hin' legs 'mong dem bad
town-boys, a scratchin' an' a clawin', a bitin' an' a gnawin', right an'
lef', an' neber stoppin' till dey had tore an' chawed 'em every one up.
Now, you see, Bushie, dese bad town-boys had run 'way frum home dat
mornin' when der modders had said dey mus'n't, an' hadn't nothin' to say
fur 'emselves but beca'se."

"Burl, did you ever see Colonel Daniel Boone?"--breaking off this
disagreeable subject as he would a rail-splinter.

"What's Colonel Danel Boone got to do wid de good ol' 'Lishy an' de bad
town-boys? You look me right in de face an' tell me you's sorry fur not
mindin' your modder. Now, ain't you?"

"No, I ain't."

"Ah, Bushrod, Bushrod, you's a hard little case, I'm afeard," said Burl,
with a grave shake of the head; but determined to bring the delinquent
to a sense of his evil ways, he thus proceeded: "But, s'posin' now,
while you's runnin' 'way you's to git lost 'way down yander in de black
holler whar I kilt de one-eyed wolf las' fall, an' hafter stay dare all
night all by yo'se'f, nothin' fur a good warm supper but a cap full of
pawpaws or pussimmons, an' nothin' fur a good warm feather-bed but a
pile of dry leabs. Wouldn't you be sorry den?"

"Not much."

"He's a pow'ful hard little case" said Burl to himself; "I mus' try him
a leetle stronger. Well, den, sposin' next mornin' you's to wake up an'
see a she-bar, wid a pack uf hungry cubs at her heels all a-comin' at
you on dare hin' legs, an' all begin a scratchin' an' a clawin', a
bitin' an' a gnawin' all over you, an' all at once. Wouldn't you be
sorry den?"

"Yes."

"I yi!" cried Burl triumphantly, "I thought dat would bring de little
sinner to his milk." And having brought the young transgressor to know
and feel the evil of his ways, he was now ready to answer the inquiry
touching Colonel Daniel Boone, and more than ready, since it had a
direct bearing upon subjects in which he took particular interest.

"So my little man would like to know ef I eber seed Colonel Danel Boone.
Did I eber see a bar? Did I eber see a buck? Did I eber see a buffalo?
Course, I's seed Colonel Danel Boone, many an' many a time, an' I knows
him too, like a book."

"Is he the greatest man in the world, Burl? I've heard he was."

To which, with that profound air which men are apt to assume when called
upon for an opinion touching a matter of moment, and aware what weight
their judgment will carry in the minds of their listeners, and that it