y, that old man kep' up his
end in a fight one day for half an hour against three Grangerfords,
and come out winner. They was all a-horseback; he lit off of his horse
and got behind a little woodpile, and kep' his horse before him to
stop the bullets; but the Grangerfords stayed on their horses and
capered around the old man, and peppered away at him, and he peppered
away at them. Him and his horse both went home pretty leaky and
crippled, but the Grangerfords had to be _fetched_ home--and one of
'em was dead, and another died the next day. No, sir; if a body's out
hunting for cowards he don't want to fool away any time amongst them
Shepherdsons, becuz they don't breed any of that _kind_."

Next Sunday we all went to church, about three mile, everybody
a-horseback. The men took their guns along, so did Buck, and kept them
between their knees or stood them handy against the wall. The
Shepherdsons done the same. It was pretty ornery preaching--all about
brotherly love, and such-like tiresomeness; but everybody said it was
a good sermon, and they all talked it over going home, and had such a
powerful lot to say about faith and good works and free grace and
preforeordestination, and I don't know what all, that it did seem to
me to be one of the roughest Sundays I had run across yet.

About an hour after dinner everybody was dozing around, some in their
chairs and some in their rooms, and it got to be pretty dull. Buck and
a dog was stretched out on the grass in the sun sound asleep. I went
up to our room, and judged I would take a nap myself. I found that
sweet Miss Sophia standing in her door, which was next to ours, and
she took me in her room and shut the door very soft, and asked me if I
liked her, and I said I did; and she asked me if I would do something
for her and not tell anybody, and I said I would. Then she said she'd
forgot her Testament, and left it in the seat at church between two
other books, and would I slip out quiet and go there and fetch it to
her, and not say nothing to nobody. I said I would. So I slid out and
slipped off up the road, and there warn't anybody at the church,
except maybe a hog or two, for there warn't any lock on the door, and
hogs likes a puncheon floor in summer-time because it's cool. If you
notice, most folks don't go to church only when they've got to; but a
hog is different.

Says I to myself, something's up; it ain't natural for a girl to be in
such a sweat about a Testament.