The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1903-06-24
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ASitttiS ttfcSs ~ tSSst2i U4t Hi
councillors, il, some pyof found think-
er took occasion 20 remark, like the,
red light at the rear end of q rail
way trainit illumina.es only the
path gone over This may not be
the exact wording, the fine shading,
of the prof thinker, but + care
nit so much for his wording as for
his idea, not so much for his shad.
ing Ds for his truth. Swinging be-
hind a train which at times rushes
wild through my fancy there is a
red light, and its dull rays fall upon
a path gene over, one leading out
/ from q newspaper One morning it
came out, broad in assertion, boast
full in big type, declaring that it.
had come to stay. but ere the after.
noon had come q man whose polit-
ical pull had put him into the sher-
IFS Office as Q deputy stood at the
entrance Of the counting room
where nothing had been counted--
tacking card on the door, driving
shingle nails into the sore breast Of
once buoyant hope. Well, that
was all there was to the paper, and
it wasn't much, surely, an idle les
ann learned; at lazy noon, but what
followed was an experience. set
out upon q stroll down through the
cypress districts Of west Tennessee.
The weather was charming, a pink
june, and the sun set that evening
with q glow that promised romantic
adventure. Rain was pouring down
q week later, and romance was no..
where in sight. I went to q barn.
and layfin the fodder to wait for it.
lightning struck the barn, and Z
tumbled out, stunned, scared half
to death, and took to my heels
across a meadow.
Some one cried stop, and then
gun went off. i stopped, and man
ran up and arrested me. Lightning
had set the barn on fire.. and Of
3coursefI was accused of it, B went
with the man and stood near while
he sWore out a warrant for my ar
rest and then acknowledged that I
was aware that I was in custody.
By this time a number OF furious
citizens had arrived, and / began to-
fear lest they might not wait for
the slow processes of the law. My
experience with the daily newspa-
per had taught me something Of 'le-,
gal procedure, and = asked The JUS
tice i'll might have IA change Of
venue. 3s1s &! &. S., 53E
What's that?n he asked. 55
Ehank you for q change Of VEN
ne, !, said 4. 3ss :.
This set them all a-laughing. 4
/ had never asked for such a thing,
before and did not know the exact
wording. I felt sure that I could
not miss it il I were only polite.
But I did miss it, and they poked
merciless jests at my. ignorance. /
After awhile court was called to or
der, mirth was put aside,l and was.
told that the charge against me was
exceed edingly serious; that I must
defend myself or spend much Of
my future time il prison. stT I. have have
but q very short Defense" said I. i
esThey truth is that T didn't: set fre
to the barn. 7 had no matches
about me, and / was too wet when ii
went in there to set fire to anything.
The things were set on fire BY light
ming. /"
"We grant all that, your honor, 2
replied the man who had taken the 4
prosecution Of the case, but: what
right had he in the barn !? And, be-
sides, let him prove that the light
ming would have struck the barn If
he hadn't been ID there. To my
certain knowled ge, this barn has
been standing for the last twenty
years. and I can prove thatfit was
never struck before. 1T is we'll
known in science that certain peo-
pie attract lightning, and the law.
plainly says that during showers
these people should keep out of
barns. gss
s 6 es, sir, = answered o lank man
~ IAtS 4So+ sC1u VI CllS IOOll. 4
S on studied science for q NUM-
her of years, didn't you ?"
was professor of it for a. slongl
time, sir, z
s Vel, can you tell by examina-
tion whethers or not a man Isl an at /
tractor of lightning ~
s ought to, sir, for ] was examin-
en- for this part Of the state.
S Will Will jyou please step up and ex-I
anime this man f2,'ss 2s
6 it'll pleasure, sin. =
He examined my hair, rubbed mysl
head and then shook his own. ssT 1
should y aay, sir, that this wonla he:
a mighty dang ngerons man to besnear
while Lightning is flashing around. :,
{ Then, sir in view Of the fact !, |
that this barn was never beforal