The Argosy, Vol. XXIV No. 2 — page 128: what you’re looking at

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

320 THE SINGING TEACHER. Jo and Wilkes came to a halt, and Jo, having placed the torch ina niche of the rock at her side, turned to the singing teacher with a white face. ‘We can’t go no further with a light,’’ she said ; ‘“we’ll have to ieave hit here till we come back. They’d see us arter we git down this ’ere cliff.’ ‘“ All right, my dear,’’ said Wilkes, as he drew near to her. Back in the darkness stood Jim, almost choked with the emotions that raged within him. ‘‘ Perhaps we’d better hurry on,’’ continued Wilkes, taking Jo caress- ingly by the arm. ‘‘It is getting late, and I only want to find out where it is tonight.’’ But Jo stood still ; and from his cover of darkness Jim could see tears in her eyes as she spoke. "' Somehow, I don’t feel like I’m a doin’ jest ezactly right, a showin’ you the way to Jim’s still house, even ef—ef we air a gwine to be married.”’ ‘‘Qh, come now, Jo,’’ said Wilkes, placing his arm around her waist and drawing her closely to him, ‘‘ my little Jo, my sweetheart, we don’t want to punish Jim. We only want to get him down to Atlanta and show him what a great wrong it is to defraud the government, then he will come back home a better man ; and you, my darling, will go with me to Atlanta, where we will be married ; and some day we can have Jim to visit us, and he will be glad that you have found a home where you need want for nothing. I know Jim is a good fellow, but you deserve more than he will ever be able to give you, for he will always be dodging the law. Now don’t you love me better than you do Jim?’’ ‘Yes, yes, I believe I do; you are so different from Jim. But he is so good, Jim is; an’ you’ll promise me they shan’t harm him, not airy hair of his head ?’’ ‘Why, yes; haven’t I promised it a thousand times already ?”’ ‘Yes, but I wanted you to promise it again right here afore we go any furder.’’ Out in the darkness Jim was still listening, but now there were tears in his eyes. 3 ‘An’ you won’t go to the still house tonight arter you’ve seed it?” ‘“ No, no; we will go back home then; and I will come tomorrow night and bring some men from Tallulah.’’ ‘‘ Oh, I’m afeared they will kill Jim.’’ ‘“Oh, no; the men will only come to carry away the still. I know Jim will go along with us peaceably.’’ Wilkes kissed her two or three times, then released her, and the two be- gan to make their way down over the rough pass through the darkness. For a moment Jim stood motionless, then walked to the ed ge of the cliff, and, lowering himself over its side, hung for a moment by his hands to the jutting rock before dropping into space. It was twelve or fifteen feet to the ledge below, and another ten feet to the base of the cliff, where Jim landed in a few seconds, and strode swiftly away down the ravine. Five minutes Jater he stood in the doorway of a low, rough cabin, near the center of which stood a rock furnace with a glowing fire under the copper kettle S) com “oO (E(0) AA) boo ———” his. - ae ee = mee bn