Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1855-10-06
EVENING STAR.
HOW wIDDER wEsTBRooK "rooKv
THE SFERIFF. - ;

| 4
ine into the company, for long days tide
through a dreary pine-wood country, in an
eastern country, with Mr.. Stubbs, its she,;f
BY the middle of the afternoon we had ex-
hausted, as subjects of conversation, the par.
ticular attachment case which brought us to-
gether, the political condition Of the country,
the prospects Of the growing crop, and several
matters Of personal history In &c It, we had
run QUITO use trits but expressive meta
phor-when suddenly Mr. Stubbss eve flashed,
and strange smile futtercd across bis lip as
he remarked:
81 haven't told you, Squire, 1 believe, how
got ruined scrvin' the first process,n {the
Eherlf was not n learned man, and occasional
~ did misplace the accent,) "that ever came
into my hands 81, 81 =
NO; let's have it" replied, turping ha'f
round in the saddle; "it cost you some money.
did it--you mistake"
| "Ah, -" he calculated with sigh, 1T cost
| heap-a heap!" e.
] This was said with the air of much suffer-
ing, and told him If it awakened painful
emotions ne must not tbipk of opening the
! Old wound merely or my entertainment.
"its all over now, " said he, aud don't
mind telIin' it.'' ~
don't know how it was ju a. this mo-
| ment caught sight of shabby fold of Grape
around pas nat, and cor d not belp associat-
ing it with sigh, the l. ubr.ous expression,
1 :
that we sha'! dissover somethiny pI e emily.
Mr.. Stubbs procee ded:
| IL was 'lcc, I'd the first shel # of the coun-
tv; and at that time there weren't more'n
tnreo or four hundr,d vo; ers N 1t. To be
sure, was right proud-it was such an hon
o, like"
"Yes; had to miss one te: N of ,iyice on
account OF the law, but then L was depity
| deputy under Stoke; and when his time
ran out last, two years ago, was 'lecsed
again But that amt tellin' how i got ruin
ated by that wit. Now it's reasonable 10
suppose that the first Of a thing amt so easy
10 know as the middle or the last So when
the lawyer down at town made out the paper
and put it in my hands wa, just as bau 'on-
plussed as ever you Sc D"
| "What sort o. a writ was it?''
| "Nothin' but the common soIt, c4gias res ::
1 know 'em now like book. E. L he'd Crly
| knOw'd EN- then :"
Here another deep drawn sigh supplied the
| place of words.
| ~ took the plaguy thing home. and called
IN Bill Stokes (whIcn was She.iff himself, af.
ter that,) and old Squire Lumpkin to counsel
| me on 1t. We read ii over three or four times
1t ordered me to take the body of Hannah
| Westbrook, to be fouud in my county, and
her safely to Keep so that should have her
to answer before the judges Of the next cir
| cult, for debt she owed; and moren't that.
! 1t said was to do it without delay-and il
! was nigh on to FIVE months till coult! What
was to do with her sill that time, and no sign
| of Jail in that county?''
| Well, it was hard-looking case but that
| was simply form, snd the wit might have
/ DC en- served by leaving copy With the lady -
"Oh, know that very wei nor, but
didn't know it then Beside, at tho bottom Of
| now that them words mean no bail requir6d:
but thought then it mea2t that eff She was
to oter the best security in the State, Il
Warn't to take it. And it was the construc-
tion that Stokes and Lumpkin both put on
| 1T; and the old squire went D far as to say.
ef he was sheriff, he'd take that woman aad
| ca. ry her home ard lock her up in the small
rcom with himself and his wife, every Il; ,ht,
| ontil court came around
That would have made i. pretty safe.''
| z" fes." said Stubbs but knowed that
| wouldn't suit me, for my " 'fe (that was them
| was high tempered, and never could bear
strange people in the room. But, however,
after counsellin, L got Stokes TO go with me,
| and L wont up to the widder and told mr.
business. She was mighty bad scared at first,
but when she got over that she r'ared and
pitched. should jist gia out and gone
! nOme and Tesig n ID, but Stokes quieted ner
sayin' VIC could put her in Jail, but eff she be-
hay ed herself we'd only take her down to my
heuse and let her stay till court. Then she
TUNED iGto cryin' and beggin' m , to take her
| rlgger woman and keep her for sccuI ty f0- IL G
/ dept, which was only something over one hun
| dred dollars, and the nigger was likely. But
looked IN my paper and read it out to her
| 10 take the body Of Hannah Westbrook
| "She said she'd go, and she had the old
| roam horse saddled up, and while Stokes and
me were talkin' and not noticin'. she mount
ed him and started of in lively cant or, on
the Georgia end o. the trail We mounted
Il U9llhnn6 q har md che hol,
half mile before we had her. Then she cried
and begged again but We put plough-line
| round her waist and held the end, ana q ter
| lettIn' her give some directions to her niger,
u took her down to my house My wifo
treated her mighty civil, and every day or
two we'd let her go up hum and look after her
consarns. 80 time rolled on till about month
before court, ard one day Stokes id up to the
gate in powerful hurry, and called me OUT
| =" You We played tnundern said he
| GLOW ?" said L.
"Why think of Mrs WeStbrook. It's all
wrong, and she's sent word dow to the very
| lawyer that put out that wit against her;
ana 5 got two against you; one to make you
arm her loosed, and t'Other 70 make you pay
twenty thousand dollars for takin' her.''
81 shan't serve 'em,'' says I. te.# ~.
| " Makes no odds. They We done appointed
fskurrinor, (tOroner) and he'll be up to-mor-
| row, soon as Mrs. Yves brook has a chance to
swear to someth n. You'd better look outn'
"Well," sad l, "I :koa they've got you
too. You was along, and helped to do il" 4
| "Oh, yes says he, "but they've got me
| for witnessw ...-
''I said no more, but walked light into the
house, and there L found the widder Iookin'
mighty pleased, and L told her he was free to
go, and asked her pardon and should'n mt
charge her any board, and 1 hoped she'd
come and see my old woman, and so on and so
| forth" sI .s.a .s.. s-.
"She went, suppose" .gs.
"She did, and the kurriIer come and he
showed me how to serve n writ by copy; L
shall never forget it. She took me into court
and there wern't nothin' done the first time.
Before the next Court, my old woman died,
and that upserged every thing. What with
her dyin' and tie suit, thought would 20
crazy, to be sure. I la. . rr - |
- But YOU didn't?n