Waterbury Democrat., 1901-01-25
The World Against Him By WILL N. HARBEN.
 Copyright. 1900, by AN. Kellogg Newspaper Company.
CHAPTER VIA

had been committed about dawn that day. Mrs. Telplay, widow who lived alone in a cottage at the foot of the mountain, was found brutally mur- dered. It had been generally known that she kept quite sum of money in an old hair trunk under her bed, having always refused to take the ad- vice of her friends to put her savings in more secure place. The trunk was found to have been split open by the bloody aN which had killed the owner. and the money was gone.
 Sydney Hart, a tall. raw-boned young nan, with sharp black eyes and a 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 mbrero.
 ''As soon as Jeff, that's her nigger house boy, came in to make the fires" he was saying as Ronald approached, he seed what had happened, an run out to give the alarm
 Didn't nobody suspicion Jeff??" queried old Fanshaw, who sat on the steps Tn his stockings.
 Don't be so blamed fast" snarled the narrator, with frown. He could not abide Interruption. He was sort of leader of moonshiners, though it 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 q kickin' bee. Iou no sooner make d 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 Syd Hart's 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 Hams 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, im- patiently, and anyone could have seen from his face that he was not one of Hart's followers.
 Syd bent his eyes on Dave's 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 alter. About half a mile from the widows house he run across a young stranger a-hidin' in barn nigh the tale mines. He was too good a 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, moro over, his hands was red in streaks, an he had blood on his handkerchief an shirt-sleeves. He was a young fellow, an cried like baby; he said he hadn't killed nobody, nur stole nobody's money, but Ratcliff tuck i'm in tow He was sech a little fellow that Rat cliff lowed folks ud get the laugh on i'm if he roped or handcuffed i'm. so he started on with i'm jest so They made it all right till they got back heer piece to tae beginnin' c Col. Hasbrooke's swamp. Thar, at Swiff's cabin. Raicliff stopped to git light far his cigar. Nobody ever heerd tell O him tahn' prisoner to jail with out he had cigar stuck in his jaw. He don spend a dollar yeer fur ci- gars, but he has to smoke one when he jugs man. It makes him look i'm portant. He had jest called fur a chunk O fire, an Mig Swift was fetchin' it out to i'm, when To an behold. the little stranger showed he was up to snuff. He lodged off behind a hay stack before Ratcliff could draw his gun an was eff into the swamp like skeered Ia bbit. 4 hoss aiu't wuth Q tinker's dam in swampy land an cane brakes, am Ratcliff ain't as Timber as he wuz twenty yeer back And" the speaker broke off with T laugh, the little skunk's in the swamp yit. Me an these fellows is to watch this road, an Ratcliff's gone round t'other side to stir up the peo- ple. They'll drive i'm this way before long. an then the fun will begin
 What do you mean by the>fun?" broke i'll Ronald sharply
 The gaunt giant on the horse shrugged his shoulders and bent critical, half-aggressive glance on the Guestioner.
 ''Oh. reckon the boys won't want to wait fur them blamed thievish law. yers in town to get a whack at i'm an finally git i'm turned ioose. We hain't got much book Iarnin', but we know when a mans guilty, an we know what lawyers is"
 A murmur of approval rose from the group, even Mrs. Fanshaw, who sat rocking between her two daughters on the porch, grunted as if Syd Hart had furnished the key to a problem which involved the welfare of the nation.
 Ronald's face was flushed, look of determination was in his eyes.
 ''No," he said, firmly; "they must give him trial.''
 Sydney Hart leaned back :n his sad- file and laughed tantalizingly.
 ''Oh, you want to get chance at him, eh? You are studyin' to be law yer. an you've already begun to look alter the intrust of your gang. Well,