United States or Uzbekistan ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
The long graybacks were rather pleasant to ride over at first. Even Aunt Kate was not troubled by the prospect. It was so short a run to the anchorage behind the Point that nobody expressed fear. When the spray began to fly over the bows the girls merely squealed a bit, although they hastily found extra wraps. If the Stazy plunged and shipped half a sea now and then, nobody was made anxious.
"'Diculus be blowed!" said Shorty, "The ole man was a'stuffin' ye. I'll tell ye what that is, Si," he added solemnly, "that's a grayback!" "A grayback!" said Si. "I've hearn 'em call the Johnnies graybacks, but I didn't know 's there was any other kind." "I reck'n 'twont be long, now, till yer catches on ter the meanin' ol what a grayback is. Ye'll know all 'bout it purty sudden.
"Say," said Corporal Klegg, after the company had broken ranks, "seems to me there wa'n't no use in the Orderly tellin' us to 'scratch around, fer we're doin' that purty much all the time, now that the graybacks is gittin' in their work on us." Shorty smiled faintly at what he seemed to consider a rather feeble joke, even for Si.
"Don't say I'm here, marm, and I'll help your husband, if they catch him. Tell them he has gone off to be absent a week." "He'd be absent more'n thet if he knowed them fellers was arter him." The woman moved towards the front door, and Tom through the back door; but as he was about to pass into the garden, he caught a glimpse of one of the graybacks in the rear of the house.
I sh'd think Uncle Sam might do that much for us!" "I reckon our clothes 'll be purty well washed by the time we git out o' this mess," said Shorty. "Feels that way," said Si; "but how about the bilin'? A cold bath jest refreshes them pesky little varmints, 'n' makes 'em livelier 'n ever. Say, Shorty, ye didn't write home anything 'bout our havin' graybacks, did ye?"
I staggered to my horse and tried to mount; but, as I could use neither arm, the effort was vain, and I therefore stood still, awaiting my fate. I am only conscious that I saw about me several graybacks, for I must have fallen fainting almost immediately. When I awoke I was lying in the cabin near by, upon a pile of rubbish.
I had a grim sense of amusement on finding that the old woman was not deaf, for she went out, and presently came back with a gourdful, which I eagerly drank. An hour later the graybacks returned, and finding that I was too weak to walk, carried me out and laid me on the bottom of a common cart, with which they set off on a trot.
Can't git rid of it so easy as that. "I thought he was crazy," went on Cap'n Amazon, shaking his head. "I wasn't projectin' much about superstitions. No, ma'am! We had all we could do the two of us handlin' the wheel with them old graybacks huntin' us.
Word Of The Day