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grab and got me by the jacket between my shoulders, and I thought
I was gone; but I slid out of the jacket quick as lightning, and
saved myself. Pretty soon he was all tired out, and dropped down
with his back against the door, and said he would rest a minute and
then kill me. He put his knife under him, and said he would sleep
and get strong, and then he would see who was who.
So he dozed off, pretty soon. By-and-by I got the old splitbottom
chair and clumb up, as easy as I could, not to make any noise, and
got down the gun. I slipped the ramrod down it to make sure it was
loaded, and then I laid it across the turnip barrel, pointing towards
pap, and set down behind it to wait for him to stir. And how slow
and still the time did drag along.
36
Chapter Seven
Git up! what you 'bout!"
I opened my eyes and looked around, trying to make out where I
was. It was after sun-up, and I had been sound asleep. Pap was
standing over me, looking sour- and sick, too. He says-
"What you doin' with this gun?"
I judged he didn't know nothing about what he had been doing,
so I says:
"Somebody tried to get in, so I was laying for him."
"Why didn't you roust me out?"
"Well I tried to, but I couldn't; I couldn't budge you."
"Well, all right. Don't stand there palavering all day, but out
with you and see if there's a fish on the lines for breakfast. I'll be
along in a minute."
He unlocked the door and I cleared out, up the river bank. I
noticed some pieces of limbs and such things floating down, and a
sprinkling of bark; so I knowed the river had begun to rise. I
reckoned I would have great times now, if I was over at the town.
The June rise used to be always luck for me; because as soon as
that rise begins, here comes cord-wood floating down, and pieces
of log rafts- sometimes a dozen logs together; so all you have to do
is to catch them and sell them to the wood yards and the sawmill.
I went along up the bank with one eye out for pap and 'tother
one out for what the rise might fetch along. Well, all at once, here
comes a canoe; just a beauty, too, about thirteen or fourteen foot
long, riding high like a duck. I shot head first off of the bank, like a
frog, clothes and all on, and struck out for the canoe. I just
expected there'd be somebody laying down in it, because people
often done that to fool folks, and when a chap had pulled a skiff
out most to it they'd raise up and laugh at him. But it warn't so this
time. It was a drift-canoe, sure enough, and I clumb in and paddled
her ashore. Thinks I, the old man will be glad when he sees this-
she's worth ten dollars. But when I got to shore pap wasn't in sight
yet, and as I was running her into a little creek like a gully, all
hung over with vines and willows, I struck another idea; I judged
37
I'd hide her good, and then, stead of taking to the woods when I
run off, I'd go down the river about fifty mile and camp in one
place for good, and not have such a rough time tramping on foot.
It was pretty close to the shanty, and I thought I heard the old
man coming, all the time; but I got her hid; and then I out and
looked around a bunch of willows, and there was the old man
down the path a piece just drawing a bead on a bird with his gun.
So he hadn't seen anything.
When he got along, I was hard at it taking up a "trot" line. He
abused me a little for being so slow, but I told him I fell in the river
and that was what made me so long. I knowed he would see I was
wet, and then he would be asking questions. We got five cat-fish
off of the lines and went home.
While we laid off, after breakfast, to sleep up, both of us being
about wore out, I got to thinking that if I could fix up some way to
keep pap and the widow from trying to follow me, it would be a
certainer thing than trusting to luck to get far enough off before
they missed me; you see, all kinds of things might happen. Well, I
didn't see no way for a while, but by-and-by pap raised up a
minute, to drink another barrel of water, and he says:
"Another time a man comes a-prowling round here, you roust
me out, you hear? That man warn't here for no good. I'd a shot him.
Next time, you roust me out, you hear?"
Then he dropped down and went to sleep again- but what he had
been saying give me the very idea I wanted. I says to myself, I can
fix it now so nobody won't think of following me.
About twelve o'clock we turned out and went along up the bank. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]