St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1902-12-24

through the words of the dying man:
Don't be ard on 'em. They didn't
mean no arm" And this was the new
spirit Of the league.
1t las this spirit that surprised Sla-
vim into sudden tears at the graves
side. He had come braced for curses
and vengeance, for all knew it was he
who had doctored Billy's lemonade,
and instead Of vengeance the message
from the dead that echoed through the
voice of the living was one Of pity and
forgiveness.
But the days of the leagues mega
tive, defensive warfare were over. The
fight was to the death, and now the
war was to be carried into the enc
my's country. The league men pro-
posed a thoroughly equipped and well
conducted coffee room, reading room
and hall to parallel the enemy's lines
of operation and defeat them with
their own weapons upon their own
ground. The main outlines of the
scheme were clearly defined and were
easily seen, but the perfecting Of the
details called for all Craig's tact and
good sense. When, for instance, Yer
non Winton, who had charge Of the
entertainment department, came for
Craig's opinion as to a minstrel troupe
and private theatricals, Craig was
prompt with his answer: .
Anything clean goes"
"a niger show" asked Winton.
depends upon the niggers" replied
Craig, with a gravely comic look.
shrewdly adding, "Ask Mrs. Mavor."
And so the League Minstrel and Dra-
matte company became an established
fact and proved as Craig afterward
told me, q great means of grace to the
camp.
Shaw had charge of the social de-
partment. whose special care 1t was to
see that the men were made welcome
to the cozy, cheerful reading room,
where they might chat, smoke, read,
write or play games, according to
fancy.
But Craig felt that the success or
failure of the scheme would largely
depend upon the character of the resi-
dent manager, who, while caring for
reading room and hall, would control
and operate the important department
represented by the coffee room.
"At this point the whole business
may come to grief" he said to Mrs.
Mayor, without whose counsel nothing
was done.
"Why come to grief?" she asked
brightly.
Because if we don't get the right
man that's what will happen" he re-
piled in a tone that spoke of anxious
worry.
"But we shall get the right man, new
er fear" Her serene courage never
faltered. "He will come to u.s."
Craig turned and gazed at her in
frank admiration and said:
"If l only had your cOurage.
"Couragew she answered quickly
SIT is not for you to say that" And at
his answering look the red came into
her cheek and the depths in her eyes
glowed, and | marveled and wondered
looking at Craig's cool face, whether
his blood were running evenly 2hrougf
his veins. But his voice was quiet-f
shade too quiet, l thought-as he grave
ly replied:
II would often be a coward but fol
the shame of it."
And so the league waited for the maj
to come who was to be resident mana
ger and make the new enterprise ;
success. And come he did, but TIL
manner of his coming was so extraor
binary that 1 have believed in the doc
trine of a special providence ever since
for, as Craig said, "If he had com
straight from heaven, l could not hav
been more surprised"
While the league was thus waiting
its interest centered upon Slavin, chief
ly because he represented more tina
, any other the forces Of the enemy, an(
though Billy Breen stood between hir
and the vengeance Of the angry me
: who would have made short work O
him and his saloon, nothing could say
him from himself, and after the fl
neral Slavin went to his bar and dram
whisky as he had never drunk before
But the more he drank the fiercer an
gloomier he became, and when the me
drinking with him chaffed him b
swore deeply and with such threat
that they left him als0s,
1t did As< hsta &sew&a saHh@ Do AAv
Nixon stride in through the crow
drinking at his bar and give him word
Of warning.
, at is not your fault, Slavin," he sal
in slow, cool voice, that you an
, your precious crew didn't send me
y my death too. You've won your be
but l want to say that next tim
though you are seven to one or tie
times that when any Of you boys o
fer me drink I'll take you to mea
!. fght, and I'll not disappoint you, an
. some one will be killed" And, so sa,
ing, he strobe out again, leaving a mea
= looking crowd of men behind him. A
who had not been concerned in IL
business at Nixon's shack expressed al
prevail Of his position and hoped /