The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1897-09-10

the head OF the sugar barrel. IF You
are trifiing-"
II amt trifin'." protested Ezekiel.
earnestly. II never told a lie in my
life. II was Jest after dinner, an / was
lookin' for jeremiah. AS ! went by
Scroggins' door, he came out, lookin' ex
smilin' ez an undertakes with the
toothache. Seed my gal lately" says
he. foolin' with his gun. | didn't want
TO hurt his feelin's by tellin' him I'D
seen her ten minutes before with Bob,
50 / SEE, polite-like: 'Sartinly. saw her
last week. Lookin' well, amt shey'
Std of bein' pleased, the old man was
riled and used language that would
have shocked wheat in "A harvest field.
But | didn't care until he said he could
git more music outn a weather-boarded
house with a club'n | could out'n my
fiddle'n' bow. Then was mad n talked
back. After assurin' me that I'd dis
iggered the lan'scape long enough,
only addin' to them plain words some
unnecessary trimmin's, he shot at me
m l shot back, m this is what | killed
him with
Ezekiel drew out an old horse pistol
and handed it to the foreman of the
jury. A murmur Of interes ran through
the crowd, and the jurors whispered
among themselves.
just then a little red-faced man
pushed his way through the crowd at
the door. There he u.s." he shouted.
excitelly. There's the man that stole
my mule!"
We followed his finger with our eyes.
He was pointing at Ezekiel, who re-
garded him philosophically. We'll, l
didn't say | didn't, did IL" he asked,
mildly.
The newcomer threw his hat in the
corner and danced with excitement.
1T was this way, jedge- T'other day !
| tied nv mule down al Ransome's Ferry
while / went into Pixies place to git
some refreshments. When | come out,
a little later. the mule wuz gone, an
| never seed him again ontil to-day,
when | stumbled on him. accidental
like. at this ~feller's place up the rail.
| want him rested, quick
We were too much astonished to say
ANYTHING, but finally Ezekiel broke the
silence.
Don't be too hasty," he said. Il stole
the mule, yes. The chap left him tied
out thar all day while he was doin' the
! anaconda act in at Pixies. an jest out
| of pity for Jeremiah | rode him off. But
| that's enough on that subject" as the
undertaken remarked when he saw a
ten-foot tombstone over the grave oil
a debtor of his'n: we're considerin' an
other matter. ! didn't say nothin' about
| Scroggins' death for two reasons; ]
wanted Mia 10 leave 'thout hearin'
about it. an Jeremiah had strayed on
an it's a long ways to tell news thatI
keep an hour or So"
The jury had been examining the pis-
toll. and Ezekiel's statement was so APP
parently sincere that their minds began
to wayer. They looked AT Atkinson,
then at the stranger. and then at Eze-
kiel. serenely confident. For a moment
they buzzed together. then the fore
man. closely followed by the other
IL. walked over and held out his
hand to Atkinson. In another second
Jerry was on a box. cheering fr~antical-
ly. The crowd Joined in, and the excite
ment grew until the hilltop man fell
out of the window backward. After
awhile the colonel made himself heard:
.'The prisoners discharged. But
there's another case to he considered
"She's waitin' up thar for you" whis-
pered Ezekiel. and Atkinson stayed just
long enough 10 wiring a dozen out.
stretched hands and give his choking
thanks to Ezekiel.
Col. Ike rose in his place and the hum
Of conversation was stilled.
"The death of this man Scroggins ap-
pears to have happened in a proper
manner. but the mule stealing is more
serious. And W lille in the first instance
you are entitled to the thanks Of Lone
Star. because of the second ii is the
opinion of the court you'd better leave
In three hours. Ezekiel"
an go" said Ezekiel. but not less
| can take Jeremiah. | amt agoin' to
walk"
Col. Ike was a man of resources. He
dropped a dollar in his sombrero and
then passed II among the boys. When
he had counted its contents he adj.
dressed the owner Of the mule. "Your
mule is worth just SIS. a plugged hall
and two Mexican dobies. and we've de-
cided TO buy him." Then he turned &c
Ezekiel. with the compliments OF
Lone Star camp" he said. smiling.
Ezekiel bowed his thanks. SHOOK
hands all around and passed through
the door. lie unhitched jeremiah from
where his late owner had tied him ant
clambered into the saddle. with hi,
fiddle under his left arm. Something
saw in his face made me walk along
side to the top of the grade. He looked
at me for a moment. quizzically.
"Does what YOU hear 20 in at m ca,
m out t'other. Std Of your MOUTH"
Secrets that travel take that trail.
well. then. ! didn't steal Jeremiah
I saw him at the ferry. TUX a fancy t.
him. an. when the chance offered mex
day. dickered for him with a man VIII,
'peared TO be his owner. But I saw
that my reputation needed a smudge Il
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