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Show 140 niCHAitD IIURDIS. bod Jood, and many arc the tnles wlliclt I lH•rtr of llis miscon. duct. It is not known how he lives. A miserable patch of corn and one of 110tntocs form his on ly }WCtencc as a f:trm('r, and to t hese he pays so lii.tlc nttcntion, that his allology is opculy Jnugl•cd nt. 'l'hc cattle arc commonly in the cornfield, nud the l•ogs do what they jJlcnsc with tl•c potato-patch. lie docs 110t sec, or docs not care to sec. Ire is seldom at home, :md you may have to return to-morrow without finding llim. If so, scruple not to mnke my house your home so long as it may serve your pmposc and prove ;~grecnb l c." 'V c t hanked him with due fran kness, ~md l1c p roceeded : - •• 'l'his man has no known resources whatsoever, yet he is seldom witltout money. He is lavish of it, and must get it cnsily. I t is commonly t hougl1t t11at l1e g:tmLies, nnd is connected with a v~tst association •of gamblers tlwt live upon t ho stcambon1s, ~mel hnrass the c01mtry from Georgia to Louisiana, ass<'.~sing 1 he unwary traveller wl1ercvcr tl1ey meet witl1 h im; ::tlld yon know how mn.ny thoughtless, confident youth we llnV<', wl1o lose tlJcir money from nn unwill ingness to believe thnt they c.111 Le out· witted by their neighbor." " .My eye, n.s these words were spoken, cnugltt. thnt of '\\'iJ. liam, wl1ich turned away in confusion from my glance. I felt miscl1ievous enough to relilte our adventure nt the Tuscaloosa tavern, but Colonel Grafton talked too well, nnd we were Loth too much in terested in wl1at he snid, to desire to interrupt him. Tie proceed eel :- " Jt is even said and supposed by some that he docs worsc thnt he ro\;s where he can not win, and seizes where he can not cheat. I mn not of this opinion. Uogues as well as J,oncst men find it easy enough to get along in our country without walking tho highway; and, though I know him to be Lold enough to be a ruflian, I doubt wl1cther such would be J1is pol. icy. l\ry notion is that he is a successful gambler, and, as such, if you fi nd him at home, I doubt not that you will get your money. At 1cnst, such is my hope, for your snke, as well :ts my own. If you do, Ur. Carrington, you will trust again, and I -yes-I will endorse again t he p oor man's promise to pay." " And how far from y ou is the residence of this man ?" was my question. A FOB.ES'l' J\0~1 E. 141 . n miles, ant.l tl,rough a. misel:ably "From twehe to fum ~~~~· '0ll the ride: you will ha\ e an wild l'Otlntry. I a.o ~~~: \.C) ~~~~rds of t.he route, and~~ C~Jecr~ests llp·hil\ journey of It fu·us~' ·ou may not take it iu Y:lll~ i 'O~\; one throughout. l h t ·o;1 must return t1,is way. 1t ~~ ) b whcth<'r you do or no ' ) I can ut )'Oil on your '' ay y . t ·oute to Columbus, nm1 p lf' I sh all of course, nc:u cs 1 . ld not find yourse · ' a short cut w},,ch you con expect you." . . ur conference with tlliS excellent Such was t}Je amount of o , 1, o'clock - a late hour \V )'11''\ted at t\\ c 'c l t man that night. e ser ·v~nin 1ta.d passed too pleasant): r~ in the country, but the c 1 g·f 1 breakfast in t he morlll~lt:>' permit us to feel it so. A \J~CI ut t\,ourrhts and images wl JJch nml a renewal of all tho~e 1;) ~:~~·e, ma(fe us lJesitatc to le~Ye liad fascinatcll us .the mg : low were the first movemcnts_wlllc~l tl ·s channiw" fa nllly i and . . \"ell Ilrovided With dl· ll · t:> 1 , terr1lo1y. · ~ d carried us from the lapp) 1 . t. ns to be circumspect an . d' t1 c way ntH cau IO • • • d bt . rections for hn mg 1 ' ] ll' of our !:!USp!ClOUS c Ot. watcl,ful, we set out for the (we mg |
