"I do believe this house is ha"nted," sighed Mrs. Britton to herself.
The next morning when she woke up she called out, according to her wont, to the hired man in the loft: "Zeke! Zeke! O Zeke!"
She got no reply. Vexed of all things that a hired man should lose a minute of time, she called again in vain. A minute later she was about to get up and go to the ladder so as to be better heard, when there came to her the sound of Zeke chopping wood at the back door.
"Well, ef the world ain"t a-comin" to "n end, when Zeke Tucker gits up an" goes to choppin" of "is own accord!"
When Zeke came in to breakfast, she said: "You"re out bright and airly this mornin."
"Yes; I could n" sleep."
"D" you hear that scratchin" in the chimbley?"
"Ya-as," said Zeke, with hesitation. He was relieved that the conversation should be broken at this point by the entrance of the old man from the stable.
"Zeke," said Britton, as he drew his chair to the table, "what"s the matter with ole Gray?"
"I never noticed nothin" when I gin him "is oats. But "t wuzn"t fa"rly light then."
"He"s been rode. They"s sweat marks onto him, un the saddle"s wet yet."
The old woman put down her knife and fork. "That"s witch-work," she said. "First, the b.u.t.ter wouldn"t come, then I lost that piece of candle; un it"s tee-totally gone too. Now rats don"t never git up onto that shelf. Then I see a flicker of light in the loft while I was puttin" away the b.u.t.ter, an" you "n" Zeke a-settin" h-yer by the fire.
Then I wuz waked up by that scritch-scratchin" soun" in the chimbley, fer all the world like somebody a-climbin" down into the room, though they wa"n"t n.o.body clum down, fer I listened. It kep" Zeke awake all night an roused "im out airly this mornin". Th" ain"t nothin" short of witch-work gits Zeke up an" sets him to choppin" wood "thout callin".
An" it"s been a-ridin" ole Gray. Maybe the ghost of that feller that wuz shot over "t the camp-meetin" "s a-ha"ntin" roun" the country, like. I don" b"lieve it"ll ever be quiet tell the feller that shot "im"s hung."
The old man was very taciturn, and Zeke could not divine whether he was impressed by his wife"s mysterious "it," or whether, suspecting the truth about old Gray, he thought best to say nothing. For if anything should set Mrs. Britton going she would not stop scolding for days, and Britton knew well that Zeke would not be the chief sufferer in such a tempest.
As soon as he had eaten his breakfast Zeke went out to dig early potatoes in Britton"s farther field. About 9 o"clock a clod of earth came flying past his legs and broke upon his hoe. He turned to look, and saw another one thrown from the corn-field near by ascending in a hyperbolic curve and then coming down so near to his head that he moved out of the way. He laid down his hoe and climbed the fence into the corn-field, which at this time of the year was a dense forest of green stalks higher than a man"s head. Bob McCord was here awaiting Zeke. He had left Lazar Brown"s horse tied in a neighboring papaw patch.
"Did you go to Perrysburg?" began Bob.
"Yes," said Zeke. "You played it onto "em good. I wuz ruther more "n half fooled myself. I "lowed sometimes ut maybe S"manthy _had_ come it over you."
Bob laughed all through his large frame.
"When we got to Perrysburg un come to wake up the shurruff he wuz skeered, un ast what "t wuz we wuz arter.
""That murderer," says Jake Hogan, like a ghos" fum behin" his false-face.
""What murderer?" says the shurruff. "They hain"t no murderer in the jail."
""They hain"t, sonny?" says Jake, weth _sech_ a swing. "You ketch us with yer dodrotted foolin"," says he; "we hain"t the kind to be fooled.
We know what we"re about afore we begin, we do. We hain"t the sort to be tuck in by lawyers nur n.o.body else," says he.
""I tell you they hain"t no murderer h-yer," says the shurruff, says he.
""Tie "s han"s, boys," says Jake, in Jake"s way, yeh know, like as if he wuz king uv all creation."
"Weth Eelenoys throwed in like a spool uv thread, to make the bargain good," suggested Bob, losing all prudence and giving way to a long, unrestrained peal of laughter.
"Jes" so," said Zeke. "When we come to the jail un got the door open they wuzn"t n.o.body thar but Sam Byfiel", the half-crazy feller that wuz through h-yer last ye"r a-playin" his fool tricks, un a man name"
Simmons, as had stole half a cord uh wood. Simmons was _that_ skeered when we come in, "t "e got down on "is knees un begged, un whined, un sniffled, un says, "Boys," says he, "I hain"t noways purpared to die.
Don"t hang me, un I won"t never steal nothin" ag"in," says he."
"I"ll bet Byfiel" wuzn"t skeered," said Bob.
"Not _him_. He"d been a-playin" the angel Gaberl about Perrysburg weth a long tin horn, blowin" it into people"s winders at midnight, just to skeer "em un hear "em howl, un the watchman had jugged him. Jake says, says he, "Sam Byfiel", tell us whar that air murderer is." Jake put "is voice away down in "is boots,--it sounded like a mad bull a-bellerin".
But Sam jest lif"s Jake"s false-face, this away, un peeps under, un says, "Jake Hogan," says "e, "I knowed it mus" be you by yer big-feelin"
ways. It"s mighty hard fer a man that"s a nateral born to make a fool uv hisself; but, Jake, I"ll be derned ef you hain"t gone un done it this time."
""Hain"t Tom Grayson h-yer?" says Jake.
""No," says Byfiel". "Somebody"s been a-greenin" on you, Jake; Tom hain"t never been h-yer," says he.
""Aw, you"re a lunatic, Sam," says Jake.
""Ditto, brother," says Byfiel".
"The shurruff"s folks had run out, un "bout this time they"d began to raise the neighbors, un somebody run to the Prisbaterian church un commenced to pull away on the new church bell, "t a man Down East sent "em. We thought we"d better be a-lightin" out mighty soon. But time we wuz in our saddles crack went a gun fum behin" the court-house. I s"pose "t wuz shot into the air to skeer us; but Jake, like a fool, out weth his pistol un shot back. The Perrysburg people wuz like a bee-gum that"s been upsot. The people was now a-runnin", some one way un some t"other, un more guns wuz fired off fum summers,--we never stopped to eenquire fum whar, tell we"d got safe acrost the county line. One uv them guns must "a" been a rifle, un it must "a" been shot in b.l.o.o.d.y yarnest, fer I heerd the bullet whiz."
"You never stopped to say good-bye!" said Bob.
"Not me! Ole Gray wuz the very fust hoss that pulled hisself acrost the corporation line. I didn" seem to feel no interest in stayin", noways."
"What"s Jake goin" to do nex" thing?" asked Bob, not yet recovered from his merriment.
"Wal, about half the fellers rode straight on home un wouldn"t talk to Jake at all, "cept maybe to cuss "im now un then fer a fool, on"y fit to hole a snipe-bag fer Bob McCord. They swore they wuz done go"n" under sech as _him_. But Jake ain"t the kind to gin it up; he says "f "e kin get a dozen he"s boun" to go a Sunday night when they"ll be lots of fellers about the camp-meetin", un some uh them"ll go too, maybe."
"We"ll have to see about that," said Bob, getting up. "But you stick to Jake, closte ez a cuckle-burr."
"All right," said Zeke, remembering his potato patch and looking ruefully at the ascending sun as he hurried back to his work.
Bob went on his way and returned the horse to Lazar Brown"s house; but Uncle Lazar was nowhere to be seen, and S"manthy was evidently out of humor.
"S"manthy, yer "s yer hoss," said Bob.
"Wal, you thes let "im loose thar; I hain"t got no time to bauther."
"How"d the boys come out las" night down "t Moscow?"
"Aw, I don" know, un I don" keer, neither. You"re a low-lived pa.s.sel uh loafers, all uh yeh, big _an"_ leetle."
"W"y, S"manthy! You wuz that sweet las" night."
S"manthy was in a hurry about something, but she showed her irregular teeth as she disappeared around a corner of the cabin, looking back over her shoulder to say:
"You"e a purty one, hainch yeh, now?"
Bob"s face shone with delight as he went on up the run to look for the bear"s cubs. He succeeded in killing one of them and capturing the other alive, but he had to take them and his wounded dog home afoot. It seemed too great a venture to ask S"manthy to lend the horse a second time.