Courier Democrat., 1904-10-20


easy work for tie sleepy stenosr,r---
y understand. don't want 10 go
of ~ head again before :a:sh. Ii
it Were only for myself should tell
you nothing. t-ecausss = an 20 iea-a
l should ike it better il 20 one were
punished. Bc. that's bad eonmuni-
= over there. They are eve-iaslingly
worrying our people. They've always
been L bother 10 Us, and its time j,
was stopped for good. doa't believe
very much n punishment but you
can, 90 great deal Of reforming with
the Crpssroaders unless you catch them
young. t-sfoEe they're weaned. They
wean then on whisky. you know. l
realize :ou needn't have sworn ne for
ne to tell you this
Ho-aee and Smith had started at the
mention OF the Crossroads. but they
subdued their CALCULATIONS. while NJ.
Barrett looked as il be had known it.
OF eou-s.a. The roon was still. save
70. the din voice and the soft tran
scrsb:ngs Of the stylosraphic pen
Il left Judge Briscoe's and went west
On the pike to a big tree. 1t rained.
and stepped under the tre for shell
ter. There was q man on the other
side OF the fencNBob Skillet He
was carrying his gown and hood
suppose it was that-on his arm. Then
I saw TWO Others a little farther east
in the middle of the road. think
they had followed me from the R5s-
Goes or near there. They had their
foolish resalia on. as all tie others
had There was plenty Of lightning
to see. The two in the road were SIM
ply standing there in the rain looking
ct ,ee through the eyeholes in their
masks. knew there were others
plenrv+but l though. they were com.
ing from behind ne-the wes;
II wanted TO get hom@tte court
house yard was good enough for NE
50 started east toward town. pass
ed the Two gentlemen. and one fell
down IS went by hin, bur the ether
fired shot as a signal. aad got his
hood of his face for it. stopped
long enough. and il was Force John
son. know him well Then ran
and they followed a little ahead Of
ne l saw SIX or eight Of them spread
across the road. l knew Id have 8
TINE getting through. 50 jumped the
swarm Of them. Ii lad ra:nal them
JUST wiaere l Jumped. l set n.s- back
TO tL: fence. but one Of the fellows n
tire road leaned over and smashed M
head in. rarLer-with tie butt of q
gun. believe l cane out from the
fence, and they made q little circle
around ne No one said anyrhius.
saw they had ropes and ssp!inss. and
I didn't want that exactly. so l went
in TO them. l got good many masks
off before 1t was over and can swear
to quite a number besides those I told
YOU
He NAMED the men slowly and care
fully. Then he went On: Il think they
gave up the notion Of whipping. We
all got into a bunch. and the: couldn',
get clear to shoot without hitting soDe
of their ovo. and there was !os OF
gougins and kicking. One fellow near
~ got ny lsft eye. and tr5el 10 tear
him apart and he screamed good
deal. Ooce Or twice thought l might
get away. but somebody Laclulered .e
over rhe head and face again. aad got
dizzy. and t,.en they ali jumped away
from ue suddenly. and BOB Skillet
stepped W a-d-and shot iae. he
/ waited for Hurry OF lightning. and
was slow tuubi:a: down. Some one
else fred shotgun. I think. can't be
sure, about TIE sane time from the
side. tried To get up. but I couldn't
and then they got together for a con-
sultasion- Tie man lad hur-I didn {
recognize hin-came and looked Ut nla.
He was nursing himself ali over and
groaaed. and laughed. think; az any-
rate my arm was lying stretched Cd,
On ti5+ grass. and be stamped bis Leel
into NY hand. and after little OF that
quit feeling.
I'm not quite clear about what hap
pened afteward. They vent away
not fa-. think. There's an old shed. a
cattle shelter. near there aad / ,ili:.,l
the storm drove them under it 20 wait
for a slack. 1t seemed q long time.
Sometimes I was conscious. sometimes
I wasn't thought / might he
drowned. but I suppose the rain was
good for me. Then remember being in
motion, being dragged and carried a
loag way. They carried me up a steep,
short slope and set me down near the
top. knew that was the railroad en-
banknent, and thought they meant to
lay me across the track, but it didn't
occur 10 theD-they are not familiar
with neIodrama-and long tine after
that felt and heard a great banging
and rafting under me and all about
me, and 1t came to me that they had
disposed Of me by boisting ne into an
empty freight car. The odd part of it
was that the car wasn't empty, for
there we've two men already in it. and
l knew them by what they said to me-
Tbey were the two shell men that
cheated Hartley Bowsder. and they
wesen't vfndictive. They even seemed
to be trying to help me little, though