Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-06-19
9.sO+o o.soD..oso..0..0s.0.
) The World Against Him.
Continued from page 81

At this juncture the voice of Mrs.
Fanshaw came up to them as she shook
the latch of Ann Josephine's door:
''Wakc up, JOSIE" she said, gore pas
been dead a good half hour, an thar
amt nobody to cook breakfast"
Ronald began to dress himself.
"Dave," he said, ''your suspicion has
taken me completely by surprise;
have suspected for good many years
that they did not feel towards me as
they did to the rest, but cannot yet
believe I am not really-a Fanshaw."
"Wait till you talk to ma" counseled
David. BE shore you come at Ter ex-
actly right. Make 'er feel shore you
won't give 'er a speck O trouble an
she'll let the cat out the bag
The next day when Jade Fanshaw's
implanted box was lowered into the
grave near the meeting house, half
mile over the hills, the snow was falling
so fast that the faces of the few mourn
ers and reighbors who stood around
could hardly be recognized. The mound
had scarcely received its shape when
It was robed in white. 1t was as if Ma
ture had spread an emblem of forgive
ness over Jade Fanshaw's last resting
place.
Ronald rode home in the wagon con-
tanning Mrs. Fanshaw, Dave, the two
girls and Bud Tarbell. Arriving at
home the girls went into the house and
Mrs. Fanshaw hustled about on the
hackpcrch, opening the window blinds
which she had closed that no one might
gain access to her house during the
absence of the family. There Ronald
found her, stillin her bonnet and heavy
shawl. Her eyes fell before the hun
CRY stare of his own,
81 wantto seeyou in private" he said,
excited in spite of strong effort at
calmness. She moved as if to pass him
and go into the house. and then she
paused before him, a logged expression
i'll her unsteady glance.
"Dave's been blabbin' to you, Ron"
she said; II wouldn't pay no attention
to that boy"
you've been keeping something
from me-something concerning my
self, all my life" he heard himself
saying in deliberate tones.
She caught her breath, and then
looked through the hall at Bud Tarbell,
who was turning his wagon away from
the gate.
Dave top me back thar at the grave
jest now she faltered, ''that you said
you never would give me no trouble
about anything. If I knowed that
you would not bring me to court, an
that you would let us have the insur-
ance money to buy land in Texas, Ron,
I'd not keep back a thing"
Your name shall never be men
toned" he promised, now chilled to
the center of his heart by what might
b.revealed. shave right to know it,
If am not your son, and not his. You
know you are welcome to the insurance
money"
Cant you put it off till after supper,
when all the rest is asleep? am so
excited"
No, I'd rather know now,' he said.
Thewind blew The fine flakes of snow
under the roof of the porch, and they
fell and melted on her iron-gray locks.
She did not look at him when she be-
gan, nor did she give him her eyes
steadily once through the whole re-
cital.
you've heerd bout yore pas bush
whackin' days up in Tennessee endurin'
of the war;" she began. "He was sort
of head man against 'em all. They
made good deal by it, fust an last.
He used to tell me all about it fore we
got married an I was sech a foolish
young thing that I thought his conduct
was smart, an that Jade Fanshaw was
about the finest ketch in them noun
tains. They did their biggest business
an made their biggest hauls by captur-
in folks that was travelin' heer an
yam through the mountains to git away
from the war, as most of sech folks had
money about 'em. They didn't kill
often, unless it was through lack of
proper Judgment, like, for instance, in
threatenin' a man to give up his treas
ure by drawin' i'm up on a rope an let
tin i'm hang a mite too long. Whar
you come in was this away" Mrs.
Fanshaw cautiously closed the door
leading into the hall and then went on:
"a man and his wife an a baby about
four months old come long in car
rage driv' by niger man, an yore
pas crowd was lynn in wait fur 'em an
helt 'em up in lonely mountain pass.
The man was young confederate of
ficer. an the woman was mighty good
lookin' an dressed as fine as fiddle.
That's one reason the gang thought
they had money. They ordered all of
'em to git out on the ground, an the
officer did so at once, an tuck the baby
from its mother so she could git out.
'Well, they say he had no sooner
put foot to the ground fore the niger
driver whipped up the bosses like mad
an managed to dodge the shots an git
away. The tale Jake always told me
was that the officer started off at full
speed after the carriage an got shot ac-
cidentally, fallin' with you in his arms.
The wust part Of it fur the gang was
that the man had no money about him,
an. they had live squallin' baby on