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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Times, 1899-07-28, Page 7• Ti t t.; WINJUNI r# A1Ygl�f3, !/ ULY :� Idea of the fastnesses of that unirehy thither slid cauls] oven understand how it became afavoriterefugefor rt.nawaya in the olden slavery days. With the help of the abundant water the blood- hounds could be thrown ori the trail, while the slaves of the adjoining plan- tations would be eager to contribute. steel thily to the fugitives when they Stole out at night i,n quest of food, Having paddled the distance named, during which bete slowly puffed his pipe, he reached a spot, where the creek broadened to three or four times its former width. The banks were over- hung with bushes and undergrowth, hut IN heti he ran the prow of- the dug- out against the shore I perceived a well Marked path leading deeper into the wood. I stopped out, and he followed, pulling the enol of the rude boat far enough up the bank to prevent its being washed away by the sluggish current. I•Io had kuoakocl the ashes from his pipe, and he now slung the bag over his shoulder preparatory to moving away, As he did so there was a vigorous chick- ing and struggling inside, but it caused !aim no embarrassment He knew I un- derstood matters, and there was no need of affecting ignorance or discussing the subject. "We's purty neap home," he r 'narked as he strode off with meson h heels. Ile had but sr ghost distance ge when bo debouched into a °learin similar to that where I turned at bay and shot the bloodhound. It was about the same extent, and the ferti ground gave evidence of being we tilled. He continued straight formsover the path to the little cabin of log which stood in the center. dust iu fro of the door bo swung the bag off hi shoulder, untied the top, and, lifting by the closed end; shook out about dozen roosters and bens. .At first th wore dazed, but soon ran behind th cabin to join a number of others tba were roosting amoug the bushes. The Pete led the way into his home. "Do yea live alone?" I asked, wait ing on the threshold r4ntil he struck light, • "Paas, eber eince my daddy died eight years ago," he replied as he dis appeared in the gloom. .A minute late he struck a match, and as he applied i to a tallow candle called me to enter. The structure was similar to many that may be found today in the south and southwest, consisting of two sural rooms below and a sort of loft above, which was reached by means of a slop- ing ladder at one corner. Furniture was crude and scarce, consisting of a few stools, a stand, some pictures out from newspapers and the simplest articles for cooking. In that latitude a fire is rarely needed except for cooking, which was done in -.the rough fireplace. The candle that was thrust into the neck of a bot- tle rested ou the stand at the side of the room. • The door bad been opened by means of the old fashioned latchstring, i which was ow drawn in, thus "lock- ing" the building against intruders. The door and two small windows, the latter without sash or pane, were all that furnished light 'and ventiation to this primitive home, Pete had. taken but a few minutes to light the candle, but in that brief in- terval his grizzled wig and his bending form had vanished, and be stood before sue the young, magnificent brute that he U VOLE RE/a. ?� ETC.,, ETC,. Nat At 0 4 e r5 , vs' , q,COPMYRIGMT,/i 98_ BYIlANIEi�ICAN ziveiz 'Gt1l.Styaa,� s j w.,,..c.,.,,- ,,, --,•. trying to solve my identity, I =pee t each moment to hear him address as Hank Beyer and was surprised t he did not do so. Finally he asked i quaking voice: "Who am 6 "Don't you knowixie, Pete?" I ask shifting my pose so as to permit t star gleans to fall on my features. T ' •spectacles moved first on one side a then on another as he peered into countenance. Curious to learn his r t son, I asked: "Don't you know Hank Beyer, Pete • "I flab/snowed him eber since he w ' iw piokaninnzr. Sro' lock a good deal li him, but yo' ain't him; dot's sartin.' I was astonished. Under the glare the lamps and when the sun was shi ing every white man whom I encou •tered'Wee unshakably convinced that was Hank; Beyer, the criminal. A now in the dint obscurity of a Missi sippi swamp. an old negro wearing ho spectacles read the truth. With fay vi tual declaration that I was Beyer he d glared such ;not to be the fact. "Well, Pete, you are right," T eel "I am not Hams Beyer. I am from tt north, and. until a short time ago ha never setfoot in Mississippi. Every o 'whom I have 'net with the exception you believes I am Hank Beyer," `''Came dey am a set ob blaste fools," was his contemptuous ropl "`Yo'r woice don't sound like his. D is not moll, dough it's a little, and and—somehow or oder yo' don't see like Hank, and yo' aiu't him," That was probably the best way expressing it. It looked as if Pete might be mad the valuable ally of which I stood i need. I "I have been taken for Hank Beyer, ted sue hat na ed, he he nd my e - aa. ICs of n - I nd s- en r- e- d. o d ne of d y at m of e n I added; "as I told you, by every one but you. Hank stole a horse unci then i slipped away, and the mob made me a prisoner. They would have hanged me if 1 hadn't escaped last night, but they are hunting through the swamp for me." War dat yo' gun dat I heerd• go off awhile ago?" "It was my pistol. I shot the blood hound that sprang at me. Tomgrrow there will be 20 men hunting through this swamp for me with lots of dogs. Pete, were you ever a slave?" "Reckon I war," he chuckled. "gunned away befo' de wab and bid in dis wery swamp, and I helped oder to hide. X !staid heah for more dan a yeah, and den wouldn't hab come out if I hadn't Wanted to." "You are the man I am looking for. Will you give sue a hiding place till I ani able to get out of this infernal neigh- borhood?" I expected an instant compliance with xny request, but the African, holding the prow of his dugout against the bank, remained silent. I didn't under- stand it. ' "I will pay you a good sum of money, snore than you ever made in a year's wvork. " "1't ain't dat, boss. I doan' want no money, but yo' see I may as well tole pie 'truf—wheneber anyt'iug goes wrong in dese parts dey lays it to ole Pete. De fust t'ing dem folks will do tomorrer swill be to come to me and ax wheder I .hab seen yo'. Ob course it will gib me ,;great pleasure, .boss, to lie like do deb- bil, but ran aloud it won't help yo'." "I have no wish to involve you in •troutrle, but yon can give mo directions -or tell me where I can hide until there s a show for getting out of the swamp, After that I'll take my chances." "I guess dat kin. 'be done, but it's dsoand'lug de way eberyt'ing am laid �+on to ole Pete. Why, if some folks seen .dat bag a-layin dere in de dugout with ,.de end tied up,•doy would be mean 'nough to 'sinooate'dat bete had been -wisitin some ob do lienrooala ob de white folks— Shot ups" Fust then there was a flutter inside the bag and the sound of clucking. The + disgusted . Pete 'gave the recalcitrant chicken a kick as he' uttered his sharp 'command, and 'then ho looked up in my r face, the picture of innocence. "Will your dugout hold both of! ue?" 1 ,"Yeas, if yo' sots ]tearful," I adjusted myself as skillfully as I could and brought the structure downalm to its gunwales. But there was no don - ger, for the water was cas well as sluggish, and Pete knew every obstruc- tion, He gays me a suggestion or two find then dipped his paddle into the stream. It will be remembered that our course was the opposite of that taken by the three men, tut for this there •'would have been less lagging and talk - Ing on our part. Still the African pad- ° d1etd with the Mitten that 1 ad become habitual with him, continually glanc- ing from Aida to side and speaking in slow tones,, which I imitated, "bo soon know Erastus brown?" I 5 /ION "I don't mean to hurt you," asked after wo had been in full swing for some minutes. "Reckon I do," he replied scornfully, w "He am de uthlees nigger dat libo wid Syarnal Mansley. Say, boss, did 'yo' steal dat hose?" "I did not. Did you steal those chick- ens in that bag?" "Nebber done such a t'ing in my life, but yo'li scoose me." He laid his paddle inside the boat be- tween us and from Somewhere among his rags produced an old brier wood pipe, into which he crooked his forefinger for a minute'or two while punching the to- bacco in place. • This done, he drew a match along the side of his trousers_ leg, and, shielding the flicker from the slight wind, held it over the bowl of his pipe while he vigorously sucked at the stem. The reflection of the tiny flame against the ebony countenance brought it into full view, and it was while look- ing at hint' that I was made uncomfort- able' by the discovery that, instead of being en aged negro, as I had believed, Pete was really as young a roan as my- self. He was disguised and was goyim.: a part, with what purpose must soon become apparent. ' CHAPTER XIV. Reflection convinced me that I ought not to feel any misgiving over the dis- covery that Pete, the supposed aged African, was really a young man. It s I was easy to unde:•stand why, in making his midnight raids, he should take every precaution against his identity being suspected. So long as a glimpse of the thief hurrying away showed him to be an aged darky Pete might hope to es- cape suspicion, while if driven to the wall his cnornlOus strength could not fail to serve him well. With such a natural explanation of ,the negro'>f course it would seem' I ,t. 8•e struck a match, and as he appiied ft to a tallow canciie called me to enter. 'should have been satisfied, but despite the obvious explanation I could not free myself from a troublesome distrust of him,° The African race is proverbial for its loyalty, brit it has its treacherous members, the same as others. 1 bad as yet found no friends in whom I could implicitly trust. Even when Miss Es. thor Mansley opened the way for ine to escape. she did it under the belief that I was the miscreant who bad brought all the trouble on me, but who was fortu- nate enough to possess her affection. "'ou may be all right, Pete," I thought, "but these aro times when it iswi- se to sot down everyman as an en- emy until ho is proved a friend. If pos- sible, 1 shall snake use of you, but if 1 know myself you shall not deceive me." With the same regular, noiseless movement of his muscular arms Pete continued to sway the paddle and to propel the dugout until we must have passed fully a half mile from where 1 had joined him. It wase clear that all this time hewaeponeetrating deeper foto Bleck Man'a ewantp, I trained come e - is pletely ainl thoroughly, and you'll to ' be aston'seed to find how you'll g i bring it out and what chances there are in air. And everybody that Ie , knows ationt`veur work or is in any Ii way concerned or affected by it, as , d it is done well or ill, will be delighted s to see it well done- everybody likes it to see a job, whatever it is, well s done—and pleased with the doer, t and there's looney in it every time. 7 I "It isn't the job that makes suc- -W RAT 112A,.Kl & SUCO1' $8. T'S THE ,!IAN, NOT TIM ,14)11-.--Tflrit ; ARE POS IIII.IrE8IN EVElt].THINci. "We are fer.tver agoing to begin work in earnest tomorrow," said Mr. Stay bolt, "and we are never satisfied wf tb the job we've got, and we per: form the labor invo'ved in it in only a half hearted manner, but we are go: ing to work in dear! earnest when we• get a job to suit ua, "The fact is that tomorrow, when we get to it, will he to as as today is to now ; we shan't feel any more dike work. And that other job, when we come in nettle! tenant with it and pee it close at hand, won't suit its an.v better than the one we got now !does. "The truth is that we are dawdlers and shy of work and trying to get along just 'tit easy as we can. We hate to pi. eh in and go at thins. "The time for us to work is now, not totuorrow, and the job for us to collar is. the one we've got. Round that up lit style, do the work cum- have the Babies. • Thousands of them die evel'y gun* meta who could. be saved by thes. timely use of Ar. Fowler'Ext,. of Wild Strawberry. -I a C.}� �'.Ti ()MA For Infante anel Children. r i t The fac- simile signature Of cess ; it's the man, and don't you forget it," -New York Sun. Was. He grassed, and, looking dost•,:: from his splendid height upon me as Treated myself, he asked: "I s'pose yo' am s'prised, ain't yo'?" "Not as -all. When you lit your pipe, I saw von were not what you pretend- ed. You are wise in disguising your- self when ,making these little excur- sions through the country." Ile grinned more broadly than before and said: "I s'pose yo' am hungry?" "Not so inuch as I ani tired. I ate a meal last evening and would as lief Wait the regular time for my breakfast. What I want more than anything is sleep," Ho sat dawn on one of the stools, which he had ovideutiy made for him- self, with the candle between us, De- spite his superb, physical appearance, there was something in his broad black face which I olid not like. 1 more than suspected ho was a bad man. "What time am it?" Looking at my watch, I replied that it was between 2 and 8 in the morning. "Cau't gib yo' a kind ob bed dat yell brag ob, boss, but I'll do de bestost dat 1 kin. 1:x yo'll climb dem ladder dere, yo'il find a blanket dat yo' kin lay down ou." if What are you going to do?" "Sleep heah on de floor. I'm used to it, bat's any spare room," added Pete, with a grin, as ho rolled hisshiny oyes upward. "Do you -think there's any danger of those people visiting your home before daylight?" Ile shook his head. "I alu't sartin dey'il be heals at all. Loastways dey won't come till de sun am sbinin. Vo' kin sleep till I woken yo'." Truth to tell, I was so drowsy that 1 could hardly keep my eyes open. I had been under au intensenervous strain for. hours, and now, when the immediate peril seemed to be reinoved,,reaction came. So I bade my dusky host good !sight and climbed the few rungs of the ladder to the loft. Ile offered me the handle, but I replied that I did not need it. As a enbetituto I etruck a match from idly 're cket safe and held it in front James Bennett, a farmer of East Oxford, was find by the Woodstock tnagistraite $100 for having in his possession a cow with lump jaw. Ile pleaded he didn't know the animal , was so afflicted. Pic:ton corporation will. have an electric light plant to cost $15,000. a °r4. After* Wood's Phosphodine, ldaeoeddbSond rcmmny all druggists in Canada. Only reli- able packages guaranteed discovered. Six forms of Sexual Weakness, xall effects of abuse or excess, Mental Worry, Excessive use of To- bacco, Opium or Stimulants. Mailed on receipt of price, one package Si, six, $5. One vidt:blcase, sax will cure. Pamphlets free to any address. The Wood Company, Windsor, Ont. • Sold in Wingham by Colin A. Campbell Druggist, SO YEARS' EXr'Eiati'_'i3CE TRACE MARKS DrSIGNS COPYrivatdTS &c. Anyone sending a stceich and description mar quickly ascertnin our opinion free whether an invention is probably patentable. Communiea, tions strictly confidential. Handbook on Patents Sent free. Oldest agency for secur nggpatents. Patents taken through I4lunn B: Co. receive specfalnoticc, without charge, in the SetentifiC ;1r•merican. A handsomely iilintrated wnekay. ,i•nrgest eh-- cuiatton of any seientiac saurus!. Terms, 53 a year • four months, V. Sold byn1I newsdealers. MUNI & Co SG1Broadway, New York. C. Ag1a3iBJ9�y s1�3'�"'i_ I- 0 Atifito i ORSI iT HOUSANns OI' YOUNG MEN are is A "troubled with nervousness, despon-t deny, exhaustion, loss of ineniory,i !achiaching backs and kidneys, painful urina-' tion, bashfulness, sediment in urine, losses ng' night, impotency, headaches, varicocele, 41 pimples, ulcers, p p , c s, bout pains, -The results4 lof evil habits in youth or later excesses. it Our Vitalized treatment cures the treatit Cases. mfi dEissioins & Varicocele .� sap the vigor and vitality and produceweak men, Our !Dollar. Treatment" will Cure You. Stricture and Gleet, No matter how chronic, yield to our Vital-' ized Treatment. No operation no pain, no detention frons business. All drains (cease. Mute Dollar Treatment will Cure You. Blood 84 Sexual DiSeEtt3013 cured forever. No return of the disease. No Mercury. No Poison. Our Dollar Treatment will Curie You. We Guarantee Cures. We treat and cure till tib. oNE DOttAR eases of men and wdmen for >eamt rklien rued aonenitriialt Free. tithe tortoni* stioe LSfar IonaTreatment. llotA apCR47t itMich. e' Inuit Mich/gin There is not a mother who loves her infant but should keep on hand .dur- ing the hot weather a bottle of Dr, Fowler's Extract of Wild Straw- berry, so There is. no remedy so safe and so effective for `:gtthe diarrhoea of infants, and none has the.endor- sation of so many Cana - have proved its merits,a and o thothers speak with confidence, One of these is Mrs. Peter Jones, Warkworth, Ont,, who says: I can give Dr. Fowler's Extract of Wild Strawberry great praise, for it saved my baby's life. She was cutting her teeth and was taken with diarncca very baa. My sister advised me to get Dr. Fowler's Extract of Wild Strawberry. I got a bottle and it cured the baby almost at once," RETURNED ON TIME, Carefully washed, properly ironed, correctly finished and fairly priced--, that's the history of your linen when brought here, Not athing in our washing preparations to injure the flbre of the goods and not a thing unhealthy about our work rooms, T. D. LONG Leave Orders atCarr's Feed Store, 'PHONE 4. TItVG When you want a •fine line of Printing, whether it• be Large Posters Horse Route Cards Dodgers Circulars Letter Heads Bill Heads Envelopes Wedding Invitations and Announcements Visiting Curds Business Cards Note Books Receipt Books Or any other kind of Printing, you can get the best work at the most reasonable price at THE TIMES WINGHA1G,C ONE GIVES RELIEF. on ' Spend ,a r Dollar for edicine until you have tried You can buy them inthe paper 5 -cent cartons Ten Tabules for Five Cents. Oita out is spat gip cheaply to gr.ttb too natroroal pram' demand or p low prlgee If you don't find this sort of Ripans Tabules� At the Drugist' :Sold Nos itents, to 'Tire 1ti .t tS Cnetocat 'Cogrion:`, Nli Spruee 5t., New Voris, and they will be seat to you by meIII *, re cartons will be tneiled lot 48 casts. 'd`hq claret* are tele 101 tae that Ripans tabules etre the very raedifine you aide v_'el