D'Ri and I: A Tale of Daring Deeds in the Second War with the British.: Being the Memoirs of Colonel Ramon Bell, U.S.A.Bacheller, Irving
History
D'Ri and I: A Tale of Daring Deeds in the Second War with the British.: Being the Memoirs of Colonel Ramon Bell, U.S.A.
Bacheller, Irving
United States -- History -- War of 1812 -- Fiction
"Didn't hev no idee where I wus. Felt 'em run a chain through my
arms, careful, efter they sot me down. I sot still fer mebbe five
minutes. Seemed so ev'rybody'd gone out o' the place. Could n't
hear nuthin' nowhere. I le' down the chain jest es ca-areful es I
could, 'n' tuk off the blindfold. 'Twas all dark; could n't see my
hand afore me. Crep' 'long the floor. See 't was covered with
sawdust. Tuk off m' boots, 'n' got up on m' feet, 'n' walked
careful. Did n' dast holler t' Ray. Cal'lated when the squabble
come I 'd be ready t' dew business. All t' once I felt a slant 'n
the floor. 'T was kind o' slip'ry, 'n' I begun t' slide. Feet
went out from under me 'n' sot me down quick. Tried t' ketch holt
o' suthin'. Could n't hang on; kep' goin' faster. Fust I knew I
'd slid int' some kind uv a box. Let me down quicker 'n scat over
thet air grease a little ways. I out with my tew hands 'n' bore
ag'in' the sides o' th' box powerful 'n' stopped myself. Then I up
with these here feet o' mine. See the top o' the box wa'n't much
more 'n a foot above me. Tried t' crawl up ag'in. Couldn't mek
it. Dum thing slanted luk Tup's Hill. Hung on awhile, cipherin'
es hard es I knew how. Hearn suthin' go kerslap. Seem so the hull
place trembled. Raised up my head, 'n' peeked over my stumick down
the box. A bar o' light stuck in away down. Let myself go careful
till I c'u'd see my nose in it. Then I got over on my shoulder 'n'
braced on the sides o' the box, back 'g'in' one side 'n' knees
'g'in' t'other. See 't was a knot-hole where the light come in,
'bout es big es a man's wrist. Peeked through, 'n' see a lot o'
lights 'n' folks, 'n' hearn 'em talkin'. Ray he stud on a platform
facin' a big, powerful-lookin' cuss. Hed their coats 'n' vests
off, 'n' sleeves rolled up, 'n' swords ready. See there wus goin'
t' be a fight. Hed t' snicker--wa'n' no way I c'u'd help it, fer,
Judas Priest! I knew dum well they wa'n't a single one of them air
Britishers c'u'd stan' 'fore 'im. Thet air mis'able spindlin'
devil I tol' ye 'bout--feller et hed the women--he stud back o'
Ray. Hed his hand up luk thet. 'Fight!' he says, 'n' they got t'
work, 'n' the crowd begun t' jam up 'n' holler. The big feller he
come et Ray es ef he wus goin' t' cut him in tew. Ray he tuk it
easy 'n' rassled the sword of the big chap round 'n' round es ef it
wus tied t' hisn. Fust I knew he med a quick lunge 'n' pricked 'im
'n the arm. Big chap wus a leetle shy then. Did n't come up t'
the scratch es smart 'n' sassy es he'd orter. Ray he went efter
'im hammer 'n' tongs. Thet air long slim waist o' hisn swayed 'n'
bent luk a stalk o' barley. He did luk joemightyful han'some--wish
't ye c'u'd 'a' seen 'im thet air night. Hair wus jest es shiny es
gold 'n the light o' them candles. He 'd feint, an' t' other 'd
dodge. Judas Priest! seemed so he put the p'int o' the sword all
over thet air big cuss. C'u'd 'a' killed 'im a dozen times, but I
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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