The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1890-04-10
THE FREED PRISONER.

Mrs. w. Leslie collins, In Louisville COu.
rier-Journal.
THE FREED PRISONER.
Pathetic Story of a Convict Moon
sinner.
II consider it the only hope for him,
judge" said the doctor.
1T will establish a bad precedent.
The prisoners will think all they have
to do is to get sick so as to get free,"
said the judge, testify.
ut is but question of time and q
very short time, too, before a greater
Judge, even than you, will give him his
discharge, and not only him, but good
many others, besides," said the doctor,
much provoked.
''Eh, is that sop said the Judge, ig-
noring sarcasm, lis there really so much
sickness in the jail?'
"A good deal, and chiefly confined to
the United States prisoners. Spotted
fever RACES with fatal effects among
them.
THAT is strange. How do you &C.
count for it? Is illicit distilling an un-
healthy occupation?"
when it reaches its natural result of
landing the operator into Jail, there to
sicken, it may be called decidedly un-
healthy. But, TESTING aside, these
mountain fellows suffer more than the
other prisoners for the reason that they
have always lived a free life in the open
air, therefore the close confinement of
the Jail proves very irksome and they
sicken under it. This spotted fever, is
think, the result of lack of proper cir
culation of the blood. 1t is sort of
epidemic among the mountainee, g.
Some of them have died of it and others
are very low, and they will die too. if
they stay in that Jail. The thought of
going home is all that will save them
now-Jack Bigby, especially; release is
the only hope for him."
HE has no one to thank but himself"
said the judge. ''Why did he NEEDLE
with illicit distilling?"
II grant all you say; but death is a
severe sentence for a few gallons of
mountain dew" said the doctor.
'"True," said the Judge, after pause.
II will suspend sentence in his case, and
let him go home. Here is his release"
said he, as he filled out: blank; ''take
it to nina new sort of physic truly!
But tell him he won't get off so easy the
next time he NEEDLES with the revenue. :"
Thanks" said the doctor as he took
the paper. 1T will be many day, if
ever, before he will feel like playing
with edged TOOLS Judge, this is the first
time ever envied your high position
when see the mercy you can Show"
us the sun a-shinin' outside. Pap?'
The sick man lay on his bunk in his
cell; his fever-scorched tongue was stiff
and blackened 50 that he could scarcely
speak. It was difficult to recognize in
the wan shadow lying there, the stall
wart mountaineer of a few months ago.
His blue eyes were sunk deep in his
head; his matted hair and beard were
bleached from sunburnt yellow to a
sickly straw-color, and over the hollow
caverns of his cheeks the white skin,
blanched by prison dank, was tightly
drawn. On its bloodless surface the red
blotches of the spotted fever showed
with startling vividness.
Gould this be Jack Bigby, the man
who could outshoot, outride, outjump
and Guidance any of his companions?
Old Bigby, otherwise Pap, as he sat
by the bedside of his sick son, felt dazed
and stunned by the change. He had
only arrived that morning, and in the
few hours that had passed, failed yet
to realize it. Could that be Jack? He
was changed in his ways as we'll as in
his looks. How strange he talked!
set whar l kahn see We. Pap" he
said, when his father had arrived.
THE sight of ye is good for sore eyes"
And, as he said it, all at once the
father had choked up and felt like cry
ing; he didn't know why. But he
hadn't done it.
Hit war powerful curious. Jest ter
think. O. Jack a-sayin' sech' thing!
Rough~an' ready Jack ter wanter lay
thar an;look at his ole papv'
MI. Bigby, it is true, was not very
beauteons object, nor one on which
most people would crave to feast their
eyes. He looked as il the sun had shone
upon him very hot, and the winter rain
had beat: upon him very hard. He
could, in fact, be called weather-beaten.
His long, iron-gay hair and beard were
guiltless of barber or comb and brush
either, for that matter. The seams and
rugged lines of his face caused his coun-
tenance to look like q bit of rolling
landscape. But all scanned and rugged
as it was, to the homesick eyes of his
son it was more beautiful than the face
of Adonis-
Mountainous are not emotional PEG
pie, and SO old Bigby sat there. hit
thront, swelling .queerly under the
strange gaze of his son. Mingled with
his emotion, was feeling of wonder
and horror at his changed appearance.
His hands," thought the father, ''ai1
like chicken claws!' Could that pale
shadowy thing be Jacks muscular fist:
us the sun shinin' outside, Pap?'
asked Jack, for his fathers presence haf
frightened up his CELL
yes" said the old man, ''hit'.
a-shinin' right smart, but hits so dim IL
hyar,sye KANT see hit"
''Hit air dim in hyar allus," said tn
prisoner, tell fer. leetle taste O. sun
shine, pears like I'd perish"
Yell git better now, said the father
taking the invalid's thin hand in hi
brown, horny one, and awkward,
,1trskina il, WHY, yer hand, said be