Courier Democrat., 1904-08-18

The man recovered, but that was no
palliatlon Of the offense to the mind Of
q hot eyed young man from the east
who was besieging the county authori-
ties for redress and writing birthstone
and saltpe1er for his paper. The pow
ers of the county proving either lack
adaisical or dmorous. he appealed to
those OF the state, and he went every
night to sleep at farmhouse the own.
er OF which had received q warning
from the White Caps. and one night it
befei1 that he was rewarded. for the
raiders attempted an entrance. He and
the farmer and the farmers sons beat
OF the narauders and did sausfacto-
~ amount of damage in return. Two
Of the White Caps they captured and
boand. and others they recognized.
| Then the state authorities hearkened to
the voice of the Herald and its owner.
| There were arrests. and in the course
Of tine there was a trial. Every pris-
oner proved an anbi-could have proved
4 dozen-but the editor of the Herald,
after virtually conducting the prosecu-
ton, went upon the stand and swore to
man after man. Eight men went to
the penitentiary on his evidence, five
OF them for twenty years. The Plat
vile brass band serenaded the editor Of
the Herald again. =
There were no more raids, and the
Six Crossroads men who were left kept
to their novels, appalled, and shaken.
but as time went by and left them un-
nolested they recovered a measure Of
their hardness and began to think on
what they should do to the man who
had brought misfortune and terror up
% them. For long tine he had been
publishing their threatening letters and
warnings in II column which be headed
"Hunor Of the Day"
When the Briscoe blackboard had left
the Crossroads far behind and haG
come in sight of Piattviiie Mr. Br:s-
coe's visitor turned to Fisbee with q
repetition of the shiyer that the laugh
ter OF Mr. Skillet Lad caused her and
said half under her breath. II wish-I
half wish-that we had not driven
through there" She clasped Mr. Fis-
bees hand gently. His eyes shone. He
touched her fingers with strange, shy
reverence.
You will meet him tomorrow" be
said softly.
She laughed and pressed his hand.
I'm afraid not. I was almost at his
side last night when Minnie asked him
to call on me. He wasn't even inter-
ested enough to look at me-"
Something over two hours later. as
Mr.. Tom Martin was putting things to
rights in his domain. the Dry Goods
Emporium, previous to his departure
for the evenings gossip and checkers
at the drug store, he stumbled over
something soft lying on the floor be-
hind counter. The thing rose and
would have 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 lean, fierce eyed,
undersized girl Of fourteen clad in one
ragged cotton garment, unless the coat
of dust she wore over all might be es-
teemed another. Her cheeks were sal
low, and her brow was already shrewd-
y lined, and her eyes were as hypo-
critical as they were savage. She was
very thin and little, but old Toms /
brown face grew 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 60, will you? I'm |
Iookin' fer pap. and you're liarY'
"You crawled in here to sleep after !
your seven mile walk, didn't you?" |
Martin went On.
'You'rs uasr che screamed.
Look here." said Martin slowly,
'syou % back b Ok Cpooguads ana
~ yssf tam taat y anything happens