The Vinton record. [volume] (M'arthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1866-1891, 1872-04-04

wise to reject counsel, but all his
blood was up, and he declared
that he would not be cleared by
legal quibbles. If his innocence
were not made evident to every
body, he would rather not be &C.
Quilted on a preliminary examin.
alton. He would 60 over to the
circuit court and have the matter
sifted to the bottom. But he would
have been pleased had his uncle
offered him counsel, though he
would have declined it. He
would have felt better to have
had letter from home somewhat
different from the one he receiy-
ed from his Aunt Matilda by
the hand of the prosecuting at.
torney. 1t was not very en-
couraging or very sympathetic,
though it was very characteristic.
"Dear Ralph:
"Thls is what l have alwavs been
afraid of. l warned you faith.
fully the last time l saw ycu.
My skirts are clear of your blood.
| cannot consent for your uncle
to appear as your. counsel or 90
bail. You know how much 1t
would injure him in the county;
he has no right to suffer for your
evil acts. 0 my GEAR nephew!
for the sake of your poor dead
mother"
We never shall know what
the rest of that letter was.
Whenever Aunt Matilda got
to Ralph's poor, dead mother
in her conversation, Ralph ran
out of the house. And now
that his poor, dead mother was
again made to do service in his
aunt's pious rhetoric, he landed
the letter on the hot Goals be-
fore him, and watched it van
ish into smoke with a grim sat
isfaction.
Ralph was a little afraid of a
mob. But Clifty was better
then Flat Greek, and Squire
Hawkins, with all his faults,
loved justice, and had a pro-
found respect for the majesty
of the law, and a profound res
pect for his own majesty when
sitting as a court representing g
the law. Whatever maneuvers
he might resort to In business
affairs in order to avoid a con-
fiict with his lawless neighbors
he waa aenRaeAana.-nnds, s,aahexl--
BILE on the bench. The Squire
was the better part of him
With the cooperation of tbe
constable, he had organized a
posse OF men who could be de-
pended on to enforce the law
against mob.
By the time the trial opened
in the large dollhouse in
Clifty at eleven o'clock, all the
surrounding country had empti-
ed its population into CliGty
and all Flat Greek was on hand
ready to testify to something.
Those who knew the least ap-
peared to know the most, and
were prodigal of their signifi-
cant winks and mods. Mrs.
Means had always suspected
him. She seed some mighty
suspicious things about him
from the word 90. She'd alters
had her doubts whether he was
jist the thing, and eff her ole
man had axed her, liker-n not
he never'd a been hired. She'd
seed things with her own livln'
eyes that beat all she ever seed
in all her born days. And Pete
Jones SAID he'd alters knowed
there warn't no COOL in sech a
fel(er. Couldn't stay abed
when he got there. And Gran
ny Sanders said, Laws sakesl
nobody'd ever abound him out
eft hadn't been fer her.
Didn't she go all over the neigh
borhood a-warnin' people9
Fer her part, she seed straight
through that piece of goods.
lie was fond OF the gals, too!
Nothing was so great a crime
in her eyes as to be- fond of
the gals.
The constable paid unwit-
ting tribute to William the
Conquerer by crying Squire
Hawkins court open with an
Oyez, or, as he said it, 60 yesp
and the Squire asked Squire
Underwood, who came in at
that minute, to sit with him.
From the start, it was evident
to Ralph that the prosecuting
attorney had been thoroughly
posted by Small, though, look
ing at that worthy's face, one
would have thought him the
..o,k 1.einfaroefA,1 o~I ,oI,1