The National tribune., 1902-07-24

milk her? Milk Sal Leathers's cow?
laughed the woman, derisiyely, and her
older children joined in a chorus of
cackles. .'Thars no more milk in that
beast than thar is i'll a straw-stack. She's
bin dry for Iaoren q year, and Sails bin
tryin' to fat her for beef, with about as
much luck as she'd have in fattening n
Windmill. Shell run often her in an hour
all the fat you could git on her in a week.
But we dor't want no milk. as long as we
kin git some o that coffee you're billing
! thar, and which by the smell was done
long ago. l wouldn't give one cup o. that
thar coffee for a barrel o milk. We hain't
had no coffee since the beginning o the
war, an air jest dyin' fer a good swig of
it. Can't you give us some right away?"
And the woman and her children looked
with eyes of intensest longing upon the
cOffce-kcttlc.
But your little children-your baby
expostuated 81. "They can't drink cof
fee. They ought to have milk. by all
means. and we've been hunting it for
them
Huh. don't hunt a minnit longer. an
don't fool yourself bout their drinkin'
coffee whenever they kin git it, said the
woman. They'll be tickled clean to their
toe-nails to get some coffee, even them
that's never tasted it. They'd all heap
ruther have taste o coffee than all the
milk you could give 'em. They've never
hankered after milk since they WIZ
weaned."
you've had your trouble for nothing
boys" said ST. LET the old COW co.
Il promised to take her back" said
the conscientious Sandy, land / ought to
do it. I'd rather have a tooth pulled,
though, than try it."
Il guess if she's turned loose she'll find
I,xs, L..1 Ill -
You bet she will.' said the woman.
'Sal Leathers's cows as well known in
Columby as the State House, and amt
liked for n cent. for she kin jump any
fence. an likes nothin' better'n browsing
on other peoples yards. They've tried to
pound her often, but she'd alters jump
out. and fetches up at Sal Leathers's'
Let her go. then. and. Kramer, dish
up, for I'm hungrier'n a bear
The food had already been given out to
the negroes. and, with their stomachs
filled to repletion, they were lying around
the big fire, their feet to it, and their
heads wrapped in any old rags they could
find, sleeping the peace of entire happi-
ness end content.
dainties to give the woman and her chill
dren. and when the other boys came upon
anything that seemed particularly good
they would stop and insist upon her and
they sharing it. They seemed to enjoy
it all, but were ravenOus for the coffee.
1t was the first time in the mothers poor.
starved life that she had all the strong
black coffee she could drink. and had not
even tasted it since the beginning of the
war. There was plenty of brown sugar
to sweeten it. too. and they got away with
a quantity of both sugar and coffee that
simply amazed the boys, draining the last
drop of the great kettle. Then the wom-
an asked if she might not have the
grounds to boil over in the morning.
After supper the boys lighted their
pipes and proceeded to make the cabin
as wind-tight and comfortable for the fam
lily as possible. They nailed on boards
here and there. and then Tom and Abe
remembered having seen Il bale of cotton
not far away. They went up and rolled
spread soft bed in the cabin. At va
rious stages they had accumulated more
than their share of blankets. and with
these the mother tucked her family away
in snug warmth. The boys took blanket
apiece, and lay down in the open part of
the boat.
Il hope that woman knows how well
she's off," remarked Wash Lambert, as
he turned in. She's whole lot better
off than she ever was before in her life.
She's sleeping in her own boat, for we'll
make over all our right. title and interest
in this craft to her heirs, administrators
and assigns. She's sleeping on a costlier
bed than anybody in this country ever had
That cotton's worth $3.50 pound, if it's
worth = cent
"And We'll turn over to he all that sill
ver," said 81. Let her and The owners
fight it out between them. / think she's
got snap and cunning enough to beat them
that'd try to steal it away from her again.
That'll relieve our consciences. We don't
want any of it. We don't want anything |
but what we come by honestly"
Monty, Alf, Harry, Sandy and Pete
overheard Sis remarks. pricked up their
ears, and slid their spoils into better con-
cealment. |
After breakfast the next morning the |
boys went up into town again. 1t was IN