The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1900-11-21

BY LANES NOEL JOHNsoN.

BY JAMES NOEL JOHNSON,
Author of "A Romulus in Kentucky"
zone Little Girl in Blue" Etc.
copyrighted 1900: Daily story Pup. Coz
l was riding up Rebel Creek, in Bell
county, Kentucky, last August, when.
suddenly, there came to my ear COM
mingled voices-one passionately de-
nunciatory; one of wailing and plead
ing.
Turning a sharp angle In the road,
beheld log cabin short distance
ahead, hugged by rail fence.
Before the door | saw an under
sized man, hopping up and down in
front of an diversified woman. There
seemed an intimate relation between
the time of the leaps of the man and
the falling of a hickory in the good
right hand OF the woman.
This will teach you, You deceptlous
dog, how ter put up another job on a
pore, innocent, motherless gal; won't
1t, eh? (Whack. whack). Won't it,
eh? | think sorter il Will"
The poor fellow, now with wall Of
agony, broke from the woman, and
ran toward the fence. She followed
like maddened bovine, and, just as
he reached the rails, her foot caught
him with force that sent him spraw-
ling five feet on the outside. He arose
instantly with an agonized groan, and
whirl of dust down the road quickly
swallowed him.
The Amazon gazed second in the
direction he had gone with crooked
brows, then from her stern lips broke
such a laugh of cold malignancy that
my blood was chilled.
l started to ride on, but she shouted:
Hold up, thar, stranger"
obeyed-I feared not to.
Mister" she said, tanning her hot
face with calico sunbonnet; that
was my ole man. who, as you see, has
Just now picked up an left me all
alone in the world.
Il want you to hear the cause of our
little rupture, for don't want no lyin
tales to go out that | treated him so
mean he had to leave me. No, sir.
I'm true, good woman--who longs to
be kind, lovin' an gentle compan-
ion. l was forced into what | done.
I'm gentle as dew in er morning glo-
rvs throat, when treated right, but
people must not play no scaly tricks
on me-" Here she lifted her apron to
swelling eyes.
THAT thing come in here from Ten
nessee about month ago. He set his
deceptious eye on my little home here,
my two milk cows, and three acre
crop of terbacker. He come to see me
every day or two, an l soon seed that
his love for my baked sweet taters,
butter an sweet milk was a CROWN
violent in him. When I'd cut all my
terbacker, an got it hung in the barn.
he proposed to me. ! feared his love
didn't reach across the 'tater dish and
rich. sweet butter. an so tole him
NO.
Then, Sal Patton-a gal what's bin
a hatin' me all her life. jist cause my
pore ole dad killed her'n for informin
on hlm-this Sal Patton say, took to
goin' with him, an she appeared to
lean to him like er sick kitten to a
hot jam rock. Woman like, when
seed my enemy so dead stuck on him
he appeared a heap purifier to me. an
my heart begin to whisper things that
my brain wouldn't listen to.
"One day stranger stopped at my
house to rest an git some water an
this thing happened to go by, leanin
on Sal Patton's arm. The stranger
looked out. an his eyes sorter bulged
when he seed the thing. an he turned
to me an sed; Amt that Hon. James
p. Saddler, son of Judge Joe Saddler
a wealthy citizen of Carter county
Tennessee?' tole him the thing