Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 289 — page 13: what you’re looking at

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

13 Flush Fred’s Full Hand. As soon as he “struck” the plantation he had noticed the overseer’s daughter, and her fresh and piquant style of beauty had captivated him at once, ; ' Kitty was not only not insensible to his admi- | , ration, but may be said to have made some | girlish efforts to arouse it. In truth, Zeke Tibbles’s daughter was in a liar and in some respects unpleasant position there at Gravelly Bayou. All the young men of the neighborhood were either far above or far below her in social station—either the sons of wealthy planters, or swamp suckers and other varieties of ‘‘ poor whites.” She could not expect to receive honorable attentions from the planters’ sons, nor could she demean herself by mingling with the **trash.” This was one of the misfortunes of being poor but respectable in a slave holding region. She could not expect to be married there, or to be courted there. There were cases of seedy widowers or dis- heartened old bachelors who had married the daughters of their overseers; but they had promptly been placed beyond the pale of good society, if not previously outside of it, and it was the general belief that their wives would have done better to remain unwed, , There was only one way for Zeke Tibbles to get bis child out of that rut and give her the chance that a girl ought to have. : He could send her to the North, keeping her at a boarding-school or amovg her relatives there. But Kitty was his all, and he hated to part with her, ' He was hoping that the time would soon come when he could return to the land of his birth, and settle down among his equals, All be wanted was to add a little more to his savings, and that little more was continually getting to be yet a little more. But there was time enough yet, as Kitty was young, and she bad not so far appeared to be discontented with the life she was leading there. When Dennis Malone came within Kitty's range, and it was evident that he admired her, she was naturally attracted to him, He was neither above her by reason of wealth and position, nor below her because of her poverty and ignorance. , He was a stranger, owning nobody and owned by nobody, free from the chamiials by which all the people in the Gravelly Bayou region were bound, and outside of the prejudices and peculiarities of their narrow circles. If he loved ber he might marry her, and there was no reason why she might not marry bim, and he seemed to be in all respects a fit as- sociate for her. Dennis was not slow to perceive the interest he had excited in the damsel’s breast, and he laid siege to her with the ardor characteristic of bis race, He sought her out; he acquainted himself with her goings in and her comings forth, her daily occupations and her times and places, He made a point of meeting her and showing her many little attentions, at the same time flattering her in that open but persuasive style Which seems to be peculiar to the Irish, and with which it is not easy to be offended. ey could not help, and did not want to help, s Aims | that she liked bis company, and was not indifferent to his attentions. Indeed, she made opportunities for meeting him, and almost put herself in his way. Why should she not? } ! } “and yew know haow yew like Mr. Henning. He is real nice, tew.” ““Haow ken yew call him nice, Kitty, when he is an Irishman, and yew know haow I hate that kind? His brogue is jest horrid.” **Of course he is an Irishman, and has the Irish brogue; but Iam a Yankee, and have the Yankee aie “That’s different. I shall have to speak a leetle plainer, I see, [ want yew to keep aout of the way of that Irishman, and I want him tew leave yew alone. If I ketch him foolin’ araound yew ag’in, l’ll tell him what I think abaout it.” “Very well, pa,” answered Kitty, who doubt- less intended to be at least a little more care- ul. .. Zeke Tibbles soon had an opportunity to give Dennis Malone a piece of his mind, and the chance was afforded him by no less important a person than Paul Delarosse. That young man, having been repulsed almost acre ts in his advances to the overseer’s aughter, had adopted the policy of the dog in the manger, As he was not to get any favors from her, he determined that nobody else should have any. He had seen how she and Dennis were drawn together, and of course was anxious to spite the Lrishman, So, when he overbeard an appointment between those two, for a meeting after dark, in the grove near the bayou, be resolved to make the most of that information—to become an informer as well as a spy. Zeke Tibbles had af Bona of his own—that is to say, a house to himself—a neat and comfort- able cottage, at a little distance from the mansion. Paul Delarosse watched this house until he saw Kitty steal out and shape ber course for the bayou, Then he sought her father, and told him what he had heard and seen. The overseer despised a spy ora sneak even more than he hated an Irishman; but the matter that was thus brought to his notice required his immediate attention. It was not likely that he had forgotter the episode which unpleasantly connected young elarosse with his daughter, and he easily un- derstood the motive of his informant. He listened somewhat contemptuously, but with interest and rising anger, and was piloted by Paul to the grove near the bayou. There he found Dennis and Kitty engaged in sweet converse, entirely oblivious of the world except themselves. Dennis had his arm around the girl’s waist, and under the moonlight was industriously fill- ing her ear with an animated version of the old, old story. Into this peaceful scene, so pleasant to the two performers who held the stage, Zeke Tib- bles broke rudely, He seized Kitty by the arm, and dragged her ache from her lover, speaking angrily and arsbly. ‘*] told yew to keep away from that Irishman Kitty; but yew not only don’t obey me, but even make a pint of meetin’ him arter dark, ware is a shameful and wicked thing tew ew. “It was only accident—” Kitty began to protest; but he as her off short. sf “Don’t tell me an untruth, child. I know that yew kem aout here on purpose tew meet bim, e right home, naow, you disobedient girl, and don’t let me ever ketch yew as much as lookin’ at that bog-trotter ag’in.” CHAPTER XVIII. THE SPECTER OF THE SWAMP. DENNIS MALONE was not the sort of man who could be put down by even so severe a rebuff as he had reeeived from Zeke Tibbles. Nor was Kitty the sort of girl who would accept the situation with entire equanimity. They rebelled against the harsh decree of the paternal Yankee: but their rebellion was under the rose, and their conduct was so discreet and exemplary as to quiet the suspicions of all per- sons concerned but one. The suspicions of Paul Delarosse were as alert and yenomous as ever. Kitty met Dennis more than once after the scene in the grove, and both the lovers eluded even the vigilance of the young nabob, But the Irishman was seeking a chance to “git ayven” with his enemy and sicken him with the task of playing the spy, and he soon found or made the chance. At the end of a path that led through the sbrubbery back of the garden was a rustic sum- mer-house. The path crossed a small water-course, which at that season of the year was nothing but a muddy ditch, and the only bridge over the ditch was a single plank. In the hearing of Paul Delarosse Dennis told Fred Henning, who was in his secret, that he had an appointment to meet Kitty Tibbles in the summer-house in the shrubbery after dark that evening, and before the moon rose. He went down the path at dusk as far as the ditch, and sawed the plank nearly in two. Wishing to make a sure thing of the catastro- phe for which be was preparing, he also stretch- edawire across the path at the edge of the ditch, the hight of a man’s ankle, fastening it well on each side of the path. As Paul Delarosse, if he came that way at that time, could only get near the summer-house by crossing the plank af the path, it was reason- able for Dennis to suppose that he was about to enjoy the luxury of getting ‘“‘ayven.” And he did enjoy it. He concealed himself behind a clump of bushes near by, and watched the working of his trap, Paul Delarosse, still bent upon playing the on of the dog in the manger, came g own the path through the shrubbery after nightfall, and just as he reached the ditch Dennis bad the delight of witnessing the success of both his schemes. The young nabob tripped at the wire, but luckily fell on the plank, and unfortunately the plank broke. He tumbled into the ditch, and it was no easy matter for him to extricate himself from the mud and slime. ‘*Shmall loss if he’s kilt,” muttered the Irish- man. But Paul finally crawled out on the right side of the ditch, and a very dirty and woebegone object he was. ennis repressed his desire to turn loose the yell of exultation that was almost stifling him. It would be better to let the young nabob . guess at the author of his calamity, Paul did not again attempt to get near the summer house, but hastened to the house of the overseer, who could hardly believe that it was the heir e tant of the Delarosse estate who resented himself there in such a dirty and be- raggled condition. hen Paul explained how he had got into trouble, and told him that his daughter was at that moment keeping an appointment with Dennis Malone at the summer-house in the shrubbery, contempt was mingled with Zeke Tibbles’s astonishment. | Dennis was good enough to be the guest of Dennis spoke up for himself quickly, dropping As a matter of fact, Kitty was at that mo- Leon Delarosse, and he was the friend of Mr. | his brogue in his excitement. "Se ment, and had been since sunset, in the kitchen, Henning, who was highly esteemed there. “You have no right to call me hard names, | under ber father’s eye, in undress uniform, He was a bright and intelligent young man, | Mr. Tibbles. It’s nothing wrong that I bave | with her sleeves rolled up, hard at work making too, lively and witty, full of talk of people and done, and no more has Kitty. She is a nice | pastry, places, entertaining to all sorts and conditions of men, evidently in a business that supported him nicely, and, withal, a young man who ressed wel! and knew how to behave Properly. Why should she not encourage his advances? There was but one person to object to him, and that was her father. Zeke Tibbles might have had a good opinion of Dennis as a man, if he had not been an Irish- map. : The overseer had a poor enough opinion of ae bag pe but Irishmen were his abborrence. e believed that the children of the Emerald Isle should never have been allowed to enter this country, and the Know Nothing party which had lately sprung into existence, gaine girl, a fine girl, and a good girl, and I love her with all me heart and sow], and mane to marry her, and all we want is your consint.” Zeke Tibbles was astounded. He had not sus- pected that the affair had made such p es, “You won’t git it!” he exclaimed. ‘‘ She shouldn’t marry yew, if yew were the last man livin’. I would sewner see my darter ho’in’ in the cane-fields than hitched to an Irishman.” “And if an Irishman isn’t as good as a Yan- kee, Misther Tibbles, I'm no judge of what's what or who’s who. I’m a man of good birth an’ breedin’, sir, and am gettin’ a good income of me own, which I can make bigger when I want to. I won’t be set aside by the likes of ou, Misther Tibbles, as long as my head’s y The overseer showed her to Paul to satisfy him, and her bursts of laughter when she saw his condition, and heard the tale he had told were not calculated to restore bis peace of mind. “If folks will go in dirty ways tew dew dirty — work, they must calkilate on gittin’ a sheer of di — remarked Tibbles, and Paul was glad to sneak away and get bimself cleaned. Dennis Malone, after enjoying the discom- fiture of his enemy, had gone to keep bis real appointment with Kitty, which was to leave a : 7 4 for her where she, and nobody else, would nd it. That letter made a ments for a secret meeting, and the meeting brought the love affair his allegiance at once, ot.’ between Dennis and Kitty to a crisis. He disliked the appearance of Dennis Malone, The overseer, without condescending to make The impulsive Irishman bad gained such an and, as for the brogue, that set bis teeth on edge | any further reply, took his daughter’s arm, and | ascendancy over the mind of ‘e Tibbles’s * whenever he heard it, walked away. daughter, that she was read y to consent to any- a When this prejudiced person perceived that Paul Delarosse, who had been enjoying at a | thing he might propose that had in it the faint- the objectionable Irishman was ** making up” | little distance from the scene the effect of his | est shadow of reason or propriety. to his daughter, he thought it right and proper | dog-in-the-manger policy, made himself scarce! That is to say, she was desperately in love to put a stop to such goings on. as soon as the Irishman was at liberty to attend | with him. ll But he was not a hard-hearted father, and | to Kitty was his only pet; so be warned her gent- "Kitty was inclined to doubt the wisdom of the ee ike : “He is Mr. Henning’s friend, pa,” said she, bim, “So it’s young Black an’ Crusty that’s been at the bottom av this business,” muttered Den- nis, “If I don’t git ayven wid the fur that dirthy thrick, me name’s not Malone,” ws She perceived that it was useless to pom ed to overcome her father’s prejudices, was easily persuaded that there was but one course left to secure ber ha That course was to run away and get mar- Ebooks. co <coim