" And he went scrupulously on
the other side of the road.
By and by, however, he came to a part of the wood-lane where men
had fallen by the score, and bodies had been covered in twos,
threes, and dozens. His head felt as if his very wool were
straightening itself out, as he wound here and there and zigzagged
in all directions lest he should step on or over a grave. A breeze
stirred the forest as if all the thousands buried in its shades
had heaved a long deep sigh. With chattering teeth Jeff stopped to
listen, then, reassured, continued to pick his tortuous way.
Suddenly there was an ominous rustling in a thicket just behind.
He broke into a headlong flight across and over everything, when
the startled grunt of a hog revealed the prosaic nature of this
spook. Scarcely any other sound could have been more reassuring.
The animal suggested bacon and hominy and hoe-cake, everything
except the ghostly. He berated himself angrily:
"Ki! you niggah! dat ar hog got mo' co'age dan you. He know he hab
nuffin mo' ter do wid de spooks dan you hab.
Pages:
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484