San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1881-12-22

each other and we could not sucpcct
outsiders because none OF them knew
where our bag was concealed, and be-
cause this was the first case Of stealing
ever known OH Betsy Jane Hill.
Yes, we were mad, and in the excite
ment of the first discovery we came
near having free fight among ourselves.
1t increased our anger to discover that
VIC could not reasonably suspect any
one, and this fact made every one of
us try harder to pick up a clue. A.
length Judge Slasher sprang to his feet
with the exclamation:
"By the bones of Kidd! but l know
the thief!"
"Who is hep"
"That hang.dog sheep stealing strang-
er! Hang me! if didn't dream of his
coming in here last night to borrow a
shovel, and it was his digging under
the stones which started that dream
He has held aloof from us, and that's
proof enough that he came here for no
good purpose"
1t was a straw to catch at. We had
lost in a night all we had gained by
months of hard work, and we didn't
stop to reason. 1t WAS decided to lay
the charge at the strangers door, and
if he could prove his innocence so much
the better for him.
The news that the White House, as
we called our shanty, had been robbed,
spread like wild-ir and as we started
for the strangers claim our crowd num-
.rred !, full h ndred. He was outside
at work, and as he saw us coming he
was startled. The angry murmurs and
bl ,ck looks must have frightened him.
You will say that an innocent man
would have stayed and braved the
storm. As the crowd swooped down on
this man he started off at run.
"Halt! Halt! Halt, or We'll shoot!
shouted score of men.
"He's the thief-stop him! stop him.
roared the Judge.
Five or six shots we're fired almost as
one, and the fugitive tumbled forward
IN the rocks. Three bullets entered
his back, and as the foremost men bent
over him and turned his white scared
face to the heavens he gasped out:
"You have murdered me-God for
give you'll"
snow to search him!" said the Judge
as he came up, and half dozen hands
made quick work of it. Resting on his
breast, and made fast to his neck by a
ribbon, was package wrapped IN oil
skin. There was futter OF excite
ment as the Judge rudely snapped the
string and held the package in his hand.
1t was our dust.
No! We formed in circle around
the Judge as he sat on rock and open
ed the package, and in less than MIN
ute there we're white faces among us.
What were the contents? A photo
graph of fair-faced middle-aged wo-
man, and on the card was written:
"Mary-died June 10Th, 1857"
That was the dead mans wife! There
was second photograph-that OF
babe about year old, and the Judge
read aloud in q trembling voice:
"Our Harry died April 4th, 1857"
That was not all. On card were
locks of their hair. There was a gold
ring once worn by the wife, a faded rib
bon which her fingers had touched, and
a bit of plaid like the dress the baby
wore when photographed. Relics OF
what? Of years agone-of fond wife
and beautiful child-of joy and happi'
ness-of husbands love and fathers
grief!
And we were looking down upon
these things and feelings our hearts
swelling up and our eyes growing misty
when up comes our good-for-nothing,
half-witted cook with the bag of dust
in his hand In repairing the fire.
place he had moved the bag, and in the
over its supposed loss what
little wit he had was frightened away
for the moment. The hole under the
stones had been made by some small
animal in search of food, and in our
haste we had accused and murdered an
innocent man.
II came to us in full force as we stood