COPYRIGHT, 1893, BY
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS.

[CONTENTS]

CHAPTERPAGE
I.Abner Beech[1]
II.Jeff's Mutiny[17]
III.Absalom[35]
IV.Antietam[47]
V.“Jee's” Tidings[63]
VI.Ni's Talk with Abner[76]
VII.The Election[90]
VIII.The Election Bonfire[106]
IX.Esther's Visit[115]
X.The Fire[133]
XI.The Conquest of Abner[146]
XII.The Unwelcome Guest[158]
XIII.The Breakfast[172]
XIV.Finis[182]

THE COPPERHEAD

[CHAPTER I
ABNER BEECH]

It was on the night of my thirteenth birthday, I know, that the old farm-house was burned over our heads. By that reckoning I must have been six or seven when I went to live with Farmer Beech, because at the time he testified I had been with him half my life.