nic to begin with. "A
young pusson, suh," he said, "what made me think he was a paintuh, suh,
to staht with. Made me think he was a paintuh, suh, or else de debbil,
wid his howlin'."

Layson laughed long and heartily. "Must have been Joe Lorey," he
surmised. "I heard that cry and thought, myself, it was a panther. He's
the only one on earth, I guess, who can imitate the beasts so well.
Where is he, now?'

"Lawd knows! I see him dar, close by me, den I seed you in de doah, an'
when I looked aroun' ag'in, he had plumb faded clean away!"

"They're wonderful, these mountaineers, with their woods-craft."

"Debbil craf, mo' like," said Neb, a bit resentful, still.

Frank smiled at the thought of his dear Aunt, precise and elegant,
compelled to spend the night in a construction camp beneath
white-canvas.

"What did Aunt 'Lethe think about a night in tents?" he asked.

"Lawd," said Neb, plainly trying to gather bravery for something which
he wished to say, "I didn't ax huh. Too busy with my worryin'."

"Worrying at what, Neb?"

"Oveh dat Miss Holton an' her father."

"Mr. Holton didn't come, too, did he?"

"No; he didn't come wid us, suh; but he met us dar down by de railroad.
Wasn't lookin' for him, an' I guess he wasn't lookin', jus' exactly, to
see us. But he was dar an' now he's jus' a membuh of ouah pahty, suh, as
good as Cunnel Doolittle. Hit don't seem right to me, suh; no suh, hit
don't seem right to me."

"Why, Neb!"

"An' dat Miss Barbara! She was dead sot to see you, an' Miss 'Lethe was
compelled to ax her fo' to come along. She didn't mean to, fust off; no
suh. But she had to, in de end. Den I war plumb beat when I saw Mister
Holton stalkin' up dat platfohm like he owned it an' de railroad an' de
hills, and de hull yearth. But he's bettuh heah dan down at home, Marse
Frank. He don't _belong_ down in de bluegrass."

"I'm afraid you are impertinent, Neb. Don't meddle. You always have been
prejudiced against Barbara and her father."

The old negro answered quickly, bitterly. "I ain't likely to fuhgit,"
said he, "dat de only blow dat evuh fell upon my back was from his han'!
I guess you rickollick as well as I do. He cotch me coon-huntin' on his
place an' strung me up. He'd jes' skinned me dar alive if you-all hadn't
heered my holler in' an' run in."

Layson was uneasy at the turn the talk had taken. "That was years ago,
Neb," he expostulated.

"Don't seem yeahs ago to me, suh. Huh! De only blow da