Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1900-04-11
,wner, end the money was gone.

owner, end the money was gone.
Sydney Hart, tall, raw-boned
young man, with sharp black eyes and
big mustache dyed to match, sat
astride his fine horse and told what he
knew of the affair. AS he talked he
famed his aquiline face with his
sombrero.
Gas soon as jeff, that's her niger
house boy, came in to make the fires,"
he was saying as Ronald approached,
che seed what had happened, an run
out to give the alarm"
Didn't nobody suspicion Jeff?"
queried old Fanshaw, who sat on the
steps in his stockings.
Don't be SO blamed fast" snarled
the narrator, with frown. He could
not abide interruption. He was a sort
of leader of moonshiners, though 1t
had never been proven against him,
and he was accustomed to more re-
| spect than he deserved.
well, go on" grunted Fanshaw,
"you are about as good at tellin' a
thing as one-legged man is at a
| kiclsin' bee. You no sooner make a
start than you kick the end o. yore
spine up in the ground an thar you
are"
The crowd laughed impulsively, but
the fierce glare of Sgd Harris eyes
soon put an end to the merriment.
"You must a-had razor soup fur
breakfast, he grunted, letting his eyes
rest on Fanshaw, and then he began to
smile. "Thar wasn't no use a sus-
picionin' jeff" he proceeded; "fur as
soon as the news got out Thad Will
liams straddled his mare an notified
the sheriff. Ratcliff is quick on trig-
ger, an he tuck Thad's mare an made
fur the spot armed to the teeth"
"Well, did he ketch the one that
did it?" broke in Dave Fanshaw, inn
patiently, and anyone could have seen
from his face that he was not one of
Harris followers.
sgd bent his eyes on Dawes face and
sneered. "You are like yore daddy"
he observed, you want yore hog fore
it's barbecued. Yes, you bet he
ketched i'm; that's what he was out
after. About half mile from the
widows house he run across a young
stranger a-hidin' in a barn nigh the
4 tale mines. He was too good thing
to be missed, so Ratcliff arrested i'm
then an thar an made i'm turn is
pockets wrong side out. He had
fifty dollars in hard cash, an, more
t over, his hands was red in streaks, an
e he had blood on his handkerchief an
shirt-sleeves. He was young fellow,
!, an cried like baby; he said he hadn't
I killed nobody, nur stole nobody's
: money, but Ratcliff tuck i'm in tow.
He was sech little fellow that Rat.
j. cliff lowed folks I'D get the laugh on
:, i'm if he roped or handcuffed i'm, SO
s he started on with i'm Jest so. They
made it all right till they got back
I? heer piece to the beginnin' O. Col
Hasbrooke's swamp. Thar, at Swiff's
n cabin, Ratcliff stopped to git light
r fur his cigar. Nobody ever heerd tel
II O. him takin' a prisoner to Jail with
l. out. he had cigar stuck in his jaw
d He don spend dollar yeer fur ci
IT CARS, but he has to smoke one when HI
t. jugs man. It makes him look i'm
n portant. He had jest called fur /.
it chunk O. fire, an Miz Swift was fetchin
W it out to i'm, when 10 an behold, tn,
t. little stranger showed he was up Il
snuff. He lodged off behind hay
N stack before Ratcliff could draw hi
gun an was off into the swami
d like skeered rabbit. A boss ain
q wuth tinker's dam in swampy Liant
n. an cane brakes, an Ratcliff amt a
d timber as he wuz twenty yeer back
lie And" the speaker broke off with
d. laugh, 1.-THE little skunk's in tn
swamp yit. Me an these fellows is t
t. watch this road, an Ratcliff's gon
1T round t'other side to stir up the pee
is pie. They'll drive i'm this way betor
ID long, an then the fun will begin"
ID What do you mean by the fun?
H. broke in Ronald sharply.
III The gaunt giant on the hors
Ii. shrugged his shoulders and bent
ly critical, half-aggressive glance on tn
re questioner.
at "Oh, reckon the boys won't wan
ce to wait fur them blamed thievish Law
at yers in town to get whack at i'm al
Ia. finally git i'm turned loose. We hahn
got much book Tarnin', but we kno,
~ when q mans guilty, an we kno'
" what lawyers is"
ag A murmur of approval rose from IL
a group, even Mrs. Fanshaw, who 81
a rocking between her two daughters O
m. the porch, grunted as if sgd Hart ha
CHI furnished the key to problem whic
"a involved the welfare of the nation.
es Ronald's face was flushed, look
= determination was in his eyes.
ed NO." he said, firmly; "they mu
give him trial"
NO Sydney Hart leaned back in his sa
III ole and laughed tantalizingly.
"Oh, you want to get chance
ut him, Ell? You are studyin' to be Law
en- yer, an you've already begun to loo
after the intrust of your gang. We.
you won't make anything out of tn
q job If can help it."
1--WE shall see," answered Ronal
ire HE may not be guilty and you sha
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