"I declah," Pete he say, "ef it doan' peah lack dat fowl o' de aiuh des' natch'ly done gone an' gobble dat wile beas' o' de wilderness !"

teeny cubs, wiv NicodeW'en Nicodemus see de cool down an' roost on

Den Pete he heah de bah comin' outen de swamp, swishy-swashy! crishy-crashy! He comin' squah right dah whah Pete bean standin', an' Pete know dat parrot bean fotchin' him out, 'kaze he heah Nicodemus swah'n dat he is. Pete he doan feah dat bah, but he pow'ful distressed ovuh de talk Nicodemus bean shyin' at dat bah, an' he know ef he doan kill dat bah w'en it scrumble outen dat swamp he mowt des' well jump in de creek an' drownd heseff. De bah pop out, an' Pete cotch it wiv he rifle ball, an' down it go an' doan git up no mo'. An' des ahind de ol' bah kim two mus jogglin' 'em desp'rit. ol' bah layin' dah daid, he de bah's cahcuss, but w'en he fine dat Pete he gwan to teck dem two cubs to de cabin, Nicodemus he swush Pete all de way home, an' call him monst'ous t'ings squah in his face. But Pete he boun' to have dem cubs. Pete he done git pow'ful fond o' dem dah cubs, an' Nicodemus he git pow'ful jealous of 'em, an' make up he min' about 'em. Pete he keep de cubs in de cabin an' one night he weck up and heah Nicodemus swah'n like a pirate, an' de cubs whinin' lack dey ain' easy in dey mine. Pete he lay low, an' bahmby he heah de cabin do' push open, an' de moonshine it pop in an' den he see dat it bean Nicodemus push de do' open. Pete he keep layin' low, an' wondah w'at dat onrighteous parrot

gwine do. An' w'at yo' t'ink he done do, suh? He des' natch'ly drive dem cubs outen dat cabin peckin' 'em wiv he hook bill, an' swah'n! Jicketty! How he been swah'n! An' he run dem po' little bahs 'way off in de woods, an' dey know dey bettuh nevuh come back dah agin, suh. Den Nicodemus he kim back to de cabin, an' he chuckle an' chuckle, an' git up on Pete's bunk an' holluh in he eauh :

"Damn fool!"

Den Nicodemus chuckle some mo' an' go to sleep. Dis hyah tickle Pete so pow' ful dat he t'ink mo'o' dat parrot dan he evuh t'ink he kin. Nex' day Pete he boun' to tease Nicodemus, an' he took down he gun. "Tucky, Pete?" Nicodemus he say. "No," Pete he say. "Bah."

Nicodemus he swah he woan go attuh bah, but Pete declah dat he go attuh bah or he go attuh nuffin', so Nicodemus he git up an' go, but he mighty gruff about it, an' w'en Pete he stop to look fo' bah signs, Nicodemus he move on, lack he doan keeuh fo' nuffin'. He ain' go but a little ways, w'en Pete heah a swush, an' den Nicodemus yellin' an' swah'n. Pete he look dat a-way, an' des tu'n col' as ice. A big hawk it done swap down an' gobble Nicodemus, an' 'way it go wiv him, an' Pete doan see him no mo', Den Pete he des' flop down an' tah he haih.

Dat bean de time w'en Pete he kim in to Mahs' McKeevuh's plahntation, down yon 'long de Cape Fair, an' tell mahsuh he done do muhduh, an' he mus' hang. Mahs' McKeevuh, he say:

Dey wantin' sojuh men pow'ful bad up yon in V'ginny, Pete," he say. "Dis hyuh wah lookin' ferocious. Dem Yanks dey pushin' de knife 'way up to de helt, an' we des' achin' fo' sojuh men. Bes' t'ing you kin do, Petuh," Mahsuh say, "been to go up dah an' dat sight bettuhn 'n hangin'." Pete he t'ink dat bean 'bout de t'ing, too, an' 'way he go to jine de ahmy, an' he fight an' fight an' fight. He fight mo'n six months fo' he git a scratch, an' den a Yankee bullet clip him, an' dey tote him in to die. Dey tote him to a big tent whah duh bean heaps o' mo' sojuh men wiv Yankee bullets in 'em, an' dey des' layin' Pete on he cot, w'en he heah some one holluh :

"Halleluyuh, Petuh! Let us pray!"

Pete he ope one eye an' look up skeeuht wiv it, an' dah, on a stool in de tent, who yo' done spec' he see? Nicodemus! Yes, suh! Big as life, suh, an' solemn as a unduhtakuh!

How Nicodemus done git dah? Dat bean so sing'luh, suh, dat I doan' spec' yo' gwan b'lieve it. Des' on udduh side dem woods whah de hawk snatch Nicodemus up dat day an' tote him off cussin' an' swah'n top o' he lungs, bean de Craigie plahntation. De Craigie folks dey bean de piouses' folks in all dat kentry, an' Mahs' Craigie he done preach many times, heah an' dah. Hawks bean totin' away de Craigie chickens, des' de same, an' Mahs' Craigie bean layin' fo' de hawks wiv he gun, des' w'en de hawk w'at gobble Nicodemus kim floatin' ovuh dat a-way. He up pow'ful high, but Mahs' Craigie he

bean a desp'rit man wiv a rifle, an' he sen' a bullet up to meet de hawk, an' de bullet meet it, sho❜ly. De hawk kim tumblin' down, an' drop daid in a corn shock. W'en Mahs' Craigie go to pick de hawk up he mighty set back to see a parrot shet in its claws. Dat bean Nicodemus. Co'se Mahs' Craigie doan' know dat. He t'ink de parrot bean daid, an' he teck it to de house. De fambly dey all lookin' at it, w'en bahmby Nicodemus he 'gin to kick. Den dey know he ain' daid, an' dey wait. Bahmby Nicodemus he ope he eyes an' look 'roun' dah. Den he rise up an' teck a bettuh look. Den he 'gin to give his 'pinion o' things. Nicodemus he ain' hahdly staht in yit, w'en dat fambly 'gin to scattuh, an' dey ain't nobody lef' wiv Nicodemus. but Mahs' Craigie, an' he have he finguhs stuff 'way in he eahs, an' he eyes dey belgin'. Bahmby Nicodemus he quit. Mahs' Craigie's fambly dey declah dat he mus' teck de parrot out in de woods an' shoot it, but he say no. But he done tote Nicodemus up to a cabin he have in de woods, an' dah he rassle wiv dat onrighteous fowl weeks an' weeks, day in an' day out, an' dah he labuh an' rassle, pintin' out to Nicodemus de evil of his ways. An' w'at yo' spec' done happen? Bahmby one day Mahs' Craigie he kim in an' Nicodemus bean wiv him. Dey fambly dey staht to quit de house as fas' as dey laigs kin tote 'em, but Nicodemus he holluh :

"Hallyluyuh! Let us pray!"

Den de fambly kim back. Yes, suh. Mahs'

Craigie he done labuh wiv dat weeked Nicodemus till he tu'n him in de straight an' narrow path, suh, an' duh ain' bean one o' dat fambly no mo' piousuh dan Nicodemus! An' w'en Mahs' Craigie he t'ink he he mus' go an' jine de ahmy, he done teck Nicodemus wiv him, an' Mahs' Craigie an' him dey done bean in dat tent w'en dey tote One-Eye Pete Neaffie in.

Well, suh, Pete he doan' die, an' he mighty tickle to fine dat Nicodemus ain' daid, but he cain't git de hang o' all dat piousness. One day Pete he feelin' streaky, an' he say to Nicodemus:

"We gwan out attuh bah today."

Nicodemus he shuffle he fedduhs up an' glare he eye, an' holluh:

"Dam-"

But he done cotch heseff right dah, an' he say: "Hallyluyuh! Let us pray!"

Dat des' sot Pete to t'inkin', an' he t'ink so hahd an' deep ovuh Nicodemus' change o' haht dat when he bean ready to jine de ahmy ag'in he des' as pious as Nicodemus, an' w'at yo' spec' Pete done do? Attuh de wah bean done he des' natch'ly go to preachin', an' de Cape Fair folks ain' nevuh see setch a pow'ful preachuh as One-Eye Pete Neaffie, befo' de wah nor sence, suh.

HE

LITTLE LOST PUP

E was lost!—not a shade of doubt of that;
For he never barked at a slinking cat,

But stood in the square where the wind blew raw,