The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1895-07-03
SUNSHINE JOHNSON.

Seeing the two men together and
knowing that one of them was muir
derer. there was one chance in a thous-
and that the visitor would pick out the
right man as the criminal.
The white man sat on an easy can
vas camp chair. He was tall, thin
man, with stern, forbidding look on
his face that might have been caused
by remorse, but which, more probably,
was caused by dyspepsia. There We're
certain infexi5le lines about his mouth
which showed him to be man OF
great determination, and his firmset
lips were lips that appeared never to
smile. His sharp eyes had clear and
steady look in them that went through
man, and few of those around him
cared to meet those eyes when there
was spark Of anger in them.
he was such an unerring judge Of
character that he had come to believe
he could not make mistake, which IS
q dangerous state Of thinking for a
man in his position, because mistake
made by him might mean death to
somebody. Nevertheless, he trusted
people that no one else would think OF
trusting, and his trust was rarely
taken advantage of. This man was J.
S. Flint, the head Of Tall Mountain
Penitentiary.
The black man who stood beside
him, and who was receiving some IN
structions from him, had simple,
trustful, childlike face which is so Of
ten found in the race. He seemed to
have difficulty in keeping his broad
mouth from relaxing into smile;
and only the fact that he was talking
with the master of the penitentiary
kept down his exuberant good nature.
No convict would take the liberty to
smile while Jackson Flint talked to
him, but this one was privileged
character even if he wore the striped
suit of an inmate of the penitentiary.
He was Sunshine johnson, in for
life, vet on his arm rested Jackson
Fint's little curly-headed daughter,
aged six, and her arms were round his
black neck, and her fair cheek was
pressed closely to his dusky face. The
murderer was one of the convicts that
johnson Flint trusted. He had GER
tainly had an easy time of it; he wait
ed on the table, took care Of the chill
dren and did any odd job about the
house. He was called Sunshine" by
every one around the camp.
Doubtless he had not been chris
tened that name, but he had been
called by it before he entered the penl-
tentiary, and by that name he was
known on the books of the institution.
If visitor, attracted by his name, or
his beaming countenance, so full OF
good nature and love, of all humanity,
asked the superintendent who he was,
Fint's brows would knit together IN a
frown as he answered shortly:
"a lifer."
If the visitor still pressed for infor-
nation as to his crime, the frown grew
deeper and the answer grufer:
"a murderer.
Most people gave a gasp at this
piece of information, as they saw the
convict playing with the pretty child
of the superintendent; but jackson
Flint was not a man anyone wcu1d
care to ask personal questions Of, and
ifthe astonishing state Of things caused
look of surprise to come over the
visitors face, the look was seldom
translated into speech. Sometimes
the inouisitive visitor sought informa-
ton from Sunshine himself. When
asked about his crime Sunshine al
ways looked embarrassed and gener-
ally cast an appealing glance at his
questioner. He stood on one bare
foot. and slowly rubbed the ankle Of
it with the toes of the other foot, while
a look of perplexity came over his
countenance.
''Foh de Lohd, boss, dunno much
about it, dat's de truf. I'spects I
killed the man. He's dead, anyhow,
and somebody done it; dey said it was
me; yes, dey proved dat at de cohts.
You see was drunk at the time, and
I dunno anything at all about 1t.
'Spects dat's de reason dey didn't hang
me at the time Is very sorry done
it if I did do it. And then Sunshine
would make an excuse to run away
and play with his little charge.
The penitentiary was little more
than a camp composed of rough
wooden buildings, and was situated on
spur of the mountain overlooking
the great deep valley, from the bottom
of which the turbulent little river sent
up an unceasing roar. All around
were the high peaks of the mountain
range closing the place in apparently
without break, although there was
an unseen narrow gorge through
which the river escaped, and along
whose banks the sing lie line OF railway
track ran. The mountains all around
were densely wooded, and not build
ing was in sight anywhere, except
large hotel at the bottom Of the valley,
which was a sort of summer resort,
with broad verandas.
The eternal silence of its location
was broken only by the brawling river
that ran beside it, and by the occa-
sional trains which passed close to the
hotel, as part of the big house was
station on the line. Passengers on
the railway coming to this hotel, when
they first caught sight fit, away down
in the valley below them, generally
made motion to get their small bits
of baggage gathered together prepara-
tory to leaving, but the conductor used
to say to them good naturedly.
1--WE are not quite there yet; |
wouldn't make move for minute or
two if I werey you. Just watch that
hotel"
Then, looking out of the car window
into this incomparably grand valley,
lhe passenger found himself taken
round and round the circumference of
the great gulf. No the hotel was di-
rectly below him, again he was look
ing at it from across the valley; round
and round the train went, getting
gradually lower and lower, and it was
nearly an hour after the passengers,
first sight of the hotel that the train