"You come my shack, tenas, bad for papoose to be out night."
Every stick and stone of the path was lighted for them. Jenny's
heart was in ashes for the grief of "Tchorch," who so loved his Mill
and his house. All her beautiful clothes were burnt. Perhaps Pete
would kill him even now.
"Oh, where is Tchorch?" she cried as they came to the bottom of the
hill. And the wavering crowd kept on saying where he was.
"The boss is on the river."
"Went in a boat, pardner----"
"Oh, but he was mad! I wouldn't be the Siwash----"
"I don't hanker none to be Quin if Pete gets him. Pete's a boy,
ain't he? Solid ideas, by gosh----"
"See, there's the Planin' Mill goin' up the flume!"
"'Tis a mighty expensive fire, this. Eh, what?"
"Licks me Moolas don't burn mor' off'n, pard!"
"Well, we're out of a job, tilikums."
The crowd moved and swayed and moaned. They cried "Oh!" and "Ah!"
and "See!" The Mill was hell. Old Dutchy sat on a pile of sawed
lumber with his lighted lamp on his knees; the poor doddering fool
trimmed the wick and cried. Jenny heard old Papp speak to him in
German.
"Sei ruhig, alte dummkopf."
And Papp went on in English.
"Dain'd your vault, old shap, iv so be Pete wanded to purn ze Mill,
he vould purn it all same. If I had him I vould braig him lige a
sdick, so!"
There was no pity for the man who had spiked the logs. They would
have hung him if they had had hold of him. They would have thrown
him on the fire. Then the front of the Mill fell out. The crowd
surged backwards, and Jenny was near thrown down. Old Papp fell
against Sam, and both went down. Annie and Annawillee caught hold of
Jenny and her papoose, and dragged her to their shack.
"That all light, tenas. You come. I give you a dlink, tenas. Here,
Annawillee, you hold papoosh."
She snatched the baby from Jenny's weakening arms and Annawillee ran
on ahead with him.
When Sam recovered his feet Jenny was gone.
"Oh, where my Missus, where my Missus?" roared Sam, blubbering.
"What's the infernal Chinaman kickin' up such a bobbery about?" asked
the scornful crowd.