long ez dey lived, an' he said it
wouldn' be very long, he reckoned. Dat wuz de on'y time he voice
broke--when he said dat; an' I couldn' speak a wud, my th'oat choked
me so.

"When we come to de river, we tu'ned right up de bank, an' arfter
ridin' 'bout a mile or sich a matter, we stopped whar dey wuz a little
clearin' wid elder bushes on one side an' two big gum trees on de
udder, an' de sky wuz all red, an' de water down to'ds whar de sun wuz
comin' wuz jes' like de sky.

"Pres'n'y Mr. Gordon he come wid a 'hogany box 'bout so big 'fore 'im,
an' he got down, an' Marse Chan tole me to tek all de hosses an' go
'roun' behine de bushes whar I tell you 'bout--off to one side; an'
'fore I got 'roun' dar, ole Cun'l Chahmb'lin an' Mr. Hennin an' Dr.
Call come ridin' from tudder way, to'ds ole Cun'l Chahmb'lin's. When
dey hed tied dey hosses, de udder gent'mens went up to whar Mr. Gordon
wuz, an' arfter some chattin' Mr. Hennin step' off 'bout fur ez 'cross
dis road, or mebbe it mout be a little furder; an' den I seed 'em
th'oo de bushes loadin' de pistils, an' talk' a little while; an' den
Marse Chan an' ole Cun'l Chahmb'lin walked up wid de pistils in dey
han's, an' Marse Chan he stood wid his face right to'ds de sun. I seen
it shine on 'im jes' ez it come up over de low groun's, an' he look'
like he did sometimes when he come out of chu'ch. I wuz so skeered I
couldn' say nuthin'. Ole Cun'l Chahmb'lin could shoot fust rate, an'
Marse Chan he never missed.

"Den I heahed Mr. Gordon say, 'Gent'mens, is yo' ready?' and bofe of
'em sez, 'Ready,' jes' so.

"An' he sez, 'Fire, one, two'--an' ez he said 'one,' ole Cun'l
Chahmb'lin raised he pistil an' shot right at Marse Chan. De ball went
th'oo his hat. I seen he hat sort o' settle on he head ez de bullit
hit it, an' _he_ jes' tilted his pistil up in de a'r an' shot--_bang_;
an' ez de pistil went _bang_, he sez to Cun'l Chahmb'lin, 'I mek you a
present to yo' fam'ly, seh!'

"Well, dey had some talkin' arfter dat. I didn' git rightly what it
wuz; but it 'peared like Cun'l Chahmb'lin he warn't satisfied, an'
wanted to have anudder shot. De seconds dey wuz talkin', an' pres'n'y
dey put de pistils up, an' Marse Chan an' Mr. Gordon shook han's wid
Mr. Hennin an' Dr. Call, an' come an' got on dey hosses. An' Cun'l
Chahmb'lin he got on his horse an' rode away wid de udder gent'mens,
lookin' like he did de day befo' when all de people laughed at 'im.

"I b'lieve ole Cun'l Chahmb'