.

"Des like I tell you!" said Uncle Prince.

"Well, de nasty, stinkin', oudacious villyun!" commented 'Mandy Jane. "I
lay ef I go up dar en set de dogs on 'im, he'll stop sneakin' 'roun' dis
place."

"Let 'im 'lone, 'Mandy Jane, let 'im 'lone," said Uncle Prince solemnly.
"Dat ar Bud Stucky, he got a mammy, en my min' tell me dat he's mammy
kin run de kyards en trick you. Now you watch out, 'Mandy Jane. You go
on en do de washin', like you bin doin', en den ole Miss Stucky won't
git atter you wid de kyards en cunjur you. Dat ole 'oman got er mighty
bad eye, mon."

VIII

UNCLE PRINCE, it appears, was a keen observer, especially where General
Garwood was concerned. He had discovered a fact in regard to "Marse
Peyton," as he called him, that had only barely suggested itself to that
gentleman's own mind--the fact that his interest in Miss Eustis had
assumed a phase altogether new and unexpected. Its manifestations were
pronounced enough to pester Miss Tewksbury, but, strange to say, neither
General Garwood nor Miss Eustis appeared to be troubled by them. As a
matter of fact, these two were merely new characters in a very old
story, the details of which need not be described or dwelt on in this
hasty chronicle. It was not by any means a case of love at first sight.
It was better than that: it was a case of love based on a firmer
foundation than whim, or passion, or sentimentality. At any rate, Helen
and her stalwart lover were as happy, apparently, as if they had just
begun to enjoy life and the delights thereof. There was no love-making,
so far as Miss Tewksbury could see; but there was no attempt on the part
of either to conceal the fact that they heartily enjoyed each other's
companionship.

Bud Stucky continued his daily visits for several weeks; but one day he
failed to make his appearance, and after a while news came that he was
ill of a fever. The ladies at Waverly sent his mother a plentiful supply
of provisions, together with such delicacies as seemed to them
necessary; but Bud Stucky continued to waste away. One day Helen, in
spite of the protests of her aunt, set out to visit the sick man,
carrying a small basket in which Hallie had placed some broiled chicken
and a small bottle of homemade wine. Approaching the Stucky cabin, she
was alarmed at the silence that reigned within. She knocked, but there
was no response; whereupon she pushed the door open and entered. The
sight that met her eyes, and the sce