Miss Sneers she put her hand on my arm, jest so as tu let the tip eend of her leetle finger lie agin my wrist. I swore it made the blood tingle up my arm. We went intu the room with the rest a follerin arter, Indian file. A great strappin nigger stood at each side of the door-place, when we went, with white gloves on, and towels in their hands--they bowed a'most tu the carpet as we went by, and when we sot down, then they stood right up on eend behind our chairs, like militia trainers jist tryin tu drill. They lifted up the kivers from a lot of dishes, and up riz the steam among the glasses and silver, till it seemed as if they hung in a cloud. Oh gracious, I can't begin to tell you all that them dishes had in 'em. There was leetle teinty tonty birds cooked hull, claws and all--partridges with their stomachs stuffed till they looked as pussey as cousin Jasin--squirrels a lyin there like human babies jest baked over a trifle, and all sorts of wild varmints that a feller ever thought of killin. The niggers they dodged about, fillin plates and a handin 'em round like lightnin. They gin Miss Sneers and I each on us a leetle bird--darn me if I know what it was, without it was a woodpecker stewed hull. It raly seemed tu be a shame tu stick a fork intu the teinty varmint. I kinder diddled my knife and fork about, till Miss Sneers got purty intimate with her bird, for I wanted tu see if it was the fashion tu swaller 'em down in'ards and all. She'd used her little chap purty well up, when I sot my jaws a workin in arnest. The bird went down my throat the quickest. It was awful sweet tastin; and the leg bones scratched a trifle as they went down, but nothin tu speak on. Wal, we laid into the squirrels and other wild critters rather hard, till I begun tu feel a dry. There was a leetle bottle of water stood agin each plate. I poured some out of mine, and was a goin tu drink, but Miss Sneers, she laid her hand on the glass, and sez she-- "Mr. Slick, let me help you tu wine?" "Not as you know on," sez I, a bowin, and a takin the tumbler from under her hand--"I'm a teetotaler, marm, tu the back bone!" "Oh, I'd forgot," sez she, a lookin at her brother. He took up a bottle with leetle chunks of sheet lead a stickin tu the neck, and sez he-- "You will not refuse a glass of this cider, Mr. Slick--there's no alcohol in this, I can tell you." I was jest a goin tu say no, but Miss Sneers, she held out her glass, and all the time that cider was a gurglin out of the bottle and a sendin up sparkles in her glass, she kept them smilin eyes a pourin their brightness right intu mine. When the glass was full, she touched it tu her mouth, and gin a leetle sip, jest enough tu make them pesky lips look a trifle damp, and redder than ever, and sez she, a reachin the glass towards me-- "You must drink this, Mr. Slick." I felt the blood bile intur my face agin. I kinder part reached out my hand--then I pulled it back, and sez I-- "I've signed the pledge."