The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1890-12-03

| SAAS
unconscious Arthur, who was mentally
personating the best man. Then she
sprang to her feet and gave her seat to
the wan woman, the shawl and the baby.
More jostlings, more scramblings, more
rollings. Heat and humidity returned
from the pursuit and ravaged the bodies
of the vanquished. Arthur still stretched
himself and read. The keen, alert busi-
ness men swayed easily with the motion !;
the wearied women exhibited the CEN
triiugal force of each curve. The gaunt
and angular female, with one hand up
raised grasping the strap, stood as rigid
as the Goddess of Liberty enlightening
the world.
But as the rolling intermittently slack
ened and the squeaking increased, she
suddenly released her hold aud fumbled
through her reticule; then she uttered q
series of shrill screams, which startled
the alert business men, the baby in the
shawl, the gyrating women, and the
locomotive, which hitherto had deemed
itself proficient in that line. It re. led
Arthur from the wedding breakfast,
where he had been doing the elegant to
an American duchess.
"Oh, I'm robbed, I'm robbed" she
cried. "And by that bold, bad man."
And she pointed full the doubly-articu-
lated finger of accusation at the agitated
Mr.. Chumpney.
Immediately there was a confused din
which drowned the squeaking of stop
ping at a station. The alert business
men, the guards, the station-men pressed
forward. The debilitated women
screamed surprisingly, and dropped
their baskets. The beshawled baby
doubled its fists, grew red in the face,
like the sun, and yelled. The angular
female still vociferated in tin-horn tones:
ssIt's him! Don't let him escape! Catch
him, kill him, the rascal, the thief! Oh,
my precious earnings"
"What have you lost, madame" in
ouired one of the aforesaid representa-
tives of commercial activity.
"My all! My pocket-booka Oh,
don't let him escapew she necessarily
piped, like siren in fog.
"Come out of this" shouted the
guard, laying heavy hand on Arthur's
shoulder.
"Oh, the rascal" ''the blackguard,
'the thievish jude!" "Search him"
"Oh, he's slick article!" resounded
upon all sides.
Despite heat and humidity the excited
crowd surged through the aisles and out
upon the platform, following the impor-
tant guard, the trembling Arthur, the
spare, swarthy, and slbilant female, and
unanimously crying, "search him!
Search himn'
The guard plunged his grimy hand
into the pocket of the widely-fapping
coat and drew forth purse. He held it
above the pressing throng.
"That's mine; my ALL" the virgin &C.
cuser cried, reaching her simiau finger
an amazing distance toward it.
"Excuse me, madam" interposed the
guard. "That must 60 with this ERE
bloke to court, and you with him. There
will be perlice along presently. 1seed
one come out of the saloon beyant." And
sure enough, blue coated refugee from
English tyranny now forced his vigorous
shoulders through the crowd.
"Phat's this? Thavin', is it9 Iknow
yez well," he CALCULATED, grasping the
collar of the widely-happing coat.
s'Come along wild mel"
He took the purse in his other hand,
which fourished the club of authority.
He dragged his victim through the jeer-
ing throng, down the stairs, followed by
the angular female, who stalked after
them like one of the Fates released tenn
porarily fron the thread factory.
The squeaking increased and dwindled,
the rolling began. Attended by heat
and humidity, the alert business men,
the wan woman, the baby and the shawl
hastened away, as if dreading the ven
geauce of score of irate trains, which
had been thus delayed by crime and its
punishment.
In the meantime, what had become of
the arrogance which had SO completely
envoloped Arthur upon his entrance into
the train3 At the first word of accusa-
ton it had faded away like tissue paper
suit in tropical storm. The four years
rolled back. Again he was barefootod
boy at the corners, afraid of his own
shadow, blushing for very shame of his
own existence. He could not speak; his
teeth chartered from trembling; his
face famed as though those fork-like
fingers had raked it; the horns of his i'm.
maculate collar dropped, starchless like
his backbone. His broad, black sash
seemed an emblem of mourning for his
own demise. He shrank in terror from
the crowd. Would they kill him9 Wei
come the Tsmbs, the Island, Sing Sing,
electrocutiou, if he might only escape
from those horrible, threatening faces.
But though he was thus passive,
Policeman x, who had him in charge,
did not choose that he should appear so.
Mol He had a record to make, and
here was his opportunity. So once and
again he gave him forward thrust, and
then-ejaculating, eye wud, wud yeza"
"a mighty drag back again, to the ad-
miration of the passers-by, who after
yard astonished dinner tables by
accounts of terrific struggle which they
had witnessed between burly ruffian
and one of our city's defenders.
+ The grim and gaunt female stalk ID
behind this tableau of justice for several
blocks; then she slackened her pace, and
finally she stopped short. But her de-
sertion was unuoticed. She watched the