nothing around it now but a soft wide spread of yaller velvet,
which was the sand.

That was the right place to stop, and we done it. We set there a-looking
and a-thinking for a half an hour, nobody a-saying anything, for it made
us feel quiet and kind of solemn to remember it had been looking over
that valley just that same way, and thinking its awful thoughts all to
itself for thousands of years, and nobody can't find out what they are to
this day.

At last I took up the glass and see some little black things a-capering
around on that velvet carpet, and some more a-climbing up the cretur's
back, and then I see two or three wee puffs of white smoke, and told Tom
to look. He done it, and says:

"They're bugs. No--hold on; they--why, I believe they're men. Yes, it's
men--men and horses both. They're hauling a long ladder up onto the
Sphinx's back--now ain't that odd? And now they're trying to lean it up
a--there's some more puffs of smoke--it's guns! Huck, they're after Jim."

We clapped on the power, and went for them a-biling. We was there in no
time, and come a-whizzing down amongst them, and they broke and scattered
every which way, and some that was climbing the ladder after Jim let go
all holts and fell. We soared up and found him laying on top of the head
panting and most tuckered out, partly from howling for help and partly
from scare. He had been standing a siege a long time--a week, HE said,
but it warn't so, it only just seemed so to him because they was crowding
him so. They had shot at him, and rained the bullets all around him, but
he warn't hit, and when they found he wouldn't stand up and the bullets
couldn't git at him when he was laying down, they went for the ladder,
and then he knowed it was all up with him if we didn't come pretty quick.
Tom was very indignant, and asked him why he didn't show the flag and
command them to GIT, in the name of the United States. Jim said he done
it, but they never paid no attention. Tom said he would have this thing
looked into at Washington, and says:

"You'll see that they'll have to apologize for insulting the flag, and
pay an indemnity, too, on top of it even if they git off THAT easy."

Jim says:

"What's an indemnity, Mars Tom?"

"It's cash, that's what it is."

"Who gits it, Mars Tom?"

"Why, WE do."

"En who gits de apology?"

"The United States. Or, we can take whichever we please. We can take the
apology, if we want to, and let the gov'ment tak