headed the crowd and started back far home.  “Bills done it!  I caught him at it; and he would a-murdered me in cold blood ef it had n’t a-be’n far his woman.  He knocked me down, and had me tied to a bed-post in the kitchen afore I come to.  And his woman cut me loose and told me to run far he’p; and says I, ‘Where’s Bills?’ and she says, ‘He’s after me by this time.’  And jist then we heerd Bills holler, and we looked, and he was a-standin’ out in the clearin’ in front o’ the house, with little Annie in his arms; and he hollered wouldn’t she like to kiss the baby good-bye.”

“And she hollered My God! far me to save little Annie, and fainted clean dead away.  And I heerd the roof a-crackin’, and grabbed her up and packed her out jist in time.  And when I looked up, Bills hollered out agin, and says, ‘Ezry,’ he says, ‘You kin begin to kind a’ git an idee o’ what a good feller I am!  And ef you hadn’t a-caught me you ’d a-never a-knowed it, and ‘Brother Williams’ wouldn’t a-be’n called away to another app’intment like he is.’  And says he, ’Now, ef you foller me I’ll finish you shore!—­You’re safe now, far I hain’t got time to waste on you furder.’  And jist then his woman kind o’ come to her senses agin and hollered far little Annie, and the child heerd her and helt out its little arms to go to her, and hollered ’Mother!  Mother!’ And Bills says, Dam your mother! ef it hadn’t a-be’n far her I’d a-be’n all right.  And dam you too!’ he says to me,—­’This’ll pay you far that lick you struck me; and far you a-startin’ reports when I first come ’at more ‘n likely I’d done somepin’ mean over east and come out west to reform!  And I wonder ef I didn’t do somepin’ mean afore I come here?’ he went on; ‘kill somebody er somepin’?  And I wonder ef I ain’t reformed enough to go back?  Good-bye, Annie!’ he hollered; ’and you needn’t fret about your baby, I ’ll be the same indulgent father to it I ‘ve allus be’n!’ And the baby was a-cryin’ and a-reachin’ out its little arms to’rds its mother, when Bills he turned and struck oft’ in the dark to’rds the river.”

This was about the tale ’at Ezry told us, as nigh as I can ricollect, and by the time he finished, I never want to see jist sich another crowd o’ men as was a-swarmin’ there.  Ain’t it awful when sich a crowd gits together?  I tell you it makes my flesh creep to think about it!

As Bills had gone in the direction of the river, we wasn’t long in makin’ our minds up ’at he’d have to cross it, and ef he done that he’d have to use the boat ’at was down below the mill, er wade it at the ford, a mild er more down.  So we divided in three sections, like—­one to go and look after the folks at the house, and another to the boat, and another to the ford.  And Steve and me and Ezry was in the crowd ‘at struck far the boat, and we made time a-gittin’ there!  It was awful dark, and the sky was a-cloudin’up like a storm; but we wasn’t long a-gittin’ to the p’int where the boat was allus tied; but