Roxy Hastings — page 168: what you’re looking at

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

ROXY HASTINGS. 159 “Jest like a tiger, mum, with both fists in his face, knocked him down and cut his—” A motion of the hand finished this sentence, and elicited exclamations of horror from the ladies. “Then I tuk his revolver and put it in my breast-coat pocket, but I didn’t dare to use it on the man in the yard, you see, ‘cause of the alarm it would give. So I jest crept behind him, it was a dark night, and served him as I hed the other one.” ‘‘And you so weak and starved !” Yes, mum, it was desperation, and I was allers supple, mum, from achild. Then I climbed over a ten-foot fence and skulked along till I come to the river, which I swum acrost—” ‘*With all your clothes on ?” ‘Yes, mum; not these, though. I bought these second hand sence I got here; I was all rags, and I had to borrer the money to pay for ’em.” “Well 2?” “Wal, then I made my way acrost the country, keep- ing as much north as I could till daylight, when I stopped in a piece of woods, killed a squirrel with a stone, made a fire, and cooked and eat him, and then I crawled into a holler log and slept all day.” ‘Is it possible ?” ‘Yes, ma’am—next two nights traveled jest the same sleepin’ day-times, and eatin’ anything—frogs, turtles, chippin’ birds—anything I could knock over, for I didn’t ‘dare to fire my revolver, you see.” ‘‘Of course not.” ‘‘And on the fourth mornin’ [ brought up on the banks of the Potomac, ware I swum out to a vessel that was goin’ to Washington, and they tuk me on board.” ‘“Why didn’t you go to ourarmy? It would have been ‘so much nearer.” ‘“Didn’t know the way, mum, and was afraid o’ bein’ gobbled up. SolIkept straight north, and knew I must come out right.” ‘But at Washington you met sympathy and—” . “Not a bit of it—was told ef I went into the city I would be arrested as a deserter, onless I had some proof to the contrary. So Iskulked off and come to New York, where the lieutenant can prove that I’m all right.” “Yes; well, Alfred will be delighted to hear of your es- cape,” said the widow, who vainly tried to subdue her hor- ror of the sanguinary man, and to believe that he had done GComichoo <S (elo)