CHAPTER I.
STRANDED "UNCLE TOMMERS."
"Help! Some ob yo' folks ahead, dar! Unc' Tawm's in de ruvver! Hedrapped de box, an' went in afteh hit head first lak er frawg. He'sdrowndin', he sholey is! By golly! Legree! Eliza! Come back hyeh disminyit! Unc' Tawm's drowndin'!"
Topsy was making a terrific commotion. While she screeched for help sheran circles on the river-bank, tossing her hands wildly. If she had putsome of her aimless energy into helping Uncle Tom, the kinky-headedold negro in the water would have been a whole lot better off. He wasfloundering and thrashing and making a good deal of noise himself.
"Hit's ovah mah haid!" he spluttered. "Ah's done got de crampus enmah lef' laig an' Ah's monsus bad off! Bl-r-r-r! Dat's twicet Ah'sgawn down, en de nex' time Ah's gwine down tuh stay. Doan' put yo'se'fout none--doan' scramble so ha'd yo' lose yo' bref. Hit's only a coonwhut's drowndin', so take yo' time gittin' hyeh an'----"
Uncle Tom swallowed a bucket of water, more or less, just then, and hislanguage was submerged.
"Mercy sakes!" cried Eliza breathlessly, hurrying back through thebrush, closely tagged by Little Eva and Legree. "Do something,somebody! Oh, I wish we had a rope. Hang onto the box, Uncle Tom," sheadded encouragingly; "we'll get you out!"
"Oh, biscuits!" scoffed Little Eva. "Stop t'rowin' yerself around likedat an' try ter float. De way yous handles yerself, Uncle Tom, gives mea pain. Can't y' swim?"
Legree was carrying a blacksnake whip.
"Here," he yelled, posting himself on the edge of the bank and reachingout to throw the whip-lash toward the old negro, "grab hold of that andI'll snake you ashore too quick for any use."
Uncle Tom was beyond talking, but he shook the water from his eyes, sawthe whip and grabbed it. Thereupon Legree laid back on the handle andpulled. Uncle Tom was brought upright, his feet on the river-bed. Thewater came just above his knees, and he waded ashore.
"Well, de old geezer!" exploded Little Eva. "Say, give me a pair o'high-heeled shoes an' I'll walk acrost dat roarin' torrent widou' neverwettin' me kicks. How much water does it take ter drown yous, UncleTom? Oh, sister, what a jolt."
Little Eva began to laugh.
"Dat's right," gurgled Uncle Tom, splashing around on one foot to getthe water out of his ear, "laff, laff an' show yo' ignunce. Dat didun'git away f'um me, nohow," and he threw a small tin box on the ground infront of Legree.
Eliza stooped and picked up the box.
"You take care of that, Eliza," said Legree. "Uncle Tom must have beencareless. What were you and Topsy walking along by the river for?" headded, turning to the old negro.
"We reckons we mout hook er fish," explained Topsy, pointing to theground where a stick with a fish-line attached to its end had beendropped.
"Ah'm gettin' pow'ful hongry," complained Uncle Tom, "en Ah doan' seehow we-all's gwine tuh eat if we doan' ketch er fish er kill er possum,er somepin lak dat. Mah goodness, but Ah'm holla cleah down tuh mahshoes. If a piece ob bresh hadun' switched dat box out'n mah han', Ahwouldn't hab got en de ruvver. Anybody dat wants tuh kin tote dat 'arbox. Ah done had enough ob it."
"Cheer up, Uncle Tom," said Eliza. "When we get to the next town we'llhave something to eat."
"Huccome yo' allow dat, Miss 'Liza? Whah we git de money, huh?"
"I've got a ring," answered Eliza, with a little break in her voice,"and I'll pawn it."
"No, you don't, Eliza," said Legree. "I've got a watch, and I'll pawnthat."
"Wisht I had somet'in' t' soak," said Little Eva. "Brisco's headwouldn't be a bad t'ing, eh? Say, mebby I couldn't hand dat mutt acouple o' good ones if he was handy!"
Legree brought his hand around and boxed the boy's ears--for "LittleEva," in this case, was a boy of nine.
"Stow it," growled Legree, who happened to be the boy's father. "Youcan talk a lot without saying much, kid. Come on, everybody," he added."The quicker we get to Fairview the quicker we eat. You and Topsy keepin the road, Uncle Tom, and don't lag behind."
"How's Ah gwine tuh git dried off?" fretted Uncle Tom. "De rheumatixis li'ble tuh come pesterin' erroun' if Ah ain't mouty keerful wifmahse'f."
"Walk fast, Uncle Tom," said Legree, starting back toward the road.
"Ah kain't walk fast," said the old man; "hit's all Ah kin do tuh walkat all, kase Ah's mighty nigh tuckered. Dishyer walkin'-match is monsustough on er ole man, sho' as yo's bawn. Ain't dey no wagons in discountry? Whaffur dey got er road if dey ain't got no wagons? Ah'd givea mulyun dollahs if Ah had it fo' a mu-el en a wagon."
Topsy pushed close to Uncle Tom's side, grabbed his wet sleeve andhelped him along. In a few minutes they broke away from the river-bankinto the road.
Little Eva didn't seem to mind walking. He pranced along with a pocketfull of stones, and every once in a while he stopped to make a throw ata road-runner or a chipmunk.
Trees and brush lined the road on each side, growing so thickly thatit was impossible to see very far into the timber. Eliza and Legree,talking over the difficulties in which they found themselves and tryingto plan some way for surmounting them, were pretty well in advance,while Uncle Tom and Topsy were pretty well in the rear. Little Evawas dodging around in between, now and then shying at something with astone.
The strange little party had not proceeded far before the boy hearda noise in the brush. Heedless of what he might find in such a wildcountry, he jumped into the thicket. And then he jumped out again,yelling like a Comanche.
"Run!" he piped frenziedly, tearing along the road. "Dere's somet'ingchasin' me an' it's as big as a house an' has a mout' like a churchdoor. Sprint! Sprint fer yer lives!"
The other four gave their immediate attention to Little Eva, and thenchanged it to something that rolled out of the undergrowth directlybehind them.
"A bear!" yelled Legree. "Hunt a tree, kid! Everybody climb a tree!"
This is exactly what everybody proceeded to do. Little Eva shinned up asapling, Legree gave Eliza a boost into a scrub oak, and then startedfor a neighboring pine himself, and Uncle Tom displayed a tremendousamount of reserve force, considering his age and his recent experience.
"Ah knows dis trip is gwine tuh be de deaf ob me," he fluttered,getting astride a limb and hugging the trunk of the tree with botharms. "Mah goodness!" he chattered, craning his neck to get a good lookat the cause of the disturbance. "Go 'way f'um hyeh, you! We-all doan'want no truck wif you."
The bear was a grizzly--not a large grizzly, but plenty large enough.There were lots of bigger bears in that part of Arizona, but this wasthe biggest one Fate had to run in among those unlucky "Uncle Tommers."
Having gained a position about half-way up and down the line of treedactors, the bear sat down in the road and proceeded to enjoy thesituation.
"Are you all right?" sang out Legree from the top of the pine: "iseverybody all right?"
"If bein' hung up like dis is wot yous call all right, dad," answeredLittle Eva, "den it's a lead pipe dat we's all t' de good. But, say, Iain't feelin' real comfertable in me mind."
"Shoo dat animile away, Mistah Legree," begged Topsy. "Hit ain't righttuh make us stay hyeh lak dis when we's all tiah'd out."
"Go right up to de beah, Legree," suggested Uncle Tom, "en tie dat whiperroun' his neck an' strangle de life outen him. Beah meat is mightynigh as good as possum, an' we kin git fo' er five dollahs fo' de pelt."
"Oh, dear!" murmured Eliza. "I do wish he'd go away. I guess he'sthinking more about making a meal off of us than letting us make onefrom him."
"Dey trabbles in paihs," called Uncle Tom in trembling tones, by way ofenlivening the situation. "Hit's lak snakes, en wherebber yo' finds oneyo' sholey is gwine tuh fin' anudder."
"Ah hears de odder!" screamed Topsy. "He's champin' down de road lak ersinged cat. Heah him! Oh, mah golly! We's all as good as daid--we's allgwine tuh be et up."
Strange noises were coming from along the back track, coming rapidlyand growing louder and louder.
"Dat odder one's bigger 'n a efelunt!" palpitated Uncle Tom,
climbinga couple of limbs higher. "All Ah hopes is dat he ain't big enough tuhreach up en take me outen de tree. Ah's a gone niggah, Ah feels hit enmah bones."
The bear heard the approaching noise, and it seemed to puzzle him. Hesniffed the air, shook his head forebodingly, and then dropped down onall fours and ambled into the brush.
The next moment, to the astonishment of the four actors, a sparklingred automobile rushed into sight, coming from the direction of Ash Forkand headed toward Fairview.
A youth in leather cap and jacket was in the driver's seat; beside himwas a young German in a "loud" suit and a red vest.
"Pretzel!" yelled Little Eva; "I'm a jay if it ain't Pretzel!"
"Saved!" cried Eliza.
The big red touring-car came to a halt in about the same place wherethe bear had recently held the fort.
The faces of the two boys in the car were pictures of amazement as theystared at the odd assortment of actors hanging in the trees.
"Vell, py shinks," exclaimed the Dutch boy, "dis vas a jeerful pitznessund no mistake. It iss der fairst time I efer knowed it bossiple topick actor-peoples oudt oof der drees. Vat you t'ink oof dot, MotorMatt?"