t evil--an' the gals; he can
outholler ole Jim; an' IF," I says, "any IDEES ever comes to him, he'll
be a hell-rouser shore--but they ain't comin'!" An', so sayin', I takes
my foot in my hand an' steps fer home.

Stranger, them fellers over thar hain't seed much o' this world. Lots
of 'em nuver seed the cyars; some of 'em nuver seed a wagon. An' atter
jowerin' an' noratin' fer 'bout two hours, what you reckon they said
they aimed to do? They believed they'd take that ar man Beecher, ef
they could git him to come. They'd heerd o' Henry endurin' the war,
an' they knowed he was agin the rebs, an' they wanted Henry if they
could jes git him to come.

Well, I snorted, an' the feud broke out on Hell fer Sartain betwixt the
Days an' the Dillons. Mace Day shot Daws Dillon's brother, as I
rickollect--somep'n's al'ays a-startin' up that plaguey war an'
a-makin' things frolicsome over thar--an' ef it hadn't a-been fer a
tall young feller with black hair an' a scar across his forehead, who
was a-goin' through the mountains a-settlin' these wars, blame me ef I
believe thar ever would 'a' been any mo' preachin' on Kingdom-Come.
This feller comes over from Hazlan an' says he aims to hold a meetin'
on Kingdom-Come. "Brother," I says, "that's what no preacher have ever
did whilst this war is a-goin' on." An' he says, sort o' quiet, "Well,
then, I reckon I'll have to do what no preacher have ever did." An' I
ups an' says: "Brother, an ole jedge come up here once from the
settlemints to hold couht. 'Jedge,' I says, 'that's what no jedge have
ever did without soldiers since this war's been a-goin' on.' An',
brother, the jedge's words was yours, p'int-blank. 'All right,' he
says, 'then I'll have to do what no other jedge have ever did.' An',
brother," says I to the preacher, "the jedge done it shore. He jes
laid under the couht-house fer two days whilst the boys fit over him.
An' when I sees the jedge a-makin' tracks fer the settlemints, I says,
'Jedge,' I says, 'you spoke a parable shore.'"

Well, sir, the long preacher looked jes as though he was a-sayin' to
hisself, "Yes, I hear ye, but I don't heed ye," an' when he says, "Jes
the same, I'm a-goin' to hold a meetin' on Kingdom-Come," why, I jes
takes my foot in my hand an' ag'in I steps fer home.

That night, stranger, I seed another feller from Hazlan, who was
a-tellin' how this here preacher had stopped the war over thar, an' had
got the Marcums an' Braytons to shakin' h