THE SEMItfOLES. 183 



Istalusta (mulatto) go ; 110 get stuckah, no have to come 

 backah ; hey ? &quot; 



[This in fearful tones, for Jim held, with many 

 others, that you could make any foreigner understand, 

 provided you spoke loud enough]. 



Tiger &quot; Istalusta ; shookah, me give um ; pahlen ! &quot; 

 and he looked wistfully at Tom. 



Jim &quot; Ten hogs for that nigger ! There, I ll give 

 up ; the something heathenish old chattymico don t 

 know Injun no more n a cracker ! &quot; 



A peculiar twinkle of Tiger s eyes convinced me that 

 he &quot; knew more n he portended,&quot; but what his reasons 

 were for baffling Jim s curiosity I didn t know till later. 



That night we left our camp on the Alpattiokee, and 

 made our fire at the foot of the &quot; forked cabbage,&quot; on a 

 branch of the Alpattie. The Indians accompanied us, 

 though unasked. It seems that Tiger had divined Jim s 

 meaning, and had determined to prevent us from reach 

 ing our destination. He had concocted a fearful scheme 

 to prevent our departure it was to eat us out. I didn t 

 know it at the time, or I shouldn t have aided them as 

 I did. 



The shades of night and the time for our evening re 

 past drew near. In honor of our guests, Tom had 

 cooked just four times the usual quantity of flapjacks, 

 besides our last steak of venison. I had devoured but 

 one flapjack, and was about securing another, when, lo ! 

 they were not. Tiger sat dignified and sad ; Charley 

 dignified and serious; &quot; Fistilokeen &quot; dignified and dirty. 

 The corners of their mouths ran hog juice, their faces 

 and hands were unctuous with it, yet there they sat, 

 patiently waiting, sad and serious ; grieved even, judg 

 ing from their countenances. 



