Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1900-09-20
{ OUTLAWED. J
! By L. Harbour. !
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By J. L. Harbour.

II 1E DAY after the funeral OF Jared
COMBS his five orphaned children
were sitting around the kitchen stove,
Trying. as Martha, the eldest, said, to
"Iook the situation in the face"
Martha was 16 years old; Ann, the
mex oldest, was IA; then there were
three little boys, Jerry, Leander and
Horace.
Their mother had been dead three
years. and their father had been an in
valid Tor two years. He had at one time
been d fairly prosperous man, but not
within the memory of his children, and
he lad never said much about his "bet-
ter days"
The people in the town where the
Ccombses lived wondered vaguely
'Nylat in the world those children
would do now" and Martha had lain
awake nights trying to solve the same
problem. Her mind was made up to one
thing they would all stick together"
The house of four rooms in which
they lived was their own, and Martha
ha5 e.ssctly $25 in the world.
TIE day after Mr.. Coombs' funeral
va Iaw and dull. One OF the neighbors
haa made Martha promise to come to
h. house for dinner, and bring all of
the olher children with her.
'9trcrybody has been so kind" Mar
tha was saying to her sister and broth
eis. she had in her lap some papers
th' she had taken from the tin box in
which her father had kept them for
yes. Most of them were yellow with
age end some of them fell apart at the
c.. Sc when they were unfolded. Some
haeseals, and were clearly legal papers;
ott-,a seemed TO be old notes and bills,
am tuere were a good many business
letCeIs.
As r. Coombs had told Martha that
ne Of the papers were of any value,
an I'D advised her to burn them, she
no. cmoved lid of the kitchen stove
az eegan to drop them, one by one, on
tn Goals. She had burned most OF
Il when she picked up folded pa
pe CIR the back of which was written,
il her lather's hand:
"Ils man l trusted above all others
a. lily loss of confidence in him
p1t,,es me more than the loss Of the
none. he should have paid me. But on
WI Z know to be my death-bed, for
gi,e Jstin eye all the loss and sorrow
h. ICES caused me-"
"fsther could never hold grudge
against anyone" said Martha to her
self, a. she unfolded the paper. She
spr-ad the document out on her knee
It vas q promissoPy note for $4,000
SeHea by Justin d. eye. 1t had no in
dots-r. and Mr.. Coombs had written in
re- ink across the face of it this single
WOO. '"Outlawed."
Ma tha looked at the date OF the note
1t uas 30 years old.
81 wonder who this Justin D. Gyt
wa and l wonder what 'outlawed
mems said Martha. I'm going to ash
M. }.arston about it when we go over
thee TO dinner, and I'm going to KEEP
this note, because, when l think of it,
de- believe that there's another line
OF pcor fathers handwriting in the
house."
1l,. Marston told Martha that the
wo.d "outlawed," written on the note
meelt that the money due could not b'
collected by law, and that a note wa!
worthless after a certain number O.
years.
"If your father has written out
laNO1 on the note, it is Of no value
concluded Mr.. Marston.
But a promise to pay ought to b.
good at any time," said Martha.
"It ought to be, but unfortunately, i
ism. good in the written law. Tn
moral law is another matter" said MI
Msr>ton.
When Martha went back home sh
took the note from the drawer in whicl
she had placed it, and read it again.
few minutes later she busted hersel
with some kitchen duties. Her pantr
shelves needed clean papers on then
Martha removed the things from tn
shgsvce. and took several papers fror
bundle Mrs. Marston had given hel
She was cutting a strip from a newsps
psr vhen her eye fell on this pare
gr oa: 49,.
"s.g. Justin D. eye, who has With
the past five years realized fortune
full q million dollars from his invest
ments n western mines and real estat
proposes to erect magnificent hous
on 1aynor hill"
Martha looked at the title Of the P;
per, and read, The Louisborough G'
zette.
ITS the town where father lived b.
fore ne and mother were married. la
sure that this Justin D. eye and I'll
man who signed his name to that not
are the same. And he is worth mi
lion dollarsl"
She took her scissors and cut out tn
lines she had read. Then she got an Of
atlas and looked up the city of Loui
borough.
st must be a long distance fro
here" she said, with sigh. eff it wei
only nearer, 1 do believe I'd go and T
mind Mr. eye of his promise to pay
and ask him if he thought it had bee
'outlawed in the sight of God"
All cay she pondered over what 81
hadread. Toward evening she had to
! / down to one of the village stores. 81
was passing a railroad station when
= idea suggested itself 10 her.
. 9TH go and ask the agent If he ca
tell me how far it is to Louisboroug
and how much it will cost to go there
The information she received WI
d:scnnraSinp. II would cost at lea