Two Little Confederates
Page 5
CHAPTER V.
Instead of opening the door, therefore, Willy called to the old man,who was leisurely crossing the yard: "Run, Uncle Balla. Quick, run!"
At the call Old Balla and Frank set out as fast as they could.
"What's the matter? Is he done kill de chickens? Is he done got away?"the old man asked, breathlessly.
"No, he's dyin'," shouted Willy.
"Hi! is you shoot him?" asked the old driver.
"No, that other man's poisoned him. He was the robber and he fooledthis one," explained Willy, opening the door and peeping anxiously in.
"Go 'long, boy,--now, d'ye ever heah de better o' dat?--dat man'sfoolin' wid you; jes' tryin' to git yo' to let him out."
"No, he isn't," said Willy; "you ought to have heard him."
But both Balla and Frank were laughing at him, so he felt veryshamefaced. He was relieved by hearing another groan.
"Oh, oh, oh! Ah, ah!"
"You hear that?" he asked, triumphantly.
"I boun' I'll see what's the matter with him, the roscol! Stan' rightdyah, y' all, an' if he try to run shoot him, but mine you don' hit_me_," and the old man walked up to the door, and standing on one sideflung it open. "What you doin' in dyah after dese chillern'schickens?" he called fiercely.
"Hello, old man, 's 'at you? I's mighty sick," muttered the personwithin. Old Balla held his torch inside the house, amid a confusedcackle and flutter of fowls.
"Well, ef 'tain' a white man, and a soldier at dat!" he exclaimed."What you doin' heah, robbin' white folks' hen-roos'?" he called,roughly. "Git up off dat groun'; you ain' sick."
"Let me get up, Sergeant,--hic--don't you heah the roll-call?--thetent's mighty dark; what you fool me in here for?" muttered the maninside.
The boys could see that he was stretched out on the floor, apparentlyasleep, and that he was a soldier in uniform. Balla stepped inside.
"Is he dead?" asked both boys as Balla caught him by the arms, liftedhim, and let him fall again limp on the floor.
"Nor, he's dead-drunk," said Balla, picking up an empty flask. "Comeon out. Let me see what I gwi' do wid you?" he said, scratching hishead.
THE OLD MAN WALKED UP TO THE DOOR, AND STANDING ON ONESIDE FLUNG IT OPEN.]
"I know what I gwi' do wid you. I gwi' lock you up right whar you is."
"Uncle Balla, s'pose he gets well, won't he get out?"
"Ain' _I_ gwi' lock him up? Dat's good from you, who was jes' gwi' let'im out ef me an' Frank hadn't come up when we did."
Willy stepped back abashed. His heart accused him and told him thecharge was true. Still he ventured one more question:
"Hadn't you better take the hens out?"
"Nor; 'tain' no use to teck nuttin' out dyah. Ef he comes to, he knowwe got 'im, an' he dyahson' trouble nuttin'."
And the old man pushed to the door and fastened the iron hasp over thestrong staple. Then, as the lock had been broken, he took a large nailfrom his pocket and fastened it in the staple with a stout string sothat it could not be shaken out. All the time he was working he wastalking to the boys, or rather to himself, for their benefit.
"Now, you see ef we don' find him heah in the mornin'! Willy jes' gwi'let you get 'way, but a _man_ got you now, wha'ar' been handlin'horses an' know how to hole 'em in the stalls. I boun' he'll have tobutt like a ram to git out dis log hen-house," he said, finally, as hefinished tying the last knot in his string, and gave the door avigorous rattle to test its strength.
Willy had been too much abashed at his mistake to fully appreciate allof the witticisms over the prisoner, but Frank enjoyed them almost asmuch as Unc' Balla himself.
"Now y' all go 'long to bed, an' I'll go back an' teck a little napmyself," said he, in parting. "Ef he gits out that hen-house I'll giveyou ev'y chicken I got. But he am' _gwine_ git out. A _man's_ donefasten him up dyah."
The boys went off to bed, Willy still feeling depressed over hisridiculous mistake. They were soon fast asleep, and if the dogs barkedagain they did not hear them.
The next thing they knew, Lucy Ann, convulsed with laughter, wastelling them a story about Uncle Balla and the man in the hen-house.They jumped up, and pulling on their clothes ran out in the yard,thinking to see the prisoner.
Instead of doing so, they found Uncle Balla standing by the hen-housewith a comical look of mystification and chagrin; the roof had beenlifted off at one end and not only the prisoner, but every chicken wasgone!
The boys were half inclined to cry; Balla's look, however, set them tolaughing.
"Unc' Balla, you got to give me every chicken you got, 'cause you saidyou would," said Willy.
"Go 'way from heah, boy. Don' pester me when I studyin' to see whichway he got out."
"You ain't never had a horse get through the roof before, have you?"said Frank.
"Go 'way from here, I tell you," said the old man, walking around thehouse, looking at it.
As the boys went back to wash and dress themselves, they heard Ballaexplaining to Lucy Ann and some of the other servants that "the manthem chillern let git away had just come back and tooken out the onehe had locked up"; a solution of the mystery he always stoutlyinsisted upon.
One thing, however, the person's escape effected--it prevented Willy'sever hearing any more of his mistake; but that did not keep him nowand then from asking Uncle Balla "if he had fastened his horseswell."