O Lord,
spah de little chil'en, don't tar de little chil'en away f'm dey frens,
jes' let 'em off jes' dis once, and take it out'n de ole niggah.
HEAH I IS, LORD, HEAH I IS! De ole niggah's ready, Lord, de ole ----'
"The flaming and churning steamer was right abreast the party,
and not twenty steps away. The awful thunder of a mud-valve
suddenly burst forth, drowning the prayer, and as suddenly
Uncle Dan'l snatched a child under each arm and scoured into the woods
with the rest of the pack at his heels. And then, ashamed of himself,
he halted in the deep darkness and shouted (but rather feebly):
"`Heah I is, Lord, heah I is!'
"There was a moment of throbbing suspense, and then,
to the surprise and comfort of the party, it was plain
that the august presence had gone by, for its dreadful noises were receding.
Uncle Dan'l headed a cautious reconnoissance in the direction of the log.
Sure enough `The Lord' was just turning a point a short distance up the river,
and while they looked, the lights winked out and the coughing
diminished by degrees and presently ceased altogether.
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