The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1880-04-07

"Now, look-a-hyar," said Tony, "
don't want ter be h-hung in dis hya
style. Ell amt er-gwine ter drap, de.
amt no tun."
"You can jump off'n the limb" sug
gested Buck.
This solution of the difficulty was re
ceived with the most demonstrative joy
Tony sat upon the limb, the rope around
his neck. -
"All right, Tony" said one of the
leaders; "but wait till you say every
thing. Now make speech, YOU know.
Tony grinned and cleared his throat.
Ladies N gentlemenw
"There amt no ladies, Tony"
"Waal, doan | has ter say h-hit any
way? Ladies n gemblem! | wants tel
dress yer wild er few las words. rs Ell
mighty BIG sinner. A-heml Wh-what
did he say?"
Talked about his mother" ..r
"Oh, yas! An wh-when I was hel
little bit o chile, dest about so high, an
use ter go an git the ole 'oman's switch
es-"
"No; when she used to pray with
you"
"Yas. All! she would TOP me ter be
ere mighty good chile, un' min her VIII
when she holler at me; and an ef
didn't git down awe dem marrer-bones
n say dem prayers quick, she'd make er
fio'-cloth out'n me, an tie me ter de
well bucket fer sinkerr an'-an'-"
"Advisin' 'em, you know"
can eff yer ever does anything wrong,
an dey cotches yer n hung yer, wh-why,
den, look out Now, wh-who's er gwine
ter pravW
But the prayer was dispensed with, as
was also the blindfolding and the tying.
One boy armed himself with stick,
which he made believe was a knife, and
rave Tony particular instructions to
drop at the moment the knife struck the
imaginary chord that held the IMAGINARY
trigger. The boy then looked around
solemnlv, made a grand sweep with his
arm, and with strong blow upon the
trunk of the tree, sprung the trap. , a
True to the working perfection of the
machinery, Tony was launched into
space.
A strange and unaccountable thing
had happened. Tony found himself
sprawling upon the ground. He scram-
bled to his feet with a look of triumph
that ill-accorded with the astonishment
visible in the faces of the spectators.
They had committed the error of allow
ing too much rope for the distance.
'Te's try it arain," said Buck.
"No, you DON'T" screamed the colored
boy. with determination the tirmness
of which could not be doubted. He was
as fierce as he was fri rithtened. and occu-
pied himself with rearranging his sus-
penders which were on the point of
Slipping from his shoulders.
"Why, TonyY'
eyer plays too rough. OATS why
nowW
"Did it hurt~
"Course it did," he said, with look
of contempt.
They insisted; Tony refused. One little
fellow caught forcibe hold, but Tony
threw him off and bounded into the
brush. They pursued him, cap
tured him and brought him back. CRYING
and struggling fiercely. Finally they
succeeded, after the greatest difficulty.
in lifting him from the ground, while
Buck could climb the tree and tie the
rope. There was no ceremony about the
affair then. The work was done silently
and in dead earnest. The unfortunate
victim yelled, but the boys were not to
be cheated out of the fruits of the first
grand lesson they had learned in the
economy of government, the protection
of society.
The rope was at length securely tied.
The cries of the unwilling victim were
suddenly checked, as his weight was
gradually allowed to fall upon the rope,
strangling him. They were determined
that sudden jerk should not again frus-
trate their plans. Throwing his liberated
hands wildly about, he clutched boy
by the hair and made him yell with pain.
1t required strong efforts to release him.
Then they all withdrew to short dis
tance.
Not sound Of any kind escaped the
hanging child. The boys looked on
silently, and with grim satisfaction. He
vainlv endeavored to reach up and catch
the rope that was choking out his life;
but there seemed to be weight upon
his arms, and he could raise them no
higher than his shoulders. He kicked to
the right and to the left, and squirmed
and twisted. The knot was behind his
neck, and the rope fell directly across
the wind-pipe and great arteries. The
boys watched the contortions of his face
with absorbing interest, and few be-
came somewhat pale with an excitement
tinctured with anxiety, but they pos
sessed too much stoicism to betray their
feelings by any overtact, and while the
younger boys-and especially Buck
looked on with such calm courage.
81 wonder if it hurts him much"
queried a boy. There was no reply.
Buck, on being as ked the question,
and, with his thumb in his
mouth, never removed his gaze from the
Tony.
"Well, we'll take him down after a
while. I wonder why he don't say some