Alb dared not stan creek en-
crouched agin on the levy. All could
see the peach tree bendin' befo' the
sto'm till its branches whipped the
surgin' sea into madden fury. 4 great
wave sweep ovah me en- All fell fiat agin
on the levy. All caught a palmetto
root and chung fo' life. At times All
wuz completely submerged fo' several
seconds till the wind. veering mo- en-
mo-. finally came direck FIN the moth.
sweeping the watah south to the gulf
with such fo'ce tibet the levy seemed
the dividin' line between two rivahs
racing each othah to the sea. Aftah
an hour or mo- the watah began to
lower till the top of the levy was well
above the tide. Ez soon ez the heavens
cfared All looked agin to the pecan
tree The was but two figures thar.
Genie wuz gone en- the swimmer wuz
nowhar to be seen. The mex day the
relief boats steamed down the rivah
FIN New Orleans. They wanted to take
us away, but we coulden' hev left thar
eff we he'd tried. They lef' us little
bacon en- cohn meal en- blankets. en-
ez soon as the sto'm subsidized enuff we
wuz ready to take up our search.
"Ole man Dupre said Genie he'd been
the life en- hope uf them all till tibet
las bias when she seen her lover 90
down, en- then the ole man diden' know
what happened. He looked eroun' en-
she wan thar nor could anything be
seen uf her on the waves about. She
mus hev just drapped en- Civ up en-
tirely. The ole man en- All went to-
gethah, en- fab down country among
some cypress trees we foun' all tibet
they wuz lef' uf Genie, en- not much
further we foun' Edward en- in his
clinched hand we found a miniature of
Genie. The scar on his cheek where
All struck him the day with the ridin'
whip stood clar en- distink, en- All al
ways stop en- think uf tibet scar now
wheRevah All feel inclined to be hastv.