THE " PAINTEE " IN THE PIG PEN. . 339 



j urn pin' over the dead sow the painter had killed, prayin' 

 away and callin' to me by turns. " Oh, Potter ! quick 

 be merciful to me a a painter's comin' as you 

 hope -to be saved blasted sow oh, ough salva- 

 tion ! 



" A stroke or two of the axe cut off the plug. ' Stand 

 aside Marthy,' sez I, as I pulled down the chain and 

 threw open^he door. I had my rifle to my shoulder. 

 The first thing that cum out was the Doctor ; it nearly 

 cost him his life, for I was just a pullin' on him when he 

 said somethin' and saved himself; then came the painter 

 quicker than greased lightning ; as he struck the ground 

 outside after his first jump, I pulled on him. The ball 

 struck him just in the shoulder, breaking one leg; he 

 fell, but was on his feet again quicker than thought, and 

 every one of the sixteen dogs, pups and all, on top of 

 him. 



"Phew! what a tussel! 'Go it pups!' sez Marthy, 

 holdin' up her light. ' Go it ; yaller backs.' That old 

 woman was clare grit well, she was. Gone now, poor 

 soul !" and the frontiersman wiped his eye with the sleeve 

 of his hunting-shirt " killed herself learnin' to read. 



" The painter fetched himself up on his hind legs, like 

 a bar, hissin' all the while. One leg hung down that 

 was the broken one the t'other one ho fetched around 

 among the dogs, and knocked 'em over like nine-pins. 

 Old Boz took some of it, and it keeled him up straight, 

 and then Tinker, and Sumter. I seen 'em getting cut 

 awful, and so I walked into the muss with the axe. One 



