News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1901-03-20

in all his life had he seen the Cornish
men, the Danes, the few Italians, the
Norwegians, all so united and so pos
SeSsed with the one thought of venge-
ance. The moon was fully up now,
and 1t flooded the square with it's mel
low light. 1t was frosty, and not
breath of air was stirring. Never had
| Stuart imagined such a scene possible
in the town of Champion. A dozen
men had gone up in the band stand.
| The tragedy was about to begin by the
public trial of the troops, to be follow
ed by the predetermined shooting of at
least half a dozen of them.
For a moment Stuart remained mo-
tionless, smitten with dumb hopeless
ness. The whole town was in the grasp
of the mob. The handful of police was
powerless. What could possibly resist
the torrent that was about to be let
loose, and where would it end? There
was no hope of assistance from other
troops nearer than Hancock, 100 miles
away. Before they could arrive the
tragedy would be acted out. Stuart
groaned as he thought of Eric and his
influence. Nevertheless he had him
self just begun to spring into the
crowd and raise his voice alone against
the impending horror when some one
pulled him over backward, nearly
throwing him off his feet, and the voice
of DR.. Saxon said:
"Two of the biggest fools on earth
are out here tonight, and if you will
be another we'll make a combination
hard to beat"
"What! How's that?" cried Stuart
in amazement. And his surprise was
doubled when the doctor, who had
reached out from his buggy and caught
Stuart. threw back the robe and dis
closed Eric's deathly face as he re-
clined on the seat beside him.
eric! You herew Stuart was like
one seeing things in a dream.
"Quick! If anything is going to be
done, do it with a streak of lightning
under it to help it alongp cried the doc
tor. He spoke to Stuart rapidly. 81
was at De Mott tonight when the trou-
BILE occurred. l drove back here and
came around by the Beury road past
the house, | stopped a minute to see
Eric, and when I told him the men
were marching into Champion With TIE
troops he swore by all his old Anglo
Saxon gods that he must come down
here and talk to the men. And here
be is. It'll probably end him up, but
lie said if l didn't bring him down with
me he'd get up and try to walk it any
way. If he dies, it's suicide and not
a case of malpractice, but he may pull
through all right, for it beats the
Dutch what a lot of doctoring it takes
to kill off one of these labor agitators.
Here! Help him out, Stuart. Con
found him if he doesn't want to get
! up there in the midst of the high
priests of this strike till the last arm
! ed foe expires! Gently now! I'll wager
] 50 a day he'll faint away before ee
can open his mouth to say his little
!, orationw
All this from the doctor as with the
utmost skill and tenderness he assisted
Stuart to lift Eric out of the buggy and
then helpel bear him right into the
: crowd where Eric, who was suffering
the most awful pain, motioned the two
to carry him.
After all, it was not surprising that
Eric was here this night. Stuart real
: lied what it might mean as he shouted
to the miners around him to make room
for Eric.
, The men exclaimed at sight of these
, two men carrying the fainting form OF
their young leader, and they fell back
opening path for their passage up tc
+ the band stand. When they reached
that, Eric cried in q voice that gave
Stuart more hope than he had YET
, dared to feel: Fright up the stairs
Quick! I'm able to speak to the men
Please God, they shall not do this
, great wrong tonight"
Some of the men in the stand came
part way down the rude steps ant
a helped Stuart and the doctor. After
all, they did not know Eric's motive II
, coming out this way. And they were
! under his influence still and probably
I had no thought of resisting any at
tempt he might make to address the
I crowd.
| So Eric was carried up, and the doc
0 tor and Stuart brought him forward
=. and partly held him on his feet, look
e ing out over a scene that became {
part of the life memory of them all.
;. The moon was at the full, and there
t was no need of torches or lamps. The
e two dead men had been placed upon {
:, rude platform of boards at the foot Of
] the band stand and elevated so tina
e their forms could be visible to thu
0 miners, even those who were at a dis
lance. Their faces, uncovered, stared
t straight upward in the cold midnight
e The captured soldiers were ranged di
< rectly in front of the bodies, and thu
e force of the great mob, indeed, crowded
+ them up to the very edge of the ghastlJ
Y platform so that some of them STOOD
e touching it. The square itself all abou
e the soldiers was black with the mob
. All the faces were set and stern. Al
d were lifted toward the stand as Fri;
+ stood there confronting them.
e He Is a great man who knows the