t? And who-all might you be, young fellers?" he asked.
"This here Bonbright man has come up on Turkey Track to give us a show at
law. If they's persons engaged in unlawful practices on this here
mountain top, mebbe he'll knock up against 'em. Them that keeps the law
and lives decent has no reason to fear the law. Ain't that what you say,
Blatch?" turning suddenly to his nephew.

The big swart mountaineer drew up his shoulders with a sort of shrug.

"Ef you stand in with Bonbright, Unc' Jep," he said, bluntly, "we might
as well all go down to Hepzibah and give ourselves up. You've done rented
me the land, and yo' boys is in the still with me--air ye a-goin' to
stand from under, and have the marshal forever keepin' us on the jump?"

Old Jephthah looked wordless contempt at the nephew who knew little
enough to impute such a course to him.

"That's what I say," put in Jim Cal's thin, querulous tones from the back
of the room--the voice of a fat man in trouble; can anyone say why the
sorrows of the obese are always comic to the rest of the world? "A body
cain't sleep nights for thinkin' what may chance."

"Oh,--air you thar, podner?" inquired Blatch, with a sort of ferocious
banter in his tone which he frequently used toward his fleshy associate.
"I thort ye was down in the bed sick."

"I was," said Jim Cal sulkily; "but Iley she said--Iley 'lowed----"

Blatch burst into a great horse laugh, which the others joined.

"I know'd in reason ye'd be down when they came any trouble at the
still," he commented. "Hit always affects yo' health thataway; but I
didn't know Iley had seed reason to dig ye out. What you goin' to do
about Bonbright, Unc' Jep--stand in with him?"

"Well--you _air_ a fool," observed the old man meditatively. "Who named
standin' in with Bonbright, or standin' out agin' him? When I rented you
my farm for five year I had no thought of yo' starting up that pesky ol'
still on it. But I never was knowed to rue a trade. My daddy taught me
when I made a bad bargain to freeze the tighter to it, and I've no mind
to do other."

"They'd been a still thar," said Blatch defensively.

The old man nodded.

"Oh, yes," he agreed. "Hit had been,--I put it thar. I've made many a run
of whiskey in my young days--and I've seed the folly of it. I reckon you
fool boys'll have to see the folly of it too befo' yo've got yo' satisfy.
As for Creed Bonbright, he 'pears to think that if we have plenty of law
in the Turkey Tr