The Russellville Democrat. [volume] (Russellville, Ark.) 1875-1898, 1889-06-06
all over nowi / dreamed; that was ALI


house q SIN all boy. mounted on a
whee2y horse, dashed up to the rickety
pole-fence and uttered a shrill whoop
that aroused old Jerry Pottle so sud-
denly that he nearly fell out OF his tilted
chair. The old man hurried over "a
the fence, the boy impaired his mes.
sage, and the steed dashed wheezingly
away again, urged by the rain OF kicks
that the bare heels of his rider be.
slowed upon his rusty sides. As the
girl reached the house, old Jerry
emerged hurriedly, bearing a long
brown rife.
Where are you goin', paw" the
girl asked.
"Hanner," said the old man, sternly.
as he strobe away, "shet yo're mouth,
an don't you darst to stir often the
place twell to-mor'.
Some event of much moment must
be at hand. Hammer" was only used
at such rare intervals that the girls
proper name had bssn almost forgotten.
Her father, kind in his shiftless way,
usually considered Han" sufficiently
comprehensive, and few called her
any thing else, excerpts Jacks II
had been "Hannie" with him, and
then with Sharpley. just now toe
girl did not remember but two previ-
Gus occasions upon which he had dig
nified her as Hammer" One was
when his wife, her mother, had died.
The other was only last week, when
the Riggs boys had been arrested,
and carried away on a journey that,
after some delays, ended at the peni-
Tertiary, the said boys" having been
captured by a United States marshal
and his posse while engaged in man.
ufacturing 'moonshine' whisky at a
cleverly-concealed still;house.
So. all things considered, the girl
felt sure that the news that little Sol
Bender had brought on the wheezy
horse had been Of much moment
Han stood looking after her father,
and wondering what was about to oc-
cur.
Must be somethin' right import
ant" she said. well, it won't keep
me, spite o his sayin', Don't you stir
often this place till to-mor'' To-mor'
Tll-I'm goin' to see it at last-the
great, big, bright world beyond the
timberr'
Old jerry Pottle did not see Jacks
ua,,,iip oo he ,,,p,,ad frc,,, +b n ,Natl a,l
plunged into the timber. Now and
then, as the homely man trudged to-
ward his lonely home, he muttered,
half aloud, in dreary, despairing
way: 1T is all over, nowr he groaned.
"Hannie-little HAMMER
Night found Hamlin in his small
house, bowed over his homemade ta-
Bile, seemingly sayagely intent upon
devouring the contents OF one of the
dry books. But the light of the splut-
tering candle could not dissipate the
shadow that seemed obscuring the
printed page-a shadow that in spite
of his determination, kept resolving it
self into the face of a girl--a bright
face framed in tangle of wavy hair.
He stared iercely at the page before
him, and passed his hand across his
vision as If to brush away the shadow
that, in spite OF his effort to think of it
no more, his thoughts would keep
bringing up. And when, in angry
despair. he turned away from the book,
the face was before his vision still.
''Hanniel HAMMER he said, half aloud.
81"
There came patter of footsteps
without in the darkness, and little
figure with frightened face and pant
ing breath staggered in at the open
door and sank into the first chair.
"Hannie" cried the man, in aston
ishment.
"Oh, Jacksr gasped the girl Save
him! Save him! They are goin' to kill
him, am
1t was evident that she was terribly
frightened about something.
They'll kill him-kiIl himm she
walled. ''An'-an' he was goin' TO
take me away from here an show me
all the great world, an make a lady
NV mean I'd never have to wear
these old ragged cloze no more. An,
an now they're goin' to kill him!
They drove me away when j tried to
plead with them-my ole father showed
me away an called him "a spy. An
you'll save him! You can--you can!
You know so much, an"
O.'Him? Who? Sharpley?"
Yes. He was goin' to take me out
into the big, bright world, an'-an'
now they are goin' to kill him"
WAS he going to make you his
wifePn the man asked, sternly.
Deed an double he was, an"
Gomez was all the man said.
They left the house and hurried
away in the darkness, the man striding
along at a terrific pace, seemingly I'M
mindful Of the snags and brambles that
clutched him now and then, often tear
ing his clothes and scratching his flesh.
The girl ran at his side, telling more
of the story in a gasping, excited. half
incoherent way.
That night Sharpley was to have
taken the girl away-away out into
the great, bright world. But, while
Sharpley was waiting at the trysting-
place, they had come and dragged him
away. And now they were going to
kill him, she moaned-kill him, an
A CLEAN OF light filtered through the
bushes ahead, and presently they were
just without the circle OF brightness
cast by fire that, blazing cheerily,
revealed weird, wild scene. The fire.
light shone on the despairing face of
q man bound 10 a sapling--Sharp-
ley. 1t lit up the stern. deter
mined countenances-fam all Of
them, to the couple beyond the circle
of light-of men intent upon executing
what they considered a lust vengeance.