The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1871-04-07
of whom they had known him to be very

bags and belt here, the dog bowling on
the turf without-what does ii all
mean ?" cried Harry again.
And Ned answered, ave shall soon
see," and strobe into the great room
where the dancing was going on, and
up to the bridegroom, standing at the
head of Virginia reel, with his brides
hand in his own.
Stop Bit" cried Ned, furiously
1--WE have a question to ask. Whose
horse is that in the stable-the brown
one with star on the forehead ?"
"Mine," said the farmer, turning
deadly white.
"And the saddle-bags up stairs marked
C. CT"
The farmer turned paler.
Gentlemen" he said, swat until
morning and will explain everything"
ave choose to learn the truth for
ourselves" said the young man fiercely.
" You had a mysterious streak Of luck
six months ago, understand from the
old man there" said Harry Bray.
q" Not very mysterious" said the farm
er. went to the diggings and fell in
with nugget. As for the horse,
found him, and the saddle-bags too. If
you know to whom they belong, he's
welcome to them"
"They belong to the man you muir
dered for his money, and buried in the
ground Wonder where the dog is howl
ing" cried Harry Bray. we are going
to dig there, and Heaven help any man
who hinders us.
I" Dig where YOU choose" said the
farmer. 4" | am too well known here to
be afraid of. two madmen. | murdered
mani? There, I'm fool to care for
such words Dig, confound you Many
a horse strays in the woods many a
man has found one, as well as |. Come,
neighbors. set the fiddles going, and let
these madmen dig"
And the spades sank into the turf,
and the terrified guests gathered around,
and the bride chung to her husband
arm, and the music was dumb, and the
dogs long melancholy wall filled the
air, and at last, just rs the rising moon
flung her yellow beams upon the newly
dug earth, Ned Warren cried in an aw-
full voice. Z" He is here y And the two
friends lifted from the grave that which
had been a man, with long, death
grown black hair falling down over his
shoulders.
He had been shot in the head and
through the heart, and there was no
doubt in either mind that it was the
body of their lost friend. The farmer
seemed petriied with horror; the bride
fell into a death-li<e swoon the guests
fell away from their host and looked at
him askance. The old father tore his
hair and pleaded for mercy. But there
was no mercy in any heart there. The
avengers were all powerful. The great
room, adorned for festival and mirth,
was turned into a court room. The
women were thrust from it the men
remained. On the raised stand where
the fiddler had been seated, Harry Bray
now took his seat in the character of
Judge Lynch. The jury was named,
the mock trial hurried on, and the ac-
cused called upon to answer. He
pleaded not guilty. He denied any
knowledge Of the fact that grave lay
so near his house. He persisted in the
repetition of the statement that he had
found the horse and saddle-bags, but he
admitted that there had been money in
the latter.
He stood before them looking very
unlike a murderer. calling on them for
iustice-calling on God to witness the
truth of his words speaking Of his
young wife and his old father; bidding
his neighbors remember that he had
never done them any wrong.
But Judge Lynch has no mercy. no
compassion, no belief in the possibility
Of false accusations and this Judge
Lynch was an avenger of blood. The
end was what the end Of such a trial
generally is the sentence the awful
one of death and in less than three
hours from the moment on which they
first saw the bridegroom happy and
blithe, standing with his bride at the
head of the gay country dance, his body
dangled, horrible sight to look upon,
from the branch of the trees that sha-
lowed what all believed to he his vic
TINS grave!
When all was over they found the
old father dead in his chair, beside the
fireplace, and found among the women
hopeless, gbbering maniac, whom
they would hardly have known for the
rosy checked young bride.
They were revenged, but at what
cost The two men returned to then
homes, saddened and altered, yet not
remorseful, for they he'd but revenged
their comrade; and this, to them, seem
ed common justice. The legal code o
border life had been adhered to; but fol
} the last look at the mad bride they
could scarce have recognized how awful
all this had been. They lived on to
gether friends, still speaking often o
poor Charley, and fancying that in some
other world he might even know how
well they had revenged themselves upoi
his murderer
And so five years passed and one sa,
the two went together in a coffee room
kept by an old Frenchman in the cit.
of San Francisco, and, being in low
spirits, out of luck, and with slende
purses, were sitting disconsolate owe
their meat, when a hand came down OF
each shoulder, and voice cried
Found at last I've searched The
city for you. Heaven bless you, dea
boys !"
II ,vos Charley Chester handsOm,