The Indianapolis journal., 1896-04-26
A SURPRISE FUNERAL.


/ oredD was in his everyday wfstewashinv
| clothes. He SET down the handles OF N.
push cart and wiped the beads OF oily per-
| spiration from his black. lime-splashed brow
| as he paused in the newborn shade OF a
iusty catalpa that grew by the curbstons.
| The object OF his semi-command. semi-en-
treaty. seemed loath to come. He was lean
| ing against the inner door cheek OF the dirti-
est grog shop in that forsaken portion O,
the city.
| The Elder gave his blue overalls another
hitch, at the same time beckoning with ons
big. black. mesmeric foreinger. and repea.-
| ing: Jim. come heah.'
Jim came He was lank. ugly negro.
with a perpetual wofish grin that showed
| a wide toothless vacancy. caused by a no.
liceman's bullet. when Jim. the worse for
| liquor. had resisted arrest He was a bad
| character.
'Jim." said the massive, grizzly-haired
Elder, Use gwine ter iah de gospel at You
| in plum new way. right this minnit. De
| good book speaks about in season and outen
| season. an reckon dis am out, so out she
comes" The Elder took a step nearer Jim's
| lanky shape that now leaned sullenly aeains,
the trunk OF the catalpa. shook that terrible
| forefinger and continued: II mean Jus dis
Jim. Some o. desc times you'll git mixed up
in jes one too many OF desc bahbecues whah
| dey use razzers an guns. Mebby mex time
Liz Thompson swipe at you she'll come stll
closah to de juggiei VEIN" Jim shuddered.
''Mebby as how Link Petahs II larn how ter
shoot straightah 70 he pulls dat weepin on
you agin.'
Jim rolled his eyes furtively from side TO
| side. These were home thrusts.
AN now" continued the Elder. as he
nrar o-od a., ,r.sol - l. -
cart, Il jes got dis TO say: Eff you gets took
of in any o. dem kim o. brawls and cake-
walks, or hoe downs. or chicken nftin' pah-
ties. an Use called on ter preach yo' funal.
d'you know what Use gwine ter do?"
NO" gasped Jim. 'what?'
Use gwine to tell de troof about you.
plain an simple. Use sent de las tuff niggah
| shoutin' home ter glory dat ever dis o
tongue II SEN. Use lied 'bouten a heap o.
niggahs since been in de good cause an
rs lied my last ontroof, so help me. Dressed
| Marster."
And Theophilus Thomas. pastor Of Hal
leluyer Chapel (colored) picked Up the hand
les Of the cart and pushed on with his
| splashing load, muttering: please Gawd
I'm a whitewashah in desc duds an on
week days. an hit senses me dat been
| carryin' my business inter de pulpit; but I
| won't do sc no mo-. no mo-"
AS for Jim. he was, for time fairly
fear-frozen. He had been despondent all day.
and the prospects of a horrible truth-teling
| funeral made OF his lot the abomination OF
| 6esolation.
CHAPTER H..
a few months rolled by and autumn had
come. Jim's spasm OF horror had gone and
ieft him In his normal condition, that Of the
[. worst negro in Darktown. Evil was all he
S1le~. From almost infancy, he and his
/ neighbors, white and black. had made daily.
| Or, at least. weekly trips to Police Court
A sew days of jail were nothing. A few
hours OF shamefacedness. partly suuen.
partly repentant, few drops OF poison
whieky, clandestine love affair. a dance.
fight. and the often-born self-respect wae
| gone again. His life was taken in his hand
ss freely, as reck,essly as though memory
and tmpressibility were faculties with him
non-existent.
This October morning Jim sat sullen, de-
| jected, ugly. before the Mayor. His hard
head was covered with contusions, and ono
place showed a raw and blood-c.otted sore
There had been a murderous saloon fight
when all were crazed with drink. and IL was
miracle that some one was not killed.
There were others. white and black. ranged
were found guilty of the various charges.
assault, drunkenness, provoke, and what
not. And Jim alone was impecunious and
went to jail.
His. fine was a heavy one, and he must
needs stay in jail a long time He was an
old offender. He was haunted-strangely
haunted as he never had been before, with
the words that he had thought 10 be forgot
ten-the warning words of Theophilus
Thomas. pastor of Halleluyer Chapel tcol-
ored). Why should he worry? Theophilus
was always talking. He was now safe in Jail
and nothing could happen him there He
was growing foolish. Too much drink he
argued, had turned his head But the terri
bic memory grew.
One night as he went to his hard bed
after a day in which those memories had
constantly haunted him-the worst day he
had yet passed-the lower bunk seemed op-
pressive to him. He tried the next one
above-it was the same. He finally took the
topmost one. and there. after long struggle
against unaccountable fears. he fell into a
troubled sleep. Then came that dream He
thought he saw Theophilus: he heard his
voice in solemn warning that, even as he
spoke. resolved itself into the death knell
as it was won't to ring from the shackly lit
tie belfry on Halleluyer Chapel. He was
leaning against the same catalpa tree across
from Brady's saloon. The tree began to
give way. Jim grabbed wildly, fel and knew
no more.
AT midnight the sheriff heard a terrorized
| shrek from Jim's CELL Fastening out of bed
he made his way thither to find that Jim
had fallen. in his sleep. from the bunk to
the stone floor, sustaining a cerebral con-
cussion that the jail physician pronounced