The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1919-05-10
CHAPTER XVI-continued.
-16-

il was in the night that he sent her
away. Goldarn him! He didn't have
10 more heart than grasshOpper-no,
sir-not a bit. / could "a Drained him
with my shovel. but l didn't.
Il found out where the gal had gone
an follered her-yis / did-fOund
Der In the poOrhouse way over on
Pussley Hill-uh huh! She jes' put
her arms round my neck an cried an
cried. l guess twas cause | looked
kind O. friendly-uh huh. l tot her
she should come right over to our
house an stay jest as long as she
wanted to as soon as she got we'll
yis, sir, did.
"She was sick all summer long
kind o. out o. her head, ye know, an
used to go over hossback an take
things fer her to eat. An one day
when / was over there they was won
ierin' what they was goin' to do with
heI little baby. / took it in my arms
an I'll be col dummed if it didn't grab
hold o. my nose an hang on like a
puppy to root When they tried to
| take il away it grabbed its fingers into
my whiskers an hOllered like a pam
ther-yis, sir. Wal, We know / jes'
| fetched that Ii. tie baby boy home in
my arms. ay uls! My wife scolded me
like Sam Hill-yis, sir-she had five
of her own. | tOp her | was gOin' TO
take it back in a day er two but after
| Ii had been in the house three days ye
with II windlass.
: 1--WE brought him up an he was al
wuss q good boy. We called him
Enoch-Enoch ROne-did We ever hear
the nameT
"'No.'
81 didn't think twas likely but I'm
alwuss hopin'.
EARLY that fall Kate got better an
left the poorhouse afOOt. Went away
somewheres-nobody knew where.
Some said she'd crossed the lake an
gone away over into York state, some
said she'd drowned herself. By'm by
we heard that she'd gone way over
into st. Lawrence county where Silas
Wright lives an where young Grim
shaw had settled down after he got
married.
"Wal, bout five year ago the squire
buried his second wife-there tbs over
in there back o. Hates with the little
speckled angel on 1t. Nobody had seen
| tho nrrfci1n ~ hig hnnSa
years until the funeral-he was Grip
pied so with rheumatic. After that he
lived all lone in the big house with Of
Tom Linney an his wife, who've
worked there for bout forty year,
guess.
wal, sir fust we knew Kate was
there in the house livin' with her ia.
tner. We wouldn't "a knowed it, then
IL it hadn't been that Tom Linney
come over one day an said he guessed
the Of squire wanted to see memo
sir, we wouldn't-fer the squire amt
sociable an the neighbors never dark.
en- his door. She must "a come in the
night, jest as she went-nobody see
her go an nobody see her come, an
that's a fact. Wal, one day las fall
after the leaves was off an they could
see a corner o. my house through the
bushes, Tom was walkin' the oil mar
round the room. All to once he
stopped an pinted at my house
through the winder an KEEP p'intin'
Ton come over an said he ca'llatet
the squire wanted to see me. So
went there. Kate met me at the door
Gosh! How old an kind o. broke dowr
she looked! But knew her the min
ute set my eyes on her-uh huh-an
she knew me-yis, sir-she smiled an
tears come to her eyes an she patteC
my hand like she wanted to tell ms
that she hadn't forgot, but she never
said a word-not a word. The oil
squire had the palsy, so Z he couldn'
use his hands an his throat was para
lyzed-couldn't speak nor nothln'
Where do We suppose he was when
found him?"
an bedT" / asked.
mo, sir-nO, stree! He was in he'll
| thoN . NhOiC it vi
Toned, down-east hell, burnin with fir,
an brimstun, that he'd had the agenc,
for an had recommended to every sin
ner in the neighborhOod. He was set
tin In his room. God o. Isr'el! YoI
orto "a seen the motions he made will
his hands an the way he tried t
speak when l went in there, but all
could hear was jest long yell an 6
kind of rattle in his throat. Heaven:
an airth! how desperit he tried t
spit out the thing that was gnawin
his vitals. Ag'in an ag'in he'd try t
tell me. Lord God how he did work =
All to once it come acrost me what
he wanted-quick as We could say scat
he wanted TO have Rates headstur
took down an put away-that's what
he wanted. The stun was kind o. lay
In on his stummick an painin' of hin
day an night. He couldn't stan it
He knew that he was goin to die purity
soon an that Kate would come here
an see 1t an that everybody would
see her standin' here by her own grave
an II worried him. 1t was kind O. like
fire In his belly.
II guess, too, he couldn't bear the
idee of layin' down fer his las sleeI
beside that hell hole he'd dug fer Kate
4 no, sir
"Wal, ye know, mister, / jes' SHOOK
my head an never let on that ] knew