n there?'

His words only served to enrage the man in the cask; he had a paroxysm of
linguistic fury, and curses spouted from the bunghole a geyser of
profanity.

'I'll be the death o' you when I get loose!' screamed the prisoner.
Another long-drawn yell followed, and then sounds as of a terrible
struggle going on inside, with occasional cries and curses.

Done was greatly perplexed, but there was, he thought, only one course
open to him. A fellow-creature was pent in the barrel, and it was
manifestly his duty to go to the rescue. He had seized the Peetrees' axe
with the intention of knocking in the head of the cask, when a warning
shout from the direction of the lead caused him to desist. One of the
Peetree brothers was running up from their claim. He arrived angry and
breathless.

'What in thunder 're you up to?' he panted.

'There's a man in that barrel,' answered Jim.

'Well, I'm likely to know all about that, ain't I? Drop that axe and
mooch along after your own business.'

'I don't know,' said Done, 'but it seems to me that this is almost any
man's business. You're not at liberty to keep a fellow-creature cooped in
a barrel at your own pleasure, even on Jim Crow.'

'That's just so, but the man in there's my father, which makes a
dif'rence, perhaps.'

'Your father? Are you keeping the old man in pickle?'

'No; we're keeping him outer mischief, an' that ought to be enough for
you.'

'Of course, I don't want to interfere with your family arrangements, but
this is a bit out of the ordinary, and you'll admit my action was only
natural.' Jim picked up his billy and crossed to his own tent, the man in
the barrel breaking into fresh clamour, and calling down Heaven's
vengeance on his son's head through the bunghole.

'Shut up, you infernal ole idiot!' cried the dutiful son. While Done was
busy over the fire, Peetree junior drove the bung into the barrel, and
then rejoined our hero.

'Naturally, you wouldn't understan',' he said, jerking his thumb towards
the barrel, 'but the ole man's such a dashed nuisance when he's on we
gotter do somethin' with him.' The tone was apologetic.

'I dare say you are quite justified,' Jim answered. 'A man doesn't keep
his father in a barrel for mere amusement.'

'No, he don't ordinary, does he?' answered the native gravely. 'Fact is,
the dad goes on a tear now 'n again, an' we pen him up to sober off. We
can look after him all right after knocking off, but if we was to le