Argosy All-Story Weekly, April 18, 1925 — page 146: what you’re looking at

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

296 » “ Naw, suh. We’s got our house furni- ture,” Pink said, pointing to the stuff piled upon the wagon. ‘ An’ we’s got dis here mule an’ wagon. Us kinder hoped we could git a house some way an’ mebbe I could do some light haulin’ ontil we got started. “Got any money?” “Tm got about twenty dollars from de sale of my last crop,” Pink told him, pull- ing a small wad of currency from his pocket. “ ’Tain’t much, but it’ll he’p us to rent a house.” “Tye got a little cabin in Tickfall,” the white man said. “ I’ll rent it to you for one year for eighteen dollars. That’s cheap rent, but I owe you something for what you have done for me.”’ “ How kin I find dat cabin?” Pink asked eagerly as he rose and counted out the money. “Tm going back to Tickfall with you,” the man replied. “I'll show you where itis:” “Bless Gawd! Le’s git to movin Ledora exclaimed eagerly. “ Dis ole mule an’ me is r’arin’ to go to our new place to stay at.” “Tt’s a house with two rooms close to the Shoofly church,” the white man told them. “Dat’s fine. Us kin git our religium easy,” Ledora chuckled as she led the mule under the wagon shafts which her husband upheld. As the animal backed around, he stepped on something hard and tripped. In the ef- fort to recover his footing, he kicked the object which had tripped him into the vines beside an old stump. It was the mud-covered canvas bundle which the white man had brought to their camp. ' The stranger had not completely recov- ered his senses. He had not missed this bundle. It lay there unnoticed by the colored man and his wife. 999 IV. “T GuESS you better set up on de seat wid me, white folks,” Pink suggested when they were ready to start. ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. T’ll ride easier if I sit back in the bed of the wagon. I feel stiff and I can stretch out,” the white man answered. ‘Our little dab of furnicher shakes aroun’ some,” Pink said apologetically. “We didn’t hab enough to fill de wagon an’ pack it tight, but ef you ain’t got no real objections to gittin’ punched in de ribs wid a chair leg, you kin set back.” ‘“ After what I have been through, a jab from a table leg is the least of my troubles,” the man answered with a bitter grin. For eight miles they made slow progress because they had to stop and remove fallen limbs from the road, sometimes they had to detour around a tree lying across the way, so several hours were consumed in getting to the main highway. “We ain’t but jes’ ten miles from town now,” Pink announced with gratification that they had completed the hardest part of the journey. At the next turn of the road they were met by a large auto truck which was going away from Tickfall toward the river land- ing. The sand was very deep and the driver of the truck was afraid to turn aside from the beaten wheel tracks. He stopped and let Pink drive his mule on the side of the road and around him. “Whar you cullud folks gwine at?” the autoist inquired, showing many perfect teeth in a friendly grin. ** Movin’ to Tickfall to start a new life,” Ledora said. ‘Life in de swamp ain’t wuth livin’ no more.” “Ef Tickfall is yo’ end an’ aim, I'll see you-alls agin,” the driver answered. The engine roared its way through the sand, and from the first turn of the rear traction wheels the entire truck was completely obscured in a cloud of dust. They had driven about two miles further when Pink turned partly around and ad- dressed a remark to the passenger who rode in the rear. “White folks, how many gallons of ‘lectricity do it take to run one of dem big puff-buggies like dat’n we jes’ passed by?” No answer. “He must hab fell asleep,” Pink said to Ledora in a quieter voice. “He ain’t nappin’,” Ledora told him, COMIC OOOKS (E@)