The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-01-11

Nothing was to be gained by remaining. so Gabriel bade the Rev. Jeremiah good | bye, and went toward shady Dale. When he was well out of sight, the negro ap- preached the blackboard, and. with the most patent curiosity, examined the an- nouncement that Gabriel had written. with his forefinger, he traced over the line. then, stepping back a few paces. he viewed the writing critically. Finally he shook his head doubtfully, exclaiming | aloud: Oats whar dey'll git us-yes suh. dat's whar dey sho' will git us. After which he carefully closed the door of the. school house and followed the path leading to Shady Dale. :
 The Rev. Jeremiah had taken step which 1t was now teo late to retrace. He | was not vicious negro. In common with the great majority of his race, he was eaten up by desire to make him | self conspicuous. It was natural. there ! fore that the Rev. Jeremiah should be- come the willing tool of the politicians | and adventurers who had accepted the implied invitation of the radical leaders ! of the Republican Party to assist in the spoilation of the South. The Rev. Jere- I miah, once he had been patted on the back and addressed as Mir. Tomlin by a white man. and that man a representa- | tive of the Government, was quite ready | to believe anything he was told by his new friends. and quite as ready to aid 1 them in carrying out any scheme that their hatred of the South and their nat ural rapacity could suggest or invent.
 The Rev. Jeremiah. as he went along the path mumbling out his thoughts. was simply putting together as many l sonorous phrases as he could remember. and storing them away in view of the contingency that he would be called on to address those of his race who might. be present at the organization of the Union League.
 | When the day was far spent. Nan and l Tasma rid went wandering out of town | in the direction of the school house. The excuse Nan had given at home was that she wanted to see Fasma Tid's hiding place. As they passed Tomlin's they I saw the Rev Jeremiah splitting wood l for his wife, who was the cook. At sight l of Jeremiah, Tasma rid laughed so long and so loud that the parson paused In his labors and looked at her He took off his hat and bowed to Nan, whereupon Tasma rid raised her hand above her head, and indulged in a series of wild gesticulations, which. to the Rev Jere- miah. were very mysterious and puzzllng.
 What are you trying to do to Jere- miah?' inquired Nan, as they went along.
 Him fool nigger. We make him dream bad dream" responded Tasma lid curtly.
 Tasma lid led Nan to the old building and told her to wait a moment The Af- rfcan crawled under the house, and then suddenly reappeared at the back door. near which Nan was waiting. Tasma Tid had crawled under the house. and lifted loose plank in the, floor of the closet, making her entrance in that way. The front door was locked, but the back door was fastened on the inside, and Tasma rid had no trouble in getting it open. It is fair to say that Nan hesitated before entering. but 1t was not her way to draw hack. and she went in. Tasma l Tid refastened the door very carefully, and then turned and led the way toward the closet. The room was not wholly dark; one or two of the shutters had fallen off. and in this way a little light filtered in. Nan followed Tasma rid to the closet, the door of which was open.
 "Dis-a we house." said Tasma Tid; ''dis-a de place wey we live at."
 We had no nurrer place; all-a we frien gone; da's why
 l. What further comment Nan may have made can not even be guessed. for at that moment there was a noise at one of the windows; some one was trying to I raise the sash Nan and Tasma rid held | their breath while they listened. and then, when they were sure that some one was preparing to enter the building, the African closed the closet door noiselessly, and pulled Nan after her to the narrow est and most uncomfortable part of the musty and dusty place-the space next the stairway, where 1t was so low that they were compelled to sit Hat on the floor. c
 The intruder, whoever he might be. crawled cautiously through the window rl-they could hear the buttons of his coat I strike against the sill-and leaped lightly I to fine fiocr He lowered the window again, and then, after tiptoeing about among the beiches. came straight to the closet As Tasma rid had not taken time to fasten 1t on the inside, the door was ca sly opened. Dark as It was Nan and the African could see that the intruder was a man, but, beyond this, they could distinguish nothing.
 Once in the closet. Gabriel took pains to make the inside fastenings secure. He, however, made no effort to explore the closet taking for granted that 1t could have no other occupant. This was for I tunate for Nan, for if he had moved about to any extent. he would inevitably have stumbled over the African and her young mistress.
 Gabriel stood still moment. as if lis- tening and then he sat flat on the floor. a1I stretched out his legs with a sigh of relief After that there was a long period of silence. during which Nan had fine opportunity to be very sorry that she mad ever ventured out on such a fools errand.
 She had no physical fear. but she re- alized' that she was placed in a very awkward position. She was devoured with curiosity to know whether the intruder really was Gabriel.
 As for Gabriel, once or twice. he fancied he heard some one breathing. but he was a lad who was very close to nature. and he knew how many strange and va ried sounds rise mysteriously out of the most porfound silence; and. so, instead of becoming suspicious. he became drowsy and he would have gone to sleep then and there. but for a mysterious splutter and explosion. which went off right at his elbow. He was in that neu- tral territory between sleeping and walk ing and he was unable to recognize the sound; and 1t would have remained a mystery but for the fact that sneeze lis usually accompanied by it's twin.
 The fact that some unknown person was joint occupant of the closet upset him so little that he was surprised at himself He remained perfectly quiet for awhile, endeavoring to map out course of action.
 Who are you?" he asked finally. He spoke In a firm low tone.
 In another moment Mans impulsive- ness would have betrayed her, but Tasma rid came to her rescue.
 'Huccum you in we house? Whaffer you come dey? How you cali you