Are allyblaster white? She wur white as the bleached skull o' a
huffier; an sesh har! 'Twur as red as the brush o' a kitfox! Eyes,
too. Ah, Billee, boy, them wur eyes to squint out o'! They wur as big
as a buck's, an as soft as smoked fawn-skin. I never seed a pair o'
eyes like hern!"

"What wur her name?"

"Her name wur Char'ty, an as near as I kin remember, her other name wur
Holmes--Char'ty Holmes. Ye-es, thet wur the name.

"'Twur upon Big-duck crick in the Tennessee bottom, the place whur this
child chawed his fust hoe-cake. Let me see--it ur now more'n thirty
yeer ago. I fust met the gurl at a candy-pullin; an I reccollex well we
wur put to eat taffy agin one another. We ate till our lips met; an
then the kissin--thet wur kissin, boyee. Char'ty's lips wur sweeter
than the treakle itself!

"We met oncest agin at a corn-shuckin, an arterwards at a
blanket-trampin, an thur's whur the bisness wur done. I seed Char'ty's
ankles as she wur a-trampin out the blankets, as white an smooth as
peeled poplar. Arter thet 'twur all up wi' Reuben Rawlins. I
approached the gurl 'ithout more ado; an sez I: `Char'ty,' sez I, `I
freeze to you;' an sez she: `Reuben, I cottons to you.' So I
immeediantly made up to the ole squire--thet ur Squire Holmes--an axed
him for his darter. Durn the ole skunk! he refused to gin her to me!

"Jest then, thur kum a pedlar from Kinneticut, all kivered wi' fine
broadcloth. He made love to Char'ty; an wud yur b'lieve it, Bill? the
gurl married him! Cuss the weemen! thur all alike.

"I met the pedlar shortly arter, and gin _him_ sech a larrupin as laid
him up for a month; but I hed to clur out for it, an I then tuk to the
plains.

"I never seed Char'ty arterward, but I heerd o' her oncest from a fellur
I kim acrosst on the Massoury. She wur a splendid critter; an if she ur
still livin, she must hev a good grist o' young uns by this, for the
fellur said she'd hed a kupple o' twins very shortly arter she wur
married, with _har an eyes jest like herself_! Wal, thur's no kalklatin
on weemen, any how. Jest see what this young fellur's got by tryin to
sarve 'em. Wagh!"

Up to this moment I took no part in the conversation, nor had I
indicated to either of the trappers that I was aware of their presence.
Everything was enveloped in mystery. The presence of the white steed
had sufficiently astonished me, and not less that of my old
acquaintances, Rube and Garey. The whole scene