Fer
in the tricks o' sech, ole Tom 'lows--
well, hit's diff'ent; an' I reckon, stranger,
as how hit sorter is. He was a-stayin'
at Tom's house, the furriner was, a-dickerin'
fer a piece o' lan'--the same
piece, mebbe, that you're atter now--
an' Tom keeps him thar fer a week to
beat him out'n a dollar, an' then won't
let him pay nary a cent fer his boa'd.
Now, stranger, that's Tom.
Well, Abe Shivers was a-workin' fer
Tom--you've heerd tell o' Abe--an'
the furriner wasn't more'n half gone
afore Tom seed that Abe was up to
some of his devilMINT. Abe kin hatch
up more devilMINT in a minit than Satan
hisself kin in a week; so Tom jes got
Abe out'n the stable under a hoe-handle,
an' tol' him to tell the whole thing
straight ur he'd have to go to glory
right thar. An' Abe tol'!
'Pears like Abe had foun' a streak o'
iron ore on the lan', an' had racked his
jinny right down to Hazlan an' tol' the
furriner, who was thar a-buyin' wild
lands right an' left. Co'se, Abe was
goin' to make the furriner whack up
fer gittin' the lan' so cheap. Well,
brother, the furriner come up to Tom's
an' got Tom into one o' them new-
fangled trades whut the furriners calls a
option--t'other feller kin git out'n hit,
but you can't.
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