Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-05-15
CHAPTER IIE.-(Continued.)

by Joe, you had close shave,'' he
grunted. II lowed once you was a
dead goner.'
He had put all the things back into
the basket, when he noticed for the
first time the awful white look on Ron
AIDS face.
"Why, what's the matter?" he asked.
did it hurt you?"
Ronald was slowly rubbing a bleed
Ing hruise on the back of his hand, but
he seemed not to be thinking of it.
He drove against me on purpose, he
said, the words seeming to come from
far down in his deliberately
on purpose, / tell you"
do you reckon so, Ron ?''
II know it!''
David gazed at him steadily for a
moment, then he remarked:
ITO tell you the truth, Ron, 1 thought
80 myself. You see, was behind; he
kept the bosses squar in the road till
he passed mean then l seed. i'm pull
like all possessed on the left rein. But
\ why don't you come on? You know it's
late an the old man fuses when we are
late.
Still our hero stood rubbing his hand
and staring in front of him. When he
finally spoke, his voice quivered and
sounded unnatural.
i shall never rest till have resent
ed it, he said, as if communing with
himself. Il could not live and take that
oil any man alive
ooh, come off, said his companion,
'you don't really mean you will take
Inn to taw about it,"
II certainly mean nothing else.''
David laughed. "He'n you is differ
emit in sech things, Ron. Now eff fe.-
Ter O my own sort gets on the back
o my neck an pulls hair to blow lis
nose on, politely invite i'm down to
see which has the most grit, me or
him, an eff man who amt my equal
"a buck niger for instance--dare to
give me any o. his lip, I jest knock m
down an wash my hans, but law me-!
hain't no han to pick difficulties
with the big rich. never knowed no
body to do it that didn't come out at
4 the little end O. the horn with their
clothes drug off. A Teller like that
squint-eyed dude will jest set up in
court an look tired when he swe arg
out case agin you fur assault an
battery, an all the good lawyers in
town will huddle round him like a
passle o. ants round dead doodle
bug. The court will have obliged to
appoint some new beginner to defend
you an thar you are-the laughin'
stock o. the whole layout. No, I'll
take a lot off'n one O. that sort fore
I'll git up scrap with ne"
They were moving on now, and Ron
aid made no comment On what his
brother was saying. The fire of his
I angry heart still burned in his eyes and
his chin was quiyering helplessly. That
night he sat only for moment at the
supper table, and then, unnoticed by
the others, he went up to his little room
under the sloping roof and lighted his
lamp. -Four or five new magazines lay
unopened on his table, but he did not
look at them.
About ten o'clock, when the house
was still, Dave crept up the rickety
stairs softly. SO as not to disturb his
father who was a light sleeper. and
was about to turn into his own room
when he bethought himself of Ronald
whose door was slightly ajar.
Well, I'll be DANCED" he cried, look
ing into the lighted room, and finding
his brother up, ''shorely, you hain't
still frettin' over that business. ]
wouldn't let little thing like that
bother me a minute
Il was just going to bed,'' said Ron.
aid, looking up. Il am going now
Don't worry about me-"
Dave laughed significantly, and
pointed to asrevolyer which. like q. pa.
per-weight, rested on a Pile OF loose
papers.
TN bet that pup has got its stom-
ach full for the first time .sence you
bought it five yeer ago. Whew!'' The
speaker whistled in low surprise as he
noticed another revolver protruiing
from a newspaper on the table. saint
that my thirty-eight caliber9''s