The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1900-03-01

paper. They had torn the paper into
sheets and divided 1t. The man who
had drawn the small lads" was discon-
tented. He could find nothing on his
sheet except Help Wanted" He low
cred his paper, and before him sat "Gon-
doia" Wilson. seeming yellow in the Al
tered light
"Where's the committeeP" asked
"Gondola." "Where's the triumphal
arch: Welcome Homer"
"You're alive, then?"
"Alive an kickin.'"
IF you're alive, 1t follows that you're
hckin'. How long has it been?"
"A year--next month"
1--WE missed you when it come to the
roundup last fall. Nobody'd seen you.
You've been under a roof, amt you?
Hospital?"
Put away-a year"
"You had to go crooked at last, did
you?"
"Well, that's what they called It. I'm
lucky they didn't hang me. Some Of
'em wanted to-"
"Tell me what you done. amt the
court" .y
"Say, listen, an see II ever you heard
the likes before. II wuz in October
year ago last October. I'd walked
from Loueyville over to Terry Hut with
nigger that played the mouth harp.
We hid in the yards at Terry Hut an
got into an empty stock that we
thought wuz headed for Danville. Some
time in the night q brakeman seen US
an fred us out. I'd been asleep, an the
first thing remember was faliin' out
O. the car an lightin' hard, with the
coon comm after me. We didn't know
where we wuz, but could make out q
side track an chute for loadin' hogs.
About a mile of we could see some
lights, an we judged we wus near a
purity good-sized town. Me an the
coon started to walk toward the town.
an then stopped him an says: Here,
II we 60 to drillin' around town at this
time O. night an one O. them country
coppers gets peek at us, he'll shoot
us first an then ask US our names after
ward. Let's crawl in somewheres an
sleep till mornin'. an then Wen 60 in
town an try to round up hand-out.'
Well, just as wuz sayin' this, we hap
pened to be walkin' along past tall
fence. looked through the cracks an
could see one or two lights quite dis
tance off, an right near us wuz long
buildin' that looked some thin like a
barn. 1t wuz gettin' chilly an said
to this pardner Of mine: Coon, gi' me
a boost over this fence an think we
can find a warm place here So we
skinned over the fence an come to this
buildin. 1t wuz big an still thought
1t wuz barn. We walked around,
lookin' for door or window, so't we
could crawl in. At last this pardner of
nine--his name 'uz jeff an I'll kill him
If ever | lay eyes on him again-Jeff
found little door that wuzn't locked,
an we went in. feelin' our way along,
thinkin', you know, that we might find
some hay or straw to sleep on. Purity
soon jeff fell over somethin' an land
ed on top of him. We felt around us
an discovered that we'd run into a lot
O. watermelons layin' on the floor. I
s'pose the coon was sorry to meet them
melons, wuzn't he? The first thing I
knew he'd split one of 'em open, an 1
could hear him chompin' in the dark.
Well, got up an felt my way along,
an purity soon / reached out an what
do you s'pose l took holt of there in the
pitch dark? A plate with about a
dozen biscuits on 1t. Now, I amt no
crook an never broke into house to
steal anything, but I'll leave this to
you. II you hadn't had anything to
eat for ls hours an should happen to
crawl into barn at night an reach out
into the dark an find dozen light bis
cults, would you eat 'em or throw 'em
away?"
"l'd probly eat 'em," was the re-
ply.
'That's what l done, except what
give TO JEFF. He found a match in his
cloze an struck it, an we saw in front
of us a wooden shelf covered with pies
an cakes, an all kinds O. cooked stuff.
The match only burned for minute,
but We made out that much. JeR
found q plate O. butter, an we ct the
biscuit with butter, an | amt tasted
snything like 1t since l ran away from