Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1896-06-18

questions. Then it was that every vestige
IF languor vanished. His face became
strangely animated. while his eyes fairly
glittered.
"You have been very full in everything
that bears upon Mr.. Ralph's connection
with the natter" he began; "and CON
graduate you. a professional could not
have stated il more clearly. Can yon tell
me, though. with q little more cxactness.
just what you know about your brother,
disputes or alterations with the italians
who were at work on the railroad cut?'
"To tell the TRUTH" replied. 81 know
very little about II. My brother always
imagined that the company was trying
to retaliatc. by petty annoyances and de-
lays in the work, for his legal opposition
to their schemes. About month ago he
came In one morning in towering pas
sion, cursing the whole Italian race and
the foreman Of this gang in particular. II
appeared that he had gone down to re-.
monstrate with ,hem-a proceeding which
! knew he would not be apt to conduct
very gently, that the foreman had been
impudent and snid, in effect, that the
court had given them permission and
:hey'd do the work as they pleased and
build the bridge when they got ready.
Then my brother lost his temper COM
plctcly, said that the New Orleans people
were the only ones who understood how
to deal with the Italian question. and that
he proposed to get the damned cowardly
Malta off his place, If it took a shotgun Ia
do it. From what ! gathered. very little
was said in reply. Two or three of the
laborcrs were rather threatening: but the
foreman quoted them with few words
in Italian, and my brother rushed back to
the house. | will not deny that the Incl
dent troubled me considerably for IA time,
though Robert laughed Mt my fears. New.
erthelcss, | took occasion to go down 10
the cut once or twice and talk pleasantly
TO the foreman. | was surprised to find
him disposed to be remarkably polite, and
shortly after, when the company drew the
workmen off TO another part of the road
he expressed his regret to me that they
had not been able to complete the bridge
before their departure. For the last two
weeks none of them have been seen in
the neighborhood, and my fears had en-
trely subsidized when this terrible event
happened
VERY good" he said, "and now may
ask you to summon your colored man?
believe you stated that he made the aft
davit duplicating RalphT
To my surprise, found some difficulty
in persuading the negro to tell Phillips
his story. "Wha's lie good, Massa Hen
ry?" he kept repeating; and nothing bu,
my absolute orders awaited to bring him
into the library. Once there, he showed
much agitation at first. Then he braced
himself and launched out into volublC
relation of the quarrel between Ralph and
my brother. ending up with:
IAN / jes' knowed dat young fellat
warn't no good from de day he done walk
ed over nah phortchalakah bed an larfet
/ fit to kill heself when l toll him to b.
noah cahful."
"Where were you, Anderson" asked
Phillips, quietly, when you heard the
words between your master and Mr.
Ralph"
"In dc hail. sah.'
what were you doing there1,I mean
what did you go there for?"
Muffin at all. JUS went dab t see 7
everything was all raht and clean an
"What time of day was it?"
81 doan rahtly recollec' dat, sah."
"Your present master tells me that tn,
dispute took place. in the afternoon very
shortly before dinner"
"Das raht; das raht, sab. l recollec
now"
"You are the only servant, believe"
"Yessah."
"Well, aren't you pretty apt to be con
fined to the kitchen just before dinner
| It's n rather bad time to go looking arount
the house for nothing in particular, ism
it?"
Anderson's face began to grow ashy
and his legs trembled perceptibly.
"Foh de lawd. Massa Phillips" he STAN