Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1898-04-23
RESTED THE CASE.

uust uaIclnR llSnG 1ell over the crowd
ed courtroom. In the witness chair sat
a long, lank man. whose trousers wrin-
kled over his boot tops. His face was
brown and lean, his sinewy hands clasp
ed and unclasped nervously, and his
keen, gray eyes rested fiXedly ON the
face of the man who stood before him.
The man i'll the chair was Vint Joskins,
on trial for his life; the man on the
floor before him was his attorney. The
witnesses for the defense had all been
examined, and now the prisoner had
been brought in to tell his story. The
preliminary questions We're done with,
and the attorney spoke to his client.
Tell the story in your own way" he
said.
The prisoner twisted his lean hands
together and looked from the lawyer to
the judge $50 OH, " said the judge, not
unkindly.
"I'll tell hit as near right as kin, {"
the prisoner began. "This man Deer
ing''-
THE murdered man," interrupted
the state S attorney. The counsel for the
defendant objected to the interruption,
and the court told the attorney for the
state to let the prisoner proceed.
"This man Deering," again COM
menced the prisoner, "he come down
tho the valley when they built that
there railroad two year ago. He was
one of them men that lays out the way,
an while he was in our part of the
county he stopped at Sam Tices. seen
him there frequent. Twas sorter keepin
company with Sans girl then" The
speaker stopped and looked toward one
of the dusty windows
$50 on, u" said his counsel encourag-
ingly. Cant you remember"
"Hit ain t no trouble ter remember, {"
the prisoner said slowly; "hit's the
trouble O. fergittin. Seems like l kin
remember ever leetle thing. Well,
Deering, he stopped at Tice's, an he was
mighty soft spoken to 'em all, specially
ter Lizzie, but nobody didn't think
nothin o. that When bad weather
come in the fall, the men on the road
quit work an went away, Deering with
'em. was sorter glad whenst he went,
fer l thought cd see more O. Lizzie.
l didn't, though fer in less'n week
after Deering went Lizzie was gone,
too, an we didn't none of us hear moth
in Of her till Nate Rogers brung word
that he seen her in the city. Nate
lowed that she were dressed fit ter kill
an were smilin an happy, an he heerd
her called Mrs. Deering. Then Sam he
got a letter from her, an after that he
an her mother got letters reg lar most
all winter.
lone night in April was over to
Tice's, an we was settin there talking
whenst the door open all of sudden,
an Lizzie walked in. 1t was a-rainin
out an she was all wet, an her hair was
kinder loose an her dress was muddy.
"'W'y, Lizzie child, where'd you
come from an where's your husband?'
says old Mis- Tice all went like ter kiss
her, but Lizzie sort O. sunk back in the
chair she had dropped inter an begun
ter cry, not loud but jest a sort O. dry
sobbin, like she hadn't no tears left. An
then hit all come out, how she hadn't
never been married, ony thought she
was till Deering got full one night an
told her. Then she come home.
An, mother she says, mother,
I-1-rm goin-goin'- An then she
clean broke down, an we seen how hit
was. Old Mis- Tice air an awful good
woman, powerful on churchgoin an re-
ligion an mighty up an down in her
idees, an she flared up ter onst. 'Ye
good fer nothin hussy, says she, air
that how it is? Ye kin jest go back ter
the city an yer fine man. Ye air no
good enough fer An this air what ye've
come ter, eh-bringin shame OH ter
the rest of us? An with that she sits
down straight an stiff ON the other side
O. the room an wouldn't say another
word, not even whenst Lizzie got up an
started ter go, sayin nothin but jest,
oh, mother' kinder pitiful like. Old
Tice he didn't dare say anythin contrary
ter his wife, but l wasn't tied no sech
way. jest slipped out'n the house aft
er Lizzie, an got her ter go over ter my
place, whar nam took keer of her.
II reckon thar hain't no use tellin
what went on after that bit. Any
way, got Lizzie ter marry me- an
sometimes she begun ter act real cheer.
full like. She were always mighty gen.
tie an quiet an was always doin some-
thin for me, like she were tryin ter say
that she thought heap O. my standin
up fer her. This We're long bout har-
vest time, an l hadn't been feelin so
gooia as then sence Lizzie run away.
The women folks didn neighbor much
with her, but man, she says the women
air pack O fools, an set heapo' store
by Lizzie.
Zone evenin l struck up with Nate
Rogers on the road, an he says, says he: ::
Say did ye see that Deering feler ter
day? He were round by your house
talkin ter Lizzie, he says, IAN l seen her
cryin. Look here Nate l says, 'ye
mean we'll, | reckon, but ye remember
that ye air talkin bout my wife now. ;
Oh, we'll, says Nate, Il didn' mean no
harm, ony thought ye orter know
what was goin ON, an with that he took
short cut cross the fields, an l KEEP on
the road.
''It were just sundown, an l were
walkin long the road, where hit rounds
the hill long above the river. l were
goin slow, thinkin over what Nate said.
an not lookin fer anybody, when all o.
a sudden | run against man. Hit were
Deering himself. He jumped little,
but says, cool as anything, Good
| ayapiu IosLinS an ,nada lilo ha xuara