The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-01-11

seemed TO melt into the weeds at the
roadside. across from the elder-bush
yonder."
The judge pulled in the horses by
the elder-hush. NO child here. now"
he said, but you're right; there GER
tainly was one. just before you spoke"
The young corn was low in the fields,
and there was no hidingplace in sight.
I'm very supcrstitious; l am sure
1t was an imp" Miss Sherwood said.
An imp or very large chameleon:
she was exactly the color of the road"
"A Cross Roads imp said the judge,
lifting the reins, and in that case we
might as well give up. l never set up
TO be a match for those people. and
the children are as mean as their
fathers, and smarter"
When the blackboard had ratified on
"A hundred yards or so, a little figure
clad in {. tattered cotton gown rose up
from the weeds, not ten feet from
where the judge had drawn rein, and
continued it's march down the road to-
ward Plattville, capering in the dust
and pursuing the blackboard with ma
lignant gestures till the clatter of the
horses was out of hearing, the vehicle
out of sight.
Something over two hours later, as
Martin was putting things to rights
rum, previous to his departure for the
evenings gossip and checkers at the
drugstore he stumbled over some
thing soft, lying on the floor behind a
counter. The thing rose, and would
nave eVaded him, but he put out his
hands and pinioned it and dragged it
to the Show-WindoW where the light of
the fading day defined his capture
The capture shrieked and squirmed
and fought earnestly Grasped by the
shoulder he held "A lean, fierce-eyed
understood girl of fourteen, clad in one
ragged cotton garment, unless the coat
of dust she wore over ell may be es-
teerned another. Her checks were SAL
low, and her brow was already shrewd-
~ lined, and her eyes were as hypo-
critical as they were savage. She was
very thin and little, but old Toms
brown face grew a shade nearer white
when the light fell upon her
You're no Plattville girl" he said
sharply.
You lie" cried the child You lie!
! am You leave me go, will you? I'm
lookin' fer pap and you're a liar!"
You crawled in here to sleep. after
your seven-mile walk, didn't you?"
Martin went on.
You're liar" she screamed again.
Look here" said Martin, slowly,
you go back to Six-Cross- Roads and
tell your folks that if anything hap
pens TO hair of Mr.. Harkless' head
every shanty in your town will burn.
and your grandfather and your father
and your uncles and your brothers and
your cousins and your second cousins
and your third-cousins will never
have the good luck to see the peniten-
tiary? But before l let you go to
gTsfNP 7
hand out the paper they sent you over
here with"
His prisoner fell into a paroxysm of
rage, and struck at him.
''I'll git pap to kill We" she shrieked
II don't know nothln' bout yer Six
CROSSROADS, ner no papers, ner yer
dam Mister Harkels neither, ner you,
We azor-backed ole devil! Pap'll kill
We; leave me go-leave me go-Pap'H
Kill We; I'll git him to kill ye!" Sud
denly her struggles ceased; her eyes
closed; her tense little muscles relaxed
and she dropped toward the floor; the
man shifted his grip to support her.
and in an instant she twisted out of
his hands and sprang out of reach, her
eyes shining with triumph and venom.
"Ya-hay Mister Razor-back!" she
shrilled. "How's that fer hi? Pap'lI kill
we, Sunday. You'll be screechin' in hell
in week, an we 'ull set up an drink
our apple-jack an laff" Martin pur-
sued her lumberingly, but she was
agile as a moneky, and ran lodging I'D
and down the counters and Knocked
him, singing Gran nanny Tipsy-
Toe" till at last she tired of the game
and darted out of the door, fiinging
back a hoarse laugh at him as she
went. He followed; but when he reach
q
fitting under the court house trees. He
looked after her forebodingly, then
turned his eyes toward the Palace Ho-
tel The editor of the Herald" was
seated under the awning, with his
chair tilted back against post, gazing
dreamily at the murky red afterglow
in the west.
What's the use of tryin' to bother
him with it ?" old Tom asked himself.
He'd only laugh" He noted that
young William Todd sat near the edi-
tor, whiting absently. Martin chuck
led. Williams turn tonight" he
muttered. well, the boys take mighty
good care of him." He locked the doors
of the Emporium, tried them, and
dropped the keys in his pocket.
AS ne crossed the Square to the drug
store, where his cronies awaited him,
he turned again to look at the figure
of the musing journalist. II hope he'll
go out to the judges" he said and
shook his head, sadly. II don't reckon
PlattVille's any too spry for that young
man. Five years he's been here Well
it's a good thing for us folks, but 1
guess it amt exactly high-life for
him" He kicked a stick out of his
way impatiently. Now, whered that
imp run to?" he grumbled.
The imp was lying under the court
house steps. When the sound of Mar
tins footsteps had passed away, she
crept cautiously from her hiding-place
and stole through the ungroomed grass
to the fence opposite the hotel Here
she stretched herself fiat in the weeds
and took from underneath the tangled
masses of her hair, where it was tied
with a string, a rolled-up crumpled
slip of greasy paper. With this in her
fingers, she lay peering under the
fence, her fierce eyes fixed unwinking-
ly on Harkless and the youth sitting
near him.
The street ran fiat and gray in the
slowly gathering dusk, straight to the
western horizon where the sunset en-
bers were strewn in long, dark-red
streaks the maple trees were clean
cut silhouettes against the pale rose
and pearl tints of the sky above, and