Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-04-30

COuAA ACAlH. w AEh WILLY aP AL4oh CoS
war standin' on de gallery. lookin'
drefful.
Tom she said, 'whar 20 been?
A man rode up to de plantation at
o'clock dis mawnin' an tole us de
Yankees was marchin' down de pike TO
Huntsville. 1 knowed dey'd be here to-
day, an wanted yo' to hide de vaTa-
bIes'
II 'membered Kunnel Coolidge stand
In in dat same place on de gallery an
sayin' to me. Tom, I'm gwine to Leah
my family under yo' carr l just
dropped my head down, an 1 hain't
ris' 1t up since.
Dem sojers come from anudder
kentry wha' dey been used to kerry of
all de vaTables dey kin git dere hands
on, an dey jis' cleaned out de town an
all de plantations round it. Eberyting
Mars Coolidge lef' In my car war
token. 'cludiD' de pianny. Eff ! hadn'
been runnin' after a 'owan dat war
busy buryin' her fus' husban' an had
'membered wha' Kunnel Coolidge said
to me an what l said to Kunnel Coo
hdge I'd been thar to hide all de VAL
ables. had a place all fixed TO dat
away up in de trunk O. one O. de trees
wha' dere war a rotten hole. war
goin' to put 'em In a box I'd made TO
'em a purpose, an had ladder ready
To- to git up to de hole, that war XIV
cred all over Wild branches. But goin'
after dat wilder dat didn' git nohow
KEEP me from dom all dis. an hain't
nebber fo'give' myself nohow."
au41 ~ ey%a InnlyfnoD
distressed If possible than before. I
gave him something to help him to
feel better and asked:
"Are you still hoping for third place
with the widow?"
Reckon not" he replied. EFF i
marry dat oman 1 hab my sin always
befo' me-"
On leaving Tom / told him he had
better get married and have family
of his own. 1t might ease the burden
he bore. He needn't wait for the wo-
man who had slipped twice through
his fingers. There were plenty Of good
women left.
But Tom said he had never loved but
one woman, and he believed he would
always have I'll luck in proposing to
her.
1 left Tom as melancholy as when
first saw him. But a couple OF years
later / returned and found him a trifie
more cheerful. The second husband Of
his love had died, and Tom was No. 3.
( asked him if he had hurried away to
put in his claim on hearing that she
was in the market again.
mo. sah," he replied very soberly.
There war lots o. time. Shed had de
smallpox"
GLOW yo' do, TomY says de wilder.
says she.
"How yo' do yo'selfT says L I
reckon yo' feel porely, SEEM yo' los
yo' man
"'Yes. nebber git anudder SIGH
man as dat. He war mighty fine man.
"'You mought try says 1. 'Yo' know
I wanted yo' befo' yo' married Nose
"'Reckon yo' did,
can / want yo' now
"'Yo' mighty 6atterin', Tom says
she. an 1 mought be willin', but yo're
too late. Jis' promised Ben few
minute befo' yo KEN in
81 got up mighty quick an says
SOOODS dH WAS SOlu Oul Nnch VIC
wilder called me back an says, says
she:
"Tf Ben goes to glory befo' me I'll
TAX 20. Tom. Don feel bad bout II.
Yo' turn1l come sho'.'
when l goes out / see wha' !
gwine done-leaben mist'esS an de chill
zen TO go lax fool after oman wild
anudder niger ahead o. me, an l
knowed well enough dat de guns ]
hearn off in de east dat mawnin' at
sun up war Yankee guns. Ii war de
debbil tole me dey war thunder. / jis'
mounted Bill, an 1 lam him twill l
got to de plantation. 1t war full o.
Yankee sojers.
"Dey had gone into de manor house