Argosy and Railroad Man's Magazine — page 95: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

~ GREEN SPIDERS. 437 T circled the fringing bushes and climbed through the banks of tall fern till near enough to hear what Poggio was talking about. This I gathered: Ulmquist had just taken Letcher over to the point of the © promontory in the hope of forcing him to disclose the whereabouts of the passengers and the provisions which they had brought with them. The whole crew was already suffering from a shortage of rations. Omura was in particularly bad odor for stealing ~an extra potato. Only to-night some tins of salmon had disappeared, and Ulmquist, blaming Omura, had threatened to kill him. Most of the men feared to put out to sea without additional rations. They had cir- cled the little island without finding a safe anchorage, natives, or means of ascending the cliff, and the land that lay southward seemed even more inaccessible than this barren coast. “No, Tack,” said Poggio, as he refilled his clay pipe with the unburned embers of his last three smokes. ‘“ Cappa Ul’queest tella me we going stay here till we find de grub, or catcha five hundred pounda feesh. But I teenk I know why he wanta stay here. He wanta find de very pretty ség- norina.” ‘As this last profound observation of Pog- gio’s was delivered without undue gesticula- tion and in a low tone between short puffs at his pipe, and as Tack was paying very little attention to what the Italian was say- ing, but was intent upon his own edifying avocations, he did not hear it. To tell the truth, Tack had just succeed- ed, after two disheartening misses, in splashing the exact center of the kettle with an enormous gob of the red-brown juice, which trickled swiftly in five.rivulets and fell upon the hot coals of the fire with an explosive hiss. This astonishing performance, which il- lustrated aptly, strikingly, and triumphant- ly the truth of four or five laws of physics, appealed so irresistibly to Tack’s well- developed sense of humor- that he placed a sable fist between his two rows of ivories forthwith, and wagged his head in ecstasies while the crystal tears rolled down his ebony cheeks. ‘“Dat’s a ringer! Dat’s a ringer!” he gasped as soon as he could recover his breath. “Ah reckum dat makes scent drinks ob gin yo’ owes me. Did yo’ see dat monstorious ringer! Oh, man!” ‘““Sheesa no looka lika ‘ringer to me,” observed Poggio, squinting his eyes and shaking his head gravely. “ Sheesa too lowa. down.” ! “Oh, sho’, man! Dat’s de trickul! Dat’s a fac’ Ah reckum dat gob ob juice done—” : “Alla right, you Tack, .alla right,”’Pog- gio hastened to agree, an ingratiating note in his voice and compliance in his gestures. ‘“Sheesa joost one fine ringer. Now you going to shoot for me one bottle de red wine, one roasta pig with de garlic, and one beeg, fat cheese?” At this enumeration of appetizing viands Tack’s face convulsed spasmodically in a series of the most remarkable grimaces im- aginable, and sitting up suddenly he pressed with both hands in the region of his stomach. ‘Say, boy, doan’ yo’ tantalize dis yeah niggah dataway, yo’ heah me?” he ejacu- lated sharply. “ Ain’t you going shoot me for one beeg feast?” asked Poggio, the tears springing to his eyes from the potency of the nicotin in his clay pipe. ‘“ One beeg feast so quick lika we maka port?” “Deed Ah is, boy! Deed Ah is!” cried Tack, licking his lips. “ Roas’ pig—dat’s a barbecue! By golly, we gwine git a ele- gant roas’ chickum, foo! Dat’s a swell joobilee, sure ‘nuff! Oh, man!” The tobacco-juice which had been accu- mulating under his tongue for the purpose of being ejected at the,kettle in an attempt to secure another ringer, now drooled from the corners of his mouth and dripped on the handle of the shiny bolo at his belt till Tack, quite overcome at the prospect of the barbecue, threw back his woolly head and swayed with delight. Poggio, noting the success of-his effort to keep the negro in an ecstatic frame of mind, thereby binding him the more closely to himself, slowly rolled up his pants to the knees and began picking off the sand-burs which clung to the cloth. ConmicooolkS.comnn