The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1895-08-15

inc to Tom for assistance than to the
lean and hungry cat which apprOprla
ted u corner of the hearth. Tho chile
pluyed softly about the house so as no
TO wake pupa. ray OF sunshine cam(
stealing through crevice and lay ath
wart his face, impresslng him with ;
sense of uncom mfortableDess.
The sunshine grew warmer and final
ly aroused him. He drew on his boots,
the divcsting of which had constituted
his disrobing the night before. Mag
gle had left the coffee on warm embers
on the hearth, and his ponc of brcpd
beside it. The click click Of her hoe
against the stones could be heard from
the field as she tried to coax the al
most barren earth into fruitfuness, for
on the mcagrc yield of the few acres
around the cabin depended her only
| hOpC for SuStcnanCc.
In the house the child ran to and fro,
making Il prctcncc of waiting on the
father and entertaining him with her
taby prattlc.
Papa tay wiv baby to-day" she
| pleaded, rs she saw him reach his hat
"ller don wanner hoe in de cP."
Already she imagined herself shar-
ing her mothers burdens.
You stay with yer ma. Papa'll
bring you somctbin' nice"
81 don't want angling nice. | wanner
go wiv 'Oo.'
She had brought in a lapful of Cher
| Okee roses as enticGment and offered
them to him. lie put her Off with his
usual promises, and pacilied her by
wearing one Of the roses pinned awk-
wardly to his coat.
AS he came in view of the tavern
with a native intuition that it was not
a proper occasion for floral adornment,
he placed the rose inside his pocket
n group OF men were in front OF the
store, talking cxcitedly. jim Siblcy's
barn had been burned, with all his
stock, consisting Of ono horse and COW
1t was clearly incendiary, but who was
the culprit? Each man had given over
and over again his account OF the burn
ing with al possible "details and many
ddcd asurmises but with no appearance
of getting any nearer the offender.
ST Thompson, of course, took the
lead. It's a linus crimc," declared
he. It's the hinusest crime thct's
ever been committed in this settlement,
and whoever done it, hanging's too
good fer i'm"
"Them's my sentiments" chorlsed
the listeners.
BY noon the men had worked them
selves to such a state Uf sympathy for
jim Siblcy and indignation at the cul-
prit that they chafcd under enforced
lnactiUn.
Tom Lowell w3s conspicuous by his
absence that afternoon. He had u
vague fear which he dared not ac-
| knowledge to himself and which warn
ed him away from the saloon.
Toward night he saw horscman ap-
! nn1 1>i l.
"I didn't want ter holcr," he said.
rs Tom approached, "'cause your wife
might want ter know what's up, but
after you. You soc they done foun' out
it wuz you set fire to Jim Sibl"y's barn:
Abc Toby passed you rs you were cou-
ing from it last night an they've got
more convincing proofs. | didn't stay
to hear 'cm. 1t mought /; been acc-
dent" as Tom began a protest. Il don't
say us 'twant:but yer never can convince
'em that away. You don't know they're
down on yer, anyway. You'd better
skip their cOuntry the sooner, the
BETTER Without waiting for reply
the ncighbor rode rapidly away, leaving
Tom stunned and daz4d, and for the
first times in years, almost sober. But
his brain, from long disusc, WAS too
stupid to act; he sat listlcssly about.
In the night he lay upon a Quilt
spread upon the cool piazza, while
| Maggie inside was walking to and fro
with the fretful, feverish child in her
arms, singing monotonously. The pale
| moon driftcd through the clouds and
cast Il sickly light among the trees.
The child was sleeping now. The
mother had thrown herself beside it.,
and with her arms still around it was
breathing deeply, as the tired do in
| their sleep. Suddenly he started ::
his senses were wide awake now. a
low, mntllcd sound reached his ears.
IL was the steady tramp, tramp Of
horscmen. With u face as whtc as
death he turned toward the door Of the
cabin and looked longingly and loving
ly on mother and babe, and then. like
Hash. he was Off. disappearing in the
woods.
The horscmen had made thoir way
steadily and silently for some time to-
ward Old Creek Bend. They carried
themselves like mon Of intense pur-
pose. Thcir faces were unmaskcd and
cleaned strong and cruel in tho moon
light. The horses were Of shaggy
| mountain breed across the pommcl
+ each man carried d rife. An outrage
against tho hard-earncd and slowly ac-
chmulaicu property Of these men was
more heinous than an outrage upon
human life. The latter they might
forgive, but the former never. The
| life Of his horse was as dear and as
necessary to his family almost as his
own; his COW afforded iustcnunce to
his children. The holocaust which
had been visited upon Jim Siblcy's
property could be avenged but with
one punishment, and that was death
Each ncighbor felt himself bound by
tho ties Of friendship and common in
forest To SEQ that justice, swift and
sure, was measured out to the culprit
The party had emerged from the
woods into a clearing, when tho voice
Of their leader rang out "Halt "
Every man pulled in his horse and
pccred into the road. There stood
trembling before them the figure Of IL
man. Every ono recognized in the
moonlight the pale face Of Tom Lovoll.
"WelI, suh,' exclaimed Abe Toby
the leader. yer runnin' the wrong
way. Mcbbe you didn't know we were
on the way to pay you visit
"I-l knowcd il, | knowcd it," cx-
| ,l,;nnl 'rhm trpOulOu 'ap'