The Raymer enterprise., 1920-01-22

Au8 ~ BUOu-uhluxe0 grin.
"De good Lord be praisedw he
calculated, In undisguised delight "Is
yer really awake agin. honeyf De
doctah say he done thought ye'd cum
round BY terday sure, sab"
The doctorf" / questioned In sur.
prise. my voice sounding strange and
far away. .Have been here long?"
AGoin' on bout ten days, sab. Yer
was powerful bad hurt an out O. yer
head. I reckon"
"What was It that happenedf Did
someone shoot met"
The negro scratched his head, shuf-
fling his bare feet uneasily on the dirt
floor.
"Yas, sab. Mr.. knox," he admitted
with reluctance. "rs sure powerful
sorry. sab, but was de boy whut
plugged yer. Yer see. sab. 1t done
happened dls-a-way"s and his black
face registered genuine distress.
Thar's a mean gang o. white folks
round yere thet's took It inter their
heads ter lick every free Niger, an
when yer done come up ter my door
In de middle oh de night, a-cussin',
an a-threatenin' fer ter break in, /
just nat'arlly didn't wanter be licked,
an'-an' 30 ! blazed away. rs pow
erful sorry bout 1t now, sab"
mo doubt 1t was more my fault
than yours. You are q free negro,
thenf"
"Yas. sab. done belong onct ter
Colonul Sllas Carlton. sab, but afore
he died, just because done saved his
boy frum drownin' In de ribber, de OIL
colonul he set me free. an give me
patch o. lam ter raise corn on"
"What Is your namer
Pete. sar. Free Pete Is whut mostly
de white folks call me-" He laughed.
white teeth showing and the whites
OF his eyes. eyer see thar am a DOW.
erful lot o. Petes round bout yere,
sah."
l drew a deep breath, conscious of
weakness as ! endeavored to change
position.
"All right, Pete: now I want to un-
derstand things clearly. You shot me,
supposing was making an assault
on you. Your bullet lodged In my
shoulder. What happened thoni"
We'll. after while, sab, thar want
no NOR noise. an I reckoned I'd ei-
ther done hit yer er else ye'd run
away. An thar ye wus, sab, a-lyin'
on yer back like ye wus dead. Just
SO soon as / saw ye I know'd as how
ye never was no nigger-hunter but a
stranger In desc yere parts. So l
dragged ye inside de cabin, an washed
up yer hurts. But ye never got no bet.
tah, 30 ] got skeered. an went hoofin'
It down fer de doctah at Beaucaire
Landln'. sab. an when he cum back
along wid me he dug the bullet outer
yer shoulder. an left some truck fer
me ter CIV yer. He's done been yere
three times, sah."
From Beaucaire Landing-Is that
town."
"A sorter town. sab; bout four miles
down ribber."
The mentioning Of this familiar
word brought back instantly to my
darkened understanding all those
main events leading up to my pres
ence In this nelghborhood. Complete
memory returned. every separate Incl
dent sweeping through my brain
Kirby, Carver, the fateful game of
cards In the cabin Of the Warrior, the
sudden death Of the Judge, the mob
anger ! sought to curb, the struggle on
deck, my being thrown overheard, and
the danger threatening the two inno-
cent daughters of Beaucaire. And /
had actually been lying in this negro
hut, burning up with fever. helplessly
delirious, for ten days. What had
already occurred in that space Of
time? What villainy had been con.
cocted and carried out?"
"Now see here, Pete" / began ear.
nestly. "How did you learn what my
name wasT
de doctah he foun' dat out, sab.
He done looked through yer pockets,
sab. an he took two papers whut he
foun' dar away wild him. He done toll
me as how yer wus an offercer in de
army-a leftenant er sumthln'-an'
thet dem papers ought fer ter be STINT
ter de gov'ner at onct. De las time
he wus yere he toll me thet he wint
down ter st. Louee hisself, an done
gif bof dem papers ter Gov'ner Clark,
So yer don't need worry none bout
dem no NOR"
/ sank back onto the hard pillow.
greatly relieved by this information.
The burden Of official duty had been
taken from me. / was now on fur.
Tough and free to act as I pleased.
Have you picked up any news late
ly from Beaucaire plantationr
Il heerd dey done brought de body
OBJ de Oh jedge home. sah-he died
mighty sudden sumwhar up de ribber.
Thet's bout all / know"
when was this7"