to shuffle. 'Tain't no use lookin' at fate with your eyes shut. These fellers mean business, and hav got it in fur you."
"You are mistaken in your knowledge of the game of human natur. Thar ain't goin' to be no hangin' so far as I'm consarned. Dog on it, hain't I told yer that a fortune-teller read it in the stars that I was born'd to be drownded; and, if I am to be drownded, I can't be hanged!"
"I'm afeard the fortune-teller had lost the run of the cards when he told you that. Thar ain't no chance for yer neck now."
The sheriff, accompanied by several men who had been erecting a gallows under a tree, which grew near by, now entered and took charge of the prisoner, whom they conducted to the scene where the last act of the drama was to be played. The preliminaries were quickly made, the rope placed around the neck of the doomed man, and when everything was in readiness, the prisoner was asked if he had anything to say before he was launched into eternity.
"This 'ere joke has gone fur enough, and as my feet are gettin' cold, I wish you would wind it up. I'm tired of bein' fooled with."
The sheriff now addressed the prisoner, saying: "You have been tried according to the laws of the State of Missouri; you have been found guilty, and the time for the execution of the sentence of the Court has arrived. I, therefore, must proceed to perform my dooty."
"I say, hold on. I appeal this 'ere case to the Su-
