Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-06-15
TOBE.

trees, rocks and wild growth, although the sun is flooding the valley with it's warm, hazy splendor.
 The plantation, of which the eastern limits are shown by a ramshackle rail fence running along the foot of the mountain, is typical Georgia farm The house of the owner is withdrawn from view behind some hills in the west. Here and there through the valley, like murky blurs on the vast stretch of rolling green, appear squalid log huts with mud-and- stick chimneys; some of these have two rooms, one on each side of an entry, but most of them have only one apartment with shed attached.
 Near the public road stands small grist mill. Its wheel is dry and idle; the water of the creek, from which the mill gets its motive power by means of race cut through the fields, has fallen so low that the bed of the race has to be lowered in order that the cur rent may run freely enough to turn the machinery.
 Where this channel takes its course through a field of ripening wheat swirling in the breeze a white man and negro are plying pick and shovel. The former, Tobe Longley, is about 30 years of age. No one would pro- nounce him good looking as he leans on his pick handle waiting for the brawny old negro to shovel out the loose earth he has dug up In fact, nature could not easily have made him more uns1ghtly, and conformed to the specifications as to the general shape of a human being which the Almighty evidently gave in Adam. As the country girls used to say, when Tobe was on the lookout for 8 life companions: "Ugly's no name fur it! Alb serlutely heediousl"
 His hair as to color defies classification Some of the knowing ones who remembered him as an infant, asserted that at that period it was "blood red" but the suns, rains winds and dust of years had robbed it of its pris- tine identity, and as seen now is simply an indescribable, dingy mass adding ugliness to q freckled face, in which isl set pair of crossed blue eyes, and a bent-to-one-siden nose, which, strange to say, seems more in har- mony with the left eye, although it inclines positively toward the right one
 Notwithstanding his lack of facial charms, he was in possession of a heart so pure and a disposition 80 gentle and kind that he had never had an enemy.
 "Pete," he says with on upward jerk at his suspenderless trousers, and squirting brown stream of tobacco juice at basking green fly, 'Pete, of co'se you a nigger, but I'll be dadblamed of you oughtn't to know better'n to contend that takin' O watermelons hain't stealin'! Jest as shore as yere q standin' thar, it Is; the Lord hain't drawed no line twixt stealin' an takin' O what hain't yor'n! It's p'intly agin the Word, an tn hain't no earthly use a-tryin' to patch 1t upr'
 Pete was listening with attention, but an irrepressible, incredulous smile was drawing his thick lips apart and spreading in curves over his swarthy visage.
 ''Dat's so, boss, I spose," he grinned, scratching his gray, woolly pate; "but de fambly l used ter b'long ter nebber wuz so 'tic'lar, an deys de bes' w'ite folks in de Ian. Oar wuz Marse George-an' he's 'residin' elder at dat-hes de wuss uf um; he wouldn't eat um lessen dey wuz tuck. No, sah! he would'n' tech um wid he's nlouf. I ain gwine 'spute what you say; but, Marse Tobe, watermelons is diffunt- -deys des diffunt." In such manner the conversation was kept up until Tobe's dinner horn sounding from one of the huts, called him from his work.
 So incongruous are the workings of fate that there dawned day not long after the opening of this story-and to Tobe Longley eome-in which he, the man who was noted for honesty, was accused of theft. He could not command the use of his tongue as he stood with quivering limbs and paining heart, listening to the officer who said that the watch Tobe was wearing had been stolen from MT. Bland, the owner of ar adjoining farm. Tobe declared that San 1 Black, a negro, had sold it to him, and that 1 he had never dreamed that 1t was stoler l property. It was 0 great surprise to him tt learn that the negro in question was then il 1 jail awaiting trial in the superior cour l charged with stealing a horse in another par of the county.
 1 However much confidence was placed il l Tobe, the circumstances were so strong against him that he was bound over on bono to make his appearance at superior court tt convene in a few days. The testimony wen 1 to show that he had been at Mr. Bland' house on the day the watch was missed. Tob seemed to be broken hearted over it. No on l could console him even with the stronges expressions of confidence in his ability to es 1 tablish his innocence.
 l "Thar never was no sich fotch up agip an, 1 O the name $ fur back $ ever was heerd of, he would say to all in abject disconsolation f He was, indeed, pitiable object sitting il his rough clothes among the lawyers in tn courtroom when the day for his trial arrived MT. Edward Clark, @ talented young lawyer had his case in hand and was sure of succes. He had prepared strong speech and under stood the law bearing on the case thoroughly On the other hand, the solicitor genera
 
 had not been idle. There had existed spirl of antagonism between him and Clark fo some time, and he usually took more interes in case when they happened to be opp< nents.
 l Unfortunately for Tobe, he had learne somehow that he would have the right t produce Sam Black as witness, and ha told many of his friends that the negro woul
 be obliged to confess having sold him u
 watch. It never entered his mind that
 would be the most natural thing in the worl
 for the negro to deny all cognizance of u
 matter.
 This course MT. Clark would not, for a
 instant, listen to, for the reason that if tl
 negro, being summoned by the defendan
 should swear that he knew nothing of it,
 would prove disastrous in strengthening u
 evidence against the defense. The state ha
 deemed it not worth while to make the neg1
 witness in it's behalf because the defen l could invalidate his testimony on the groul l that he himself was accused of felony. And, although Mr. Clark argued ar ! pleaded with Tobe, he could not make hi
 sec the danger of such a atcr nor get him 1 rel,Iiqush his in'er' m Much to ever l JOB PRINTING.