True Blue: Stirring Stories of Naval Academy Life — page 5: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

TRUE BLUE. The cadet caught the bridle of the loose horse, quieted it, tied both to a tree, hurried over to the victim of the wild woodland dash. “Now then!” he spoke rather sharply, “what is this new piece of folly?" “Sah! Mistah Faraday!” gulped the offender, the whites of his eyes distending, “IT done tole yo’—seed him!" “You saw “De Bogey!" Nonsense!" “De yaller man! Ise coofornuffin’ if he gets de evi! eye on dis heah coon—oh, | feels myself goin’ all to pieces —de packing am blown clar out of de cylinder heads!” Clif discerned that his unnerved companion had_ beer really frightened at s ynething. Hannibal's teeth chattered, and his eyes were scintilat- ing with profound terror. “You saw what you call ‘a hoodoo, did you?” demand- ed Clif bluntly. “What yo’ call him, den, Mistah Faraday! What yo call de dreffulest chawm-man in all de land?. Ugh! Go ‘way! Ef I sees him agin I’se a dead-gone duck! Yo nebher heah of de yaller man?” : “T never did.” “TTe’s a wahm dawg, I tole yo’! De bogey-hoodoo king, who toles yo fortune for LWoO hits and ells yo SU yo’s blind and dumb and deaf for nuffin’ ei lc gits rale mad at yo—nebber heah of him?” “No. but I begin to understand. You fancy you saw some charlatan you have been scared about?” “No ‘lation to Charlotte Ann, as [ knows on !” dissented Hannibal solemnly. “I jess know he’s dat powerful he kin get at yo’ froo iron Joors and oak blinds. I seed him an’ |’se scairt—deed I is. Mistah Faraday, took dis chile away from heah soon as yo’ kin!” Hannibal got up, but trembling like a leaf. Clif saw that no bones were broken, and returned towards the horses. Fis sable comrade followed so closely that he trod upon his heels staring about with a shiver, gasping out addt- tional information on the subect of “the hoodoo.” Clif gathered that the ‘yellow man’ was some past- . * d , i e Pd i “ y © Pe ; oe te (Eee te, P a ie