Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1892-01-29


heat,
Perhas God sends Us trouble as test.
To see it WILL prove Us If our best
Henry Coyie in Boston Transcript
THE ALIBI.
Jem Blake was shot dead in his own
doorway by Antonio Gueldo and the
trial was to come off directly.
The extraordinary interest in the af-
fair wasle>s due to the murder and its
peculiar circumstances than to the fact
that thiswas the first case tried at San
Saba in any more formal court than the
time honTed Institution of Judge Lynch.
As thGe was no place specially ar
ranged for the trial, Judge Pithlado hos
pitably offered the use Of his shed. Here
& rough uble and chair were placed for
the judge the other necessary furniture,
intended to represent the dock, the
stand, etc, being eked out with boxes
from Sila. Bagget's grocery store.
Jake Smith looked at these prepare
tons for time with frowning discon-
tent and then strolled down the road,
turning inc the lane that led to Blakes.
When he reached the door Of the shanty
he leaned ,sAinst the jamb and poked
his naked head inside, tanning himself
in an embarrassed way with his greasy
fragment Il u hat He had come there
with the Intention of saying something,
but the sig,t within made him forget it.
Blake's widow sat there, .s she had
pretty much all the time since the muir
der, staring straight before her, with
struck through the foliage of the red
oak trees that grew before the door, and
checkered with the Pickering brightness
the floor and cradle in which Jem baby
was sleeping
There it was, Just as it had been three
days ago (cotld it be only three days:l-
Just as it hal been when she went out
that mornin, to look after the drying
clothes and eft him standing in the door
by the cradl. (how fond he WAS of the
baby.)-justas it was when she heard
the crack ofthe pistol and ran in with
an awful sense of suffoCating fright
just the saue as when she had found
him lying upon the cradle, dabbling its
white linen with his blood and the baby
playing with his hair. She screamed
once, the first and last complaint any
one had head her make; then she was
quiet and helpful through it all-when
men came ald lifted him up; when they
had laid him on the rough bed in the
other room; when they carried him TO
the grave, she following with the baby
in her arms.
Jake Smith was trying to find the link
missing in his thoughts; he shifted with
perplexity-Or something Blske's
widow Looked up without speaking.
Jake nodded pleasantly four or five
times.
"Pooty chpper?" asked he.
Blake's widow smiled sadly, bent over
the sleeping child and smoothed the
clothes with tender touch.
They're agoin ter try him in a court"
Jake went Oh, ian don't believe
Try who--Antonio?" She turned to-
ward the burly figure in the door with
fash of interest in her black eyes.
YES. The iedge is making a court
out of his Shed. hope it'll turn out all
right, but it seems like givin that Mexi-
can devil chance he oughtn't ter have. ="
He can't get clear, can he:' she asked,
rocking tho cradle gently and patting
the coyerlet.
81 don't see how, but he's got some
lyIyn Il Af lsyr tA l. tA,-
Teller that stopped here a day or two ago
on his way to Galveston-aud it makes
me kind o nervous"
Blake's widow did not appear to no
tice the last remark, for the child, dis
turbed by the talking, had awakened
and sat up il, his cradle with wonder
ing look.
"Pooty. amt heT said Jake, regarding
the small figure with interest. Looks
Just hke-ahem-yon Poor little--l-
a"-he stammered, and treated his hat
like a mortal enemy. "Of course he'd
had-you've got--there's nothin | could
do fur yer, maybe
She answered with grateful look, bnt
it was accompanied by a shake of the
head
Jake bent down and with his big fore
hnger softly runpled the hair of the ba-
oys head' then he went out ard left
them, Blake's widow sitting as he found
her and the baby staring down the path
after hun.
lie walked on until he reached the top
OF the little NIL, where he could look
down upon the roof which covered the
piteous scene he had Just left. Here he
seemed to have hatt a mind to turn back,
for he hesltated and stopped; but he
changed his partial intention after lin
serlng moment and walked medita-
wal some women do heat the ID
amazin."
or course everybody came To the trial
Tho arrangements wore soon fopnd n
he altogether too moaoer pithlado,s
sbed w.s f1Ied n oyoreou;n,, and p.,
get made A clean sween of every emnfv
hox in his store
Antonjo's LAWYER. a sbarn eyed sbarn
featured fellow from Galveston. had
bnstled about with surprising agilitv IN
the dav previous. holding mysterious
conferences with i'll conditioned fellows
of Gueldo's kidney.
IT. so,... 49,, '.,I.1 A.