giitmiiimiHBitiwuinmttiiMiHw
77e WANTED MAN &v ffoms Dickson
mnUHMHui IlllllllllUlllllllllimiliimillllllllllil nUIIIIIIIIIHIIIIOMIMUnitllllMHIimiMlimilllllinillllllllMIIIIMMIHHIIIflHHMMIHMIMHmHHHI
rut stout Tires tail
0H rrmii auim Lama MarmUm, to
Miutttppt, are to large i mi
tmminttam, mm! ky Mj. AV
SnaHkj ens' Marsteas) ptaaawpy mf Cev Asv
Oeytus, ToQamimg m htmw famd, C
iad sm lit seat Sawsri.
ivy ii fwdwmt da.
Urn. VnrUNat, Mai-
am a to
Bl araami to eaUlj hm
i h mm bmptmur. Bar
tors, UJ. Stows bmmUfml dmfKtm, mi
W AlUiis iu o floreae
RmmOIj, a )miom traolo, lamp m tryst of
(Jm tw OUk sulk ij ati uii tar se
a in lm with Barbara, mJut has told
kirn dm k 'iW VneU Hm r
wmU kit mapiriama regarding Stud, mdm
tka mt Barbara greets Stuoi, mbm k
tka arrtfrioos hortrmtm, coldly miim ha
at time. 77 tlatmt W im his arms, and to
rape him dta trtlt a foltnood that dm
k tiitiil Tha (rb fLra a RatiUj am.
ram Am. VmcU Nat bobi ma apt mat
Ah tama vacaguima Stuart, trAs f ioa him
m mom for mAdaUiJam and mmmfm
nwli mm m am aid
Bammiaaam.
rirrn ntsTAUMon.
Creole Jocioaty,
BRIKF.hnrrtwl.BJKl dtrect thoy admlttad
of do two coiiim umlona, that "4
laid" bad boot meeting tha writer la
secret, and bad left him enylng that
tha had eotnothlng mora to tell, no Clayton
fcnptared her to nwt him again at once, aa
be moat leave the Cnltd State that night
and might never return. Ha would coma to
ber at any hoar, anywhere, and aha M
trust Nat with bar answer.
Ha cowed tha entire, apes apace oa the
Krvelope and left room at the bottom for
tramped stgnafara, "Stoart Clayton." Re
man of mm wotdd sign hla real Bam to
Bach a paper, wbacn be folded and wrotosa
the other aid a. stasis weed.
Clayton dM sot think, bat the
already bore Mb typewritten address. '
Btuart Clayton. HI Jtjcbto de loa Mmaa, J
TtiSa he aorarrtwd oat wtni
"Neax.UBKtoNfeg"1
td wtth this, tt nag? ausn troabto."
-KaaeUy anh. egnctry." Nat)
avperieneed knowtahn of meh aflktra.
avakea It a pint never to atfcr np mo 1
far wtdla folks."
"Be ease that
vo ine any. mum.
IHyT"
"Mrs. Baasler Ntt eartalmed, and bat
eyea balged Hto uawneh. "Dta noU afctt
far her?"
-Tea, for Km. Raaffljt. Make bo mistake,"
"But," he protested, -I Towed you was
aoarUxT Miss BarbaraT"
" I am not oocrtlng anybody." And at hat
tone Dnde Nat abut up.
"Bring me her answer Oayton orders,
"at oaca, to the oM gearne graseyard. IV
be waiting; there."
-Lawd Gawd, Mtetsr Stnartt" the Noaro
bested, "doot yon come dat nigh to Bea
nin'ton on no sech blzneea as dla."
" Do as I tell you."
' "Bnttmly, snr, egsactly."
"HI take care not to be seen. Tod can
beat those skiffs to Bennington. Here your
Bote. Deliver it"
"Sattlnly, anh. Give it to Mrs. RaaataT
An don't tot nobody see -meT Egzactlyaob,
egzacUy,"
Nat ocDKht the. onweiope by on cormer-ea
tC ft were not and started off.
"Hold on. Uncle Nat. Take this. Bayyan
a good cigar." A ten dollar bHI, accom
panied by a amOe of comradeship, was not
earned Bke the silver dollar flung to hima
the Harnaon porch.
"Mister Stnart," be tarned and said, "I'm
rr i -I I m . v. T T
you wouldn't axe me do do notMn wroas."
OM Nat hustled toward his dugout, then
baited to make another suggestion.
" 0, Mister Stuart, ef It's Jea de same wld
yen, couldn't you glt to dat graveyard befo
andown? I hates to go prankln aroon' no
ewch plaos In de dark.
"Tea," Clayton reaaenred htm, "TO be
there first."
This boshtess of transporting high esplo
atvea gave Unde Net the fldgeta aa he
cboved off his dugout and started for
home betose Major Stark could get near
enough to send him on some other enaiirt.
The dangerous note scorched his hide,
and be sweated to get rid of It With aB
charity for the skylarking propensities of
young men and being somewhat of a phil
anderer himself the Negro knew that oar
tain breaches could not be tolerated. Ones a
dating youngster tried It, and wrote to a mar
ried lady but niggers bad better keep their
mouths shut about what happened to has.
"O, Nat! Nat!" the major shouted, "tea
Keexer to came and tow us home."
" Sattlnly. suh. suttlnjy." Nat called back,
and his paddle flew. With every stroke be
cocked hla head from on aide to Che other,
cogitating like a wise old owl. But the
Bearer he drew to Bennington, the colder
grew hla feet
Neezer did not suspect him as he delivered
the major's message at the wharf; the fat
cook 1st him pass her kitchen without a
question; and the lazy pointer dog gazed Into
Nat's face with virtuous confidence that such
an Innocent appearing old person would
Dever act as a go-between. Tet his guilt was
manuen in ewry luruve movement as Mai
sneaked around the north side of the bouse,
where he discovered Mrs. Radlly and Mias
Barbara on the front gallery, sitting Jammed
up together In the 'swing, and talking ex
citedly. He could not make heads or tails
of what they were whispering about, because
they hushed when Uncle Nat settled himself
upon the steps and opened both ears. The
most that Nat caught on to was that Mrs.
Kazzle seemed riled about something, while
Miss Barbara kept saving It was all right
and trying to pacify her. So far as Nat
could see there wasn't any chance to slip
Mister Stuart's note to Mrs. Kazzle without
Miss Barbara catching him. By some hook
or crook he was obliged to get them sep
arated. The ladies had not yet changed their
clothes, which was always the first thing
that Miss Barbara did when she came in
from a dusty ride; and this omission Justified
Nat's hunch that-sometblag important must
have happened.
"Powful -warm dla evenin," he remarked
pleasantly, sitting down and fanning with
his hat, while that burning message in his
breast pocket kept the sweat trickling In
the gutters of his back.
"Very sultry," Miss Barbara agreed. "We
are dying for a pitohet of ice water."
"Suttinly. Miss Barbara, suttmly."
"Very well. Go fix if
-Yasln."
Aa the reluctant Negro made a balk to get
up, Barbara changed her mind and sug
gested: " No. You'd better make aome lem
onade. Aunt CaSine will give you the
lemons."
The old man dropped back and refused to
budge, knowing perfectly well that she did
not want the lemonade, except to get rid of
htm. And Barbara could not imagine why
Uncle Nat should be so stubborn.
o, Uncle Nat! " she sat up straight with a
brilliant inspiration. "Here's the idea, I
want you to make Mrs. Bazllly one of your
Justly celebrated sangarees. Everybody's
crazy about your sangareea. Use half a cup
full of claret to that big pitcher, and "
" 1 knows 'cisely how much claret goes wJd
dat big pitcher."
The obstinate Negro might have contlnved
to sit If the reverse end of Barbara's propo
sition hadn't swung round and hit him. Up
he Jumped with roused enthusiasm and sug
gested. " Data de ve'y thing. Miss Barbara. Jea'
dla mornin' de major he say to me, ' Nat, I
"area you to show Mrs. Raule how you
makes dem sangyrees, so she km tell her
NTaw-leens folks. Nobody can't beat Uncle
Nat when it comes to m&kin' sangyrees. Nat'
de major 'spressed hissef right strong, ' Nat
you got to show Mrs. Bazzie how you med
Jers yo' claret ftn' how you medjers yo'
sugar, an' 'cisely how you stirs It' DaVs
what major say. Come long, Mrs. Kazzle,
come long." Uncle Nat got half way to
the door, but the Irresponsive lady failed to
follow.
" Not now. Uncle Nat thank you," the
Creole answered languidly. "l' too. tired.
Ton may bring a glass out h9 If you
please."
" I kin fetch it all out here an' make dat
sangyree right befo' yo eyes." And Uncle
Nat had already started to do this when Miss
Barbara stopped him.
" And gt my gallery all spattered up," she
objected, " when Mandy has Just scrubbed it?
And draw a million files? Not much. Make
your litter in the pantry. Hurry. Hurry."
As old Nat grudlngly shambled through
the front door, Barbara called after hbo.
" And aOr it a long time, a good long time."
" Hodoma, Jtmrq im a note ram yoar laaax."
"Kgzactly. jsiaa Barbara, egxaotly."
Reaping the reward of duplicity, they had
barely got their whispering under way again
before the crafty Negro thrust out his face
and said, " O, Mias Barabara! I nigh forgot!
Dat carpenter lef" word for you to come out
an' "samine de way be hung yo' garidge do',
so's sot to scratch yo nice little new car.
Better-oome long right now, befo tt gits too
dark." '
If the aangaree could not entice Mrs. Ra
aniy away from Miss Barbara, maybe the
garage door might tempt Miss Barbara away
from Mrs. Basil y; which amounted to the
same thing, and Nat would get rid of the
note. But the girls only paused long enough
la their bumble-bee talk for Barbara to say:
"I have already looked at that door. It
Is quite right"
"But I means de back doV
"The garage has no back door.
"Egzactly, Miss Barbara, egsactly."
, Again he disappeared, temporarily, pending
his punctual return bearing the majolica
pitcher and two glasses, with much reddish
atop spilled on the tray.
"Look at that. Uncle Nat!" Barbara
scolded. "Arent you ashamed to serve a
sangaree m any such style? Get a cloth."
This gained a few more seconds, while ild
Nat shuffled in, and out again with a dish
cloth. The tray was wiped, and he con
tinued to hang abound.
" Now, Uncle Nat" Barbara suggested,
"It's time for you to go out and feed those
cute little new puppies."
" No'm," he answered, sitting down com
fortably on the step. " Dey ma's feedin' 'em.
Dem pups is all puffed up wid feed." Then
he mopped his face with the claret stained
cloth and tried to hear what they wens say
ing. In a moment be had another idea, an1
proposed It
" 0, Mrs. Bazzie, dat puts me In min'
hadn't you better come 'long wld me an' lem
ma he'p pick out yo pup what de major's
aimin' to give you? I'm a fust class picker
when It comes to pups. Now, ef a pup's got
big feet an' "
"No, thank you." She sawed him off,
" Mr. Bazllly wishes to select that poppy
for himself."
Barbara could think of nothing more to in
vent and In their awkward silence all three
could hear theput-put-put of Neezer's motor
boat towing home the fishermen. Both girls
lifted their heads with a Jerk, and listened
hah frightened, as a scary mule listens when
he thlpks the train is about to run over him.
But tha major's approach threw a rase to
Nat He thought of another scheme to sep
arate the Siamese twins.
"Here dey comes, Miss Barbara," he re
minded her. "An' yo' pa aho will need his
toddy when ho 'rives in."
There Nat had her. Everybody on Ben
nington knew that Major Stark permitted no
one else to mix his toddy, which constituted
their afternoon function for the thirsty. In
preparation for this' routine old Nat sprang
up and moved toward the pantry.
" I'll lay out evthlng fer you on de table,
Miss Barbara, so you kin have dem toddles
waitln', wid de frost on de outside."
" Thank you. Uncle Nat But never mind.
They'll be ready when father comes."
"But yo' pa'a mighty nigh here."
" Then Where's his man? " she sternly de
manded. "Uncle Nat, if Major Stark comes
In and does not find his paper lying right
there on that table, well, I'd hate to be in
your shoes."
Naf s feet were in his shoes, and he set
them both In the driveway, one ahead of the
other, Just as swift aa he could, with his
funny duck legged waddle hustling for the
mail box.
"Dat's hellagin, as major say," Old Nat
grumbled to himself. "Post thing I know
I'll git cotch wid dis note."
His two big feet scattered gravel, and Nat's
coattails burned the wind on his way to tha
mall box. He must rush back and empty that
dynamite note from his pocket before Mr.
Razzle came meddling and got Nat's business
all cluttered up. Then Nat thought of Mr.
Stuart, mashed down on his accelerator, and
flew. Mr. Stuart must be already waiting for
him in the old Feame graveyard, ramping up
and down amongst the cedars, and slashing
his leggings with a whip. Nobody named
Clayton could ever sit still and be quiet after
he got his mind set on doing something.
"Dar now!" Nat halted with his hand in
the mail box. " Ef I don't tote dat answer
mighty brief to de graveyard. Mister Stuart
sho will tote hissef up here. He'll Jea nach
erly march to Bennin'ton, major or no major,
hushan' or no husban'. An' den an' den!"
Awed by the awfulness of what he fore
saw, old Nat grabbed his mail and started
back to the house. Almost before Barbara
could miss him she saw him returning with
the letters in his hand.
"Anything for me?" she asked without
Interest
"No'm. Nothin' fer nobody, 'cept major's
paper, an' two o' dese blue letters fer Mister
Razzle."
Those particular blue letters came so regu
larly tram Hew York and bad such a peculiar
medallion In on crrnor that old Nat gram
to rvcorni tbtr enveiopae, and always
turkxd them aside for Mr. Hastily. Now be
stuck both Ifltors wuhtn hla eoat, la partlnua
proximity with tha penedad Bole from Mr.
Stuart Clayton.
Hounding up the front stap. Nat coutd a
through (he bmad hallway to tha bark gala,
at which tha AsbernaB wvre Oready anlf
Ing. Ton dey eeme. Warn Barbara, be pointed.
"Clee! To' pal got B one string. Bettor run
aa' took."
n fleured that Mrs. IUillty, being Indif
ferent to fish, and so tired, would probably
remain whore aha was. and he could slip her
the note, Itut aha didn't remain, (the got
up and went wtth Muta Barbara, Just aa If she
wire afraid to be left by herself. Arm In
arm both girls hastened through the hallway,
wtth old Nat larglrtg behind and nattering:
"Huh. ff dU was a million dollar bill, she
wouldn't low me nary chance to give It to
ber."
Old Nat felt like the organ grinder's
monkey, with a hot penny that he dared not
drop. The note waa scorching him. but he
saw no senite In trying to dotlvarit right un
der the eye of Mr. Raxllly. Bo the disgusted
Negro shuftlrd down stops Into the tiark yard,
while Barbara and Adelaide halted on th
back gallery to meet tholr men.
First thrnuich the rrar gate inarched Mr.
Flortnn Iliullly, wearing hla white cork hel
met and earning a rlllo. Although he atalked
toward them aa if he were posing fjr an epl
aod In Itnrkest Africa, tha wife detected a
oertaln Jerky motion which betrayed hla men
tal disturbance. As the ladlt were observ
ing him, he must continue to dissimulate. At
the proper time his capture nf the much
wanted Clayton would burst upon them.
" Uncle Nat" he spoke with clever non
chalance, "tell Seymour to saddle the bay
filly. I'll give her a tryout"
" Taa, suh; Seymo's gone to town, but Kd
ktn do It"
Wlille i Nat hurried to the stables, Bazllly
set down his rifle agalnat the steps, and gave
an Imitation of having nothing on his mind.
O, Florian, dear," Adelaide bent ovr the
railing and spoke ber prettiest " Did you
catch me a nice little flsht" But the anxious
question in her eyes did not concern a fish;
she only wanted to feel sure that he had not
caught ber at the lake.
"Yea, we had good luck." the husband
nodded.
An appreciative man would have glanced
a second time at those lovely young women
In their riding habits; yet Raxilly barely
glanced the first time, then turned away to
the kennels and began Inspecting a new litter
of pups.
Barbara pinched Adelaide's arm and whis
pered: " I'm afraid he suspects something."
"Tea; but not us. Moo dieu! If be sus
pected that"
This was old Nat's day for hunches. Hus
tling back from the stables, he now felt a
hunch that Mrs. RazWy was watching her
husband.
"Huh.1" he snickered, "dat shoe oughter
be on totber foot"
All that the ladles saw and all that Nat
saw was a husband who knelt beside the
kennel and gave his undivided attention to
one of old Sally's pups. As Nat approached,
Bazllly glanced up from this engrossing oc
cupation to inquire, " la the filly ready?"
" Jea a min it, suh, soon as Ed gits her cur
ried." Meanwhile the major, with Dr. Humphreys,
had paused in front of Miss Barbara's garage
to look at her new car. From there the major
called:
" Nat where's my mall?"
" Here, suh. Com in', suh." And Nat moved
over to the garage, keeping one eye skinned
for whatever Mr. Razilly might be doing.
" Better step light In dis bizness," be warned
himself.
Hearing Major Stark call for his mail
seemed to put Mr. Razilly in mind of his own,
for he, too, called out, " Uncle Nat have you
some letters for me?"
" Tas, suh. Got two."
" Let me have them, please."
Suttmly, suh; suttinly."
When Nat went back to deliver those let
ters things began to happen. Mr. Razilly con
tinued to kneel before a pen in which the
major's favorite pointer was suckling her
pups. The ladies had already gone inside;
and the two old crony fishermen were Just
disappearing through the door. Uncle Nat
and Mr. Razilly had the entire back yard to
themselves. It was peaceful out there, with
no sign of trouble, and Nat never even got
a hunch.
He shuffled across the yard, fumbling In his
pockets for the blue letters. It was not
Uncle Nat's fault if Clayton's note, being so
small, got sandwiched between the two big
envelopes. So Nat bent down and gave Mr.
Razilly three documents instead of two.
"Here's yo' letters, Mr. Razzle. I hopes
bofe of 'em brings good newa"
With this gentle wish, and to show that
he never meant a bit of harm, that he wasnt
afraid of anybody, Uncle Nat squatted down
side and side with Mr. Razilly, and began
talking to him for his own good about the
puppies.
" Mr. Razzle," he advised, " ef I was you I'd
pick dis he-dog, wld de spotted ears "
At first Mr. Florian Razilly did not observe
the note, but took his letters carelessly in
hand while he continued choosing amongst
the pops; and Uncle Nat proceeded with his
discourse:
" Dis little pot bellied feller, he ain't liable
to grow nigh as big as dia spot ear. De way
to prophesy a big dog is to Jedge accordln'
to his feet. Dis spot ear pup sho will turn out
a whalo " Serenely he gabbled on without
noticing that Mr. Razilly had risen and be
come ominously quiet.
"One time," Nat never looked up. "One
time I had a liver an' white p'lnter f
But Mr. Razilly didn't hear him. Razilly
couldn't hear anything, couldn't see anything,
couldn't think of anything except some pen
ciled words on a bit of paper at which he
was staring, and wondering what they meant
He read the note twice before seeing that it
was addressed to " Adelaide."
"Now, dat liver an' white p'lnter o'
mine " Nat continued the history until
Razilly broke in.
" Where did yoa get that?"
"My ole dog had dat pup, her own set
She had ten of 'em at one time."
" Not the pup. This note."
"Dat note?" with an innocent raising of
the eyes. .
"Yes. This note."
A clutching hand grabbed Nat's collar and
Jerked the Negro upright Nat saw the two
blue letters drop to the ground while Razilly
shoved a smaller scrap of paper at him and
demanded:
"Where did you get this Infernal note?"
"Dat note?" Nat felt his pockets, he
searched all his pockets, he rummaged them
one after another, two at a time, over and
over again. Mr. Clayton's note was gone,
and Nat oould aae tt In RaaUly's hand. Fur-
inarowe, Nat now eorrwlMng sUe In Mr.
rtaaiHy'e face which art tha trUr of hla
tara fur travrUm j but the hand In hi folia
held him hltrhtxi Involuntarily ha made a
grab fur the note, which Itaailly Hk"d away
and dmandi, " Where did jrou Hilar
' "Cltg1tglt which T
" This piece of paperf"
Dat? Oh. dat piece o paper? Hal I
never bad It"
" lwt lie to ma, old irmn!" The InMrtietM
Radlly gnpt4 Uncle Nat by a atrangMutld.
, while the Ngro'e popping e tar4
around for emnrborfy to h. lp biro gl luuee,
What be craved waa a arverance from this
enraged white man with lh blazing rya. Or
If he couldn't grl a severance, he nenlod time,
more time lo preure his pli. Hut the
yard waa empty: no flrnl aid ihowvd up.
r'olka never aromod lo rare how much trouble
Nat bad. Even hla beat friend, the taty fat
pointer, kept WMtting hi frail tail as If ha
failed to realize what a particular fli Unde
Nat was In. It in" red Ilk Mr. Raxiny
didn't know how to dn anything etcept to
choke niggers and keep saying.
" Don't He to me, old man. Too did have
that note."
" No. suh. Not ma."
" But you gave It to ma. Just this minute
with those letti-re."
"Oh! Wld d.m leliera Suttinly. suttinly.
Ton means dem blue leilori'?" Old Nat
trued blankly upon the ground as be studied
the pair of blue envelopes which lay at Ka
altly'a feet.
" Mr. Ramie," he spoke doubtfully. " Cose
I ain't 'sputln' yo' word, suh. but Is you cer
tain sho dat I give you dnt paper?"
"8ure? Of course I'm sure." Rn titty's
words shot from him wtth the spiteful crackle
of a machine gun. " Look at It See It?"
" Egzactly, suh, egsactly. I sees It now."
A light burst upon Uncle Nat and a grm
overspread his countenance. " I aeta It good.
But lordee, Mr. Rassle. dat little old pine o
paper, hit don't "mount to ahucks. Us was
talkin' bout dia spot year pup an' "
"Damn the pup! I wtfnt to know the
scoundrel who gave you this note."
" Which scoun'l?" His Innocent face puck
ered Into a network of brand new wrinkles
as Nat strove to clear hla thoughts. "Mr.
Razzle, dat sho Is puckcullar. At de same
time you was axln' me dat question "bout de
note. It Jea fell In my min' to wander how
come aech a little piece o' paper ever got la
Major Stark's letter box."
" This never com through the mall," Ra
zilly snapped. " Some infernal hound sent
It by you. Who was it?" By shaking- Nat
until hla teeth rattled, Razllly shook out S
rattled answer: .
A white genfman give It to roe."
" Who? Who? Ten me the truth."
How oould any Negro tell the truth, or tell
anything else, while be waa having the very
life throttled out of him by a wire fingered
Frenchman. Then Razilly eased up and let
Nat suck a whiff of breath.
" Who Is the man?"
"Taln't no man, Mister Razzle. No, so hi
He never give it to me. You akeered me ee
bad dat I overspoke myse'f."
" I'll do worse than scare you." Razilly
mended his grip while trying to decipher the
hastily scribbled signature. His voice steadied
with wrath as he looked up. " Old nigger, de
you know a man named Stant Clop ton 7"
" Clopton? Clopton? Taln't no Cloptona
livin' in dis neighborhood, suh.. Ain't neves
heard o' such a man."
Not once did Florian Razilly let go of
Nat's collar as he puzzled over the Illegible
name, then turned the paper and aaw an ad
dress typewritten on the other side.
Sefior Stuart Clayton, EV Jucaro, Sala
manca. That's the name!" he exclaimed,
and In the surprise of it forgot his bold on the
prisoner, who promptly backed out of reach.
" Uncle Nat do you know a low dog named
Stuart Clayton?"
" No, suh; no, sub; I ain't 'qualnted wid
nary size dog by dat name." Nat was now
free. He executed a couple of back steps,
and glanced behind, to make sure that his
running room was clear.
" Stop! Stop!" Razilly ordered. " He's the
man you were talking about with Dr. Hum
phreys? Just came home from Central
America?"
- Who? Me? I ain't spoke no word "bout
dat man."
"You do know him. Where is he? Ill
choke It out of you."
Having already bad an overdose of chok
ing, Nat failed to remain and let that crazy
Frenchman grab his throat again. He made
one jump, and Razilly's arm missed him, as
Nat whirled, snatched off his hat and retired
from that section of the United States. Ra
ziily also got a flying start, but gave up
chasing a rabbit that also had wings.
Only once did- Nat glance back and saw
Razilly rushing toward the steps where he'd
left his rifle which supplemented Nat's
speed. It would have taken a swift bullet
to catch him before he dodged behind the
- hedge of Cherokee roses, and squeezed
through a hole in the fence, which waa
known solely to Nat and the dogs. Never
did a hole come in handler.
" Dere now," he gasped, as he tumbled oa
all fours Into the pasture. "Done got my
bizness In a Jam. I ain't gwine to tarry an'
'gplaln nothin'. Mister Razzle ack too hasty."
Clayton's bungling go-between had un
doubtedly got their business in a Jam.
Things might have continued to rock along
lazily on Bennington, if Nat had only slipped
the note to Adelaide Instead of placing it In
the hands of her husband. A lady always
understands, but husbands are very dense.
Of course, if Mr. Razilly would listen to no
explanation. Uncle Nat felt compelled to de
part Which he did. It was not a leisurely
nor a dignified departure, but a duck legged
hustle across the back yard and a headlong
dive through the hedge. Nevertheless be
succeeded In departing.
For one tense moment Uncle Nat croucfied
behind the Cherokee roses, and batted both
eyes to observe what further action Mr.
Razilly proposed to take. Mr. Razllly had
already taken so much action that Uncle Nat
was willing to let the whole thing drop right
where it was. But the Frenchman showed
no desire to let the matter drop; ho waa fix
ing to do something else, fixing to do a whole
lot of things, but didn't know exactly what
Nat could see him charging around the back
yard, frowning and swearing and undecided,
First Mr. Razilly seemed to be studying the
note and glaring Into the bouse as if he had
half a notion to rush In, and settle with Mrs
Razllly. Then he gazed towards the hedge
behind which Nat disappeared, and cucaid
ared the bay filly under saddle.
" Lordee," Nat groaned, " ef be gits on dat
hoaa. I'm bleeeed to reach da big wooda."
(Continued Nxt Sunday.
Copyright: 19:2.