The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1893-04-14


Maidie was not like other mountain
girls. buxom and strong and coarse fea-
tured. Dolph knew She wasa tender lit
tie thing, "A dreamer. a woman of refine
mcnt. Of feeling and lofty ambition.
Big Dolph had been very tender with
her, for he loved her as only his big.
strong, simple heart, honest after
sort, could love. And liaggard might
win her heart. lie clinchcd his teeth
passionately, his grip on his rifle tight
encd.
So intensely was he absorbed in his |
thoughts that he did not hear the foot
steps behind him. A young man crcpt |
rapidly toward him, holding revolver
in his hand. The man touched him on
the arm. put the pistol in his face and,
in the quietest possible manner, said:
'Dolph, give me your gun.
Like tiger walked from its sleep.
the young moonshiner sprang aroun q
and faced the officer The pistol was
still in his face.
"liaggard"' he screamed, his voice
hoars- and unnatural. He handed tie
rifle To him without word
~ am ready to 60" he said. sullenly.
Back. along the winding mountain
path. Dolph walked in front Of !lag-
gard to the Dexter home There an
other officer had old John Dexter and
his son under arrest Maidie was soft
ly weeping. Her invalid mother had
reeled To the door. in the excitement OF
the moment, and there sat spcechless
and helpless.
The men got each bundle of
clothes. and started off for the prison
mt Atlanta. just as they we're leaving,
Maidie, fearful and heartbrokcD, put
her little hand on Haggard's arm in
pleading fashion
"Promise me-" she said that you
Will treat 'em square"
Before Ilaggard could make response
Big Dolph had jumped toward them
and torn Maidie's hand loose from his
arm. His face was black as thunder
"Dolph." she demonstrated. ana
then. i'm a con fident tone, said: II know
,, Mr.. IIaggard will do you 'uns right
TOO enragcd to look at her or to
speak Dolph walked off without So
much as telling her good-by. She
STOOD by the doorway and watched them
ont OF sight. Her little hands were
; clinched tightly. her heart beating
; madly. When dusk settled down over
= the little log built home, and wrapped
the mountains in an awful. dreadful
u silence, Maidie was still sitting on the
, doorstep. weeping softly TO herself.
H.
d OF course. Dolph and the two Dcx
a ters were convicted The sentence o
/. the court was nine months in the AT
v lanta Jail for each. They murmured I
a little ut fl rst. but after that they set
il tied down TO that philosophical resig
q nation to the inevita BILE which is casie
: to mountain moonshiner than an.
other class of the human family.
g For a few days Dolph was sullcl
q and downcast. His fierce moods wer
II sure guarantees Of his being left Il
Il peace. When boy, he had been nick
i named Big Dolph on account of hi
Il superior strength, and the rcvenu
IA prisoners were quick to recognize In
physical superiority. After "A FEY
10 weeks he became jovial and compar
10 ionablc. and was the center of many
70 group of prisoners listening 20 h
ic stories.
!. His thoughts were with Maidie. b,
"A he tried hard as he could TO Danish I'll
n worry from his mind. For a long tim
:, no letter came. but CORES pondencc
os not a practiccd art among the more r.
\. mote mountain classes, and this Ill
IN not indicate any change of feeling q
"A his sweethearts part But the wore
r. spoken at their last parting. Maidie
:, appeal to his hated foe. and the di
nj tracing thought that lIaggard migl
then be with her, at times almost dro'
II. him wild.
~ In the quiet days in prison, mali'
:, and venom gathered force in his hear
Il, and desperate resolve secured mr.
hold there. In his dreams llaggard
-. calm face would swim before him ]
w dreamed on. because the best OF u
"A dream was yet to come. and, bcfo
- the sleeping fancy was en- led, he sto'
~. triumphantiy smiling into the blood
- dead face of his foe.
The first news from Maidic car
Il, about three months after Big Doh
=, - went 10 Jail II was brought by
l.. young mountaincer who lived ne
- Madie. Maidie was sick with fcvt
II and had been for nearly two wcel
r, lie couldn't tell whether she W
-. dangerous or not. I,uthe called Dol
80 aside and whispered:
u, ''lIaggard's thar a-nussin' OF ne
'p He's pow'ful leerful an tender like
,,,ss her, an She pears to take TO him MI
rn, ly."
-. Dolph did not trust himself to spea
~ Ne asked no questions. He undcrsto
TX i. all To shed IIaggards hearts bio
ace was worth his living. lie told no me
IN, stories that day. An importunatc 60
az panion who spoke to him was knock
" down. After that no one approach
him. He walked about the yard lik
man in dream. As he walked
ewes scanned closely the wall that
closed the prison yard lie stopI
and seemed to be calculating somcth
in his mind. Late that aftcrno
watching carefully TO see that no {
saw him. Big DoIph crawled under
prison and hid himself.
Al the usual hour that night
prisoners were locked In and his
sence was not discovered.