The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-11-12
Our Daily Short Stories !
THE GIRL OF THE RED SHACK.
BY GEORGE BINGHAM.
Copyright 1901. BY Authors Syndicate,

IN some counties of the Pennyrile
n ,ortion of Kentucky open saloons
4 have been voted out. but in a few
.owns and villages they are succeed
~ nv blind ers"-institutions that
h cater to the liquor-loving folks ION the
4 ouiet" Sometimes they operate under
.he sign of Restaurant" Two rooms
4 a front and rear one-are needed to
/ better operate.
on the dusty rat-trodden shelves i'll
4 the front room few jars of stick can
dv a case of cheese and a dozen or
more oyster and sardine boxes-all Of
them generally empty-may be seen.
This stock is kept on hand as an ex-
cuse for the firms existence.
If the desire for a drink possesses
YOU. and if you are known to the pro-
prjetors to be call right" on. the wit
ness stand in court, you call for a
stick of candy or cake of chewing gum,
for which you pay dime, and then in
the rear room you may find a glass of
whisky.
Inc OpGl dlOl VI tIiCoC bliHu llScIS
seldom start into business without
first procuring government liquor IL
cense, for fear the big, rough hand of
Uncle Sam, which would reach out
and yank them up.
blind tigers" fflourished. The oldest
and most notorious one was a small
shanty called the Red Shack" on the
ragged edge of the town. The proprie-
tor, Dave Seers, was indicted for SELL
ing liquor or keeping a boisterouS
house as regular as circuit court con-
vened. but he every time paid his fines
and continued business at the old
stand
a wealthy young tobacco man,
whose appetite for whisky had de-
bauched him, stumbled into the Red
Shack" one rainy autumn night and
was received by Dave and his negro
clerk. He flourished a roll of money
and called for whisky. 1t was served
him, and soon he sat browsing by the
stove. A lamp, fastened on the dingy
wall, burned low, and the young fell
low by the stove had fallen asleep.
Dave went to the rear room, followed
by his negro clerk. There the two
talked in whispers for time, and
when they returned to the front
room Seers left the house The
front door was slammed and locked,
the lamp on the. wall was extin-
guished-a tragedy followed.
The next morning the young tobac-
co mans body was found in an old
cistern not far away. While drunk
that day the negro clerk told a few
friends of the murder and robbery he
had committed. These words went
beyond his friends ears, and that
night while the little half moon
hung high in the sky and the autumn
insects "screeched' in the grass, 20
men on horses came to town, and
people who ''stirred'in the grayness
of the morning saw the body of a
negro hanging to a limb in the court
house yard. On the body was pinned
strip of cardboard which bore these
words:
WARNING!
The fellow that runs Red Shack
had better be gone from this town be-
fore tomorrow night. He must leave
to stay. We mean business, and he
had better take warning. 20 MEN"
The town was nervous, for trouble
of serious nature was looked for,
as Dave Seers was a character to be
feared. He was bold and stubborn
and was notorious for the men he had
killed.
Late the next afternoon one of the
20 men" rode by the Red Shack
and saw on a pine board, bordered in
black, these words:
TO them 20 men no amt goin to
leave here come on with you gang I
am fixed for all you bring.
D. SEERS."
The man went home a little SERIOUS,
but as determined as ever, and when