Warren sheaf., 1899-12-14

duty | mean what is required of him
under the Jaw, which is sometimes
widely III variance with the promptings
of heart and conscience. I have in mind
now the difficult task. imposed upon
Charley Tatman when he was sheriff of
Clermont county. Tatman had been a
good friend of mine for many years.
When he was elected to the Office of
sheriff he asked me to act as deputy.
During the first year of Tatman's term
nothing of Importance happened. But
along in the second year of our service,
just at the time when Tatman began to
lay his plans for reelection, we struck
snag. ~. -
''The farmers in the southern part of
the county gave the alarm. For some
time, so they complained, they had been
suffering from the depredations of
some petty robber or band of robbers.
Most of the thefts were small, but they
were continuous and systematic. The
1uckless farmers had banded them
selves together for the detection of the
culprit and the protection of their meat
and potatoes, but they made no prog
ress in running down the thief. Once
or twice, indeed, after light fall of
snow they had succeeded in tracing g
footsteps from three or, four houses
whose cellars had been looted to place
about quarter of a mile distant from
the scene of the plunder, but at tn at dis
, tance the footsteps suddenly disap-
peared.
The formers suspicious were strong
ly aroused against family named
Leach. The teaches had always been
considered the most worthless white
trash in the neighborhood. They were
lazy, they were uncleanly, and they
were ignorant. It was a well-known
fact that Hiram Leach had not done a
days work in two years. Yet in spite
of this protracted leisure the Leaches
continued to shift along in their usual
haphazard manner instead of being
packed off to the poorhouse, bag and
baggage, as would have been the fate
of any other family in similar circum-
stances. Finally the farmers appealed
to Tatman to help fix the guilt, and in
response to this entreaty Tatman sent
to see if could find the thieving ras-
Gals. Already the hirelings who stir up
political gossip had caused it to be
bruited about over the county that Tat
man was totally incompetent and that
he did not earn the salary of a good dog
catcher, much less the fat sum paid the
sheriff of Clermont county. Judging
by these reports it was quite plain that
if Tatman did not soon redeem himself
in the eyes of the voters he might as
well wrap up his political hopes for the
future and save the money he would
necessarily have to spend in the coming
campaign.
II, too, was bafaed when trying to
discover the purloiner of hams and sim
liar food. Three robberies were COM
mitted in as many weeks after I took
the case in hand. At last determined
to get out warrant and search Leach's
house. Before taking action went up
to Batavia and consulted Tatman.
"'I SUPPOSE he said, doubtfully,
that this is the only thing we can do.
I've got to do something to make a rec
ord for myself or I'll be as bad off as
they say this Leach is. I guess I'll 60
with you. My presence will, perhaps.
make the maneuver more effective and
serve as political timber next fall
1T was cold, snowy day in March
when Tatman and I left Batavia to make
our raid on. Leach's house. It was 20
miles from our town to the river coun-
try. The roads were rough and in some
places well-nigh impossible, and al,
though we set out early in. the morn
ing it was late in the afternoon when
we turned into the narrow lane that led
from the highway back to Leach's. This
lane was long and winding and its in
tricacies were hard to master, but after
having passed through barnyard
which was entered at no less than a
dozen different places by as many sets
of bars we found ourselves on the crest
of steep hill, at the foot of which, ac-
cording to the testimony of the boy
who was feeding the shivering animals
in the sheep shed, I'VE should find Leach's
house. Tatman and I got out of the
buggy and walked down the hill. We
kept peering round us sharply as we
went, but not until we came almost to
the base of the hill did we see any signs
of habitation. Then suddenly little
puff of blue wood smoke was seen curl
ing up through the denuded branches
of the trees to our right. We went on
a few steps farther and the house itself
was in sight. It was such little house
of frame and logs, and its color was so
very drab and discouraging that had
we not had the boys word for It that
Leach lived there we should have been
in doubt as to whether Leach's house
was really house or stable, not
withstanding the evidence of the chin
ney and the smoke.
''We hitched our horse to a cherry
tree and went into the yard. The sound
of hoofs and wheels had aroused the in
mates Of the house, and before we
reached the door small colony of chill
dren and dogs came trooping round to
the northern corner of the building and
stood looking at us WOnderingly The