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show me a lot of water-moccasins. If anything happens, he ain't mixed up in it.

He can say he never seen us together, and it'll be the truth."

I don't want to talk much about the next day. I reckon I'll cut it pretty

short. I waked up about dawn, and was agoing to turn over and go to sleep

again, when I noticed how still it was -- didn't seem to be anybody stirring.

That'warn't usual. Next I noticed that Buck was up and gone. Well, I gets

up, a-wondering, and goes down stairs -- nobody around; everything as still as

a mouse. Just the same outside; thinks I, what does it mean? Down by the

wood-pile I comes across my Jack, and says:

"What's it all about?"

Says he: ssssssssss

"Don't you know, Mars Jawge?"

"No," says I, "I don't."

"Well, den, Miss Sophia's run off! 'deed she has. She run off in de night,

sometime -- nobody don't know jis' when -- run off to git married to dat young

Harney Shepherdson, you know -- leastways, so dey 'spec. De fambly foun' it

out, 'bout half an hour ago -- maybe a little mo' -- en' I tell you dey warn't no time

los'. Sich another hurryin' up guns en hosses you never see! De women folks

has gone for to stir up de relations, en ole Mars Saul en de boys tuck dey guns en

rode up de river road for to try to ketch dat young man en kill him 'fo' he kin

git acrost de river wid Miss Sophia. I reck'n dey's gwyne to be mighty rough

times."

"Buck went off 'thout waking me up."

"Well I reck'n he did! Dey warn't gwyne to mix you up in it. Mars

Buck he loaded up his gun en 'lowed he's gwyne to fetch home a Shepherdson or

bust. Well, dey'll be plenty un 'm dah, I reck'n, en you bet you he'll fetch one

ef he gits a chanst." ssssssssss

I took up the river road as hard as I could put. By-and-by I begin to hear

guns a good ways off. When I come in sight of the log store and the wood-pile

where the steamboats lands, I worked along under the trees and brush till I got

to a good place, and then I dumb up into the forks of a cotton- wood that was out

of reach, and watched. There was a wood-rank four foot high, a little ways in

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