Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1904-04-01

easy "OTh lOT Tue sleepy StelOSTdpueI.
Il understand. don't want to 60
off my head again before finish. If
it were only for myself l should tell
you nothing. because if am to leave
should like it better if no one were
punished. But that's bad communi-
ty over there They are everlastingly
worrying our people. They've always
been a bother to us, and it's time it
was stopped for good. don't believe
very much IN punishment. but you
can't do a great deal Of reforming with
the Crossroaders unless you catch them
young, before they're weaned. They
wean them on whisky, you know.
realize you needn't have sworn me for
me to tell you this"
Horner and Smith had started at the
mention of the Crossroads, but they
subdued their CALCULATIONS, while Mr..
Barrett looked as If he had known it,
Of course. The room was still, save
for the dim voice and the soft tran
scribings of the stylographic pen.
81 left Judge Briscoe's and went west
on the pike to a big tree. 1t rained,
and stepped under the tree for shell
ter. There was a man on the other
side Of the fence-Bob Skillet. He
was carrying his gown and hood
suppose it was that-on his arm. Then
I saw two others little farther east
in the middle Of the road. think
they had followed me from the Bris-
Goes or near there. They had their
foolish regalia on, as all the others
had. There was plenty of lightning
to see. The two in the road were sim
ply standing there in the rain looking
at me through the eyeholes in their
masks. | knew there were others
plenty-but l thought they were COM
ing from behind me-the west.
81 wanted to get home-the court
house yard was good enough for me-
so l started east toward town. pass
ed the two gentlemen, and one fell
down as l went by him, but the other
fired shot as signal, and | got his
hood off his face for it. I stopped
long enough. and it was Force John
son. know him we'll. Then / ran,
and they followed. A little ahead Of
me saw six or eight of them spread
across the road. knew I'd have q
time getting through, so jumped the
fence to cut across the fields. l lit in
q swarm Of them. 1t had rained them
just where I jumped. set my back
to the fence. but one Of the fellows In
the road leaned over and smashed my
head in. rather-with the butt Of a
gun, I believe. came out from the
fence. and they made little circle
around me. No one said anything. |
saw they had ropes and saplings, and
1 didn't want that exactly. so I went
in to them. got good many masks
off before it was over, and l can swear
to quite a number besides those I told
you"
He named the men slowly and care
fully. Then he went on: 81 think they
gave up the notion Of whipping. We
all got into a bunch. and they couldn't
get clea. to shoot without hitting some
Of their own, and there was Il lot Of
gouging and kicking. One fellow near
ly got my left eye, and l tried to tear
him apart. and he screamed good
deal. Once or twice | thought | might
get away, but somebody hammered me
over the head and face again, and got
dizzy, and then they all jumped away
from me suddenly. and Bob Skillet
stepped up and-and shot me. He
waited for furry of lightning, and
was slow tumbling down. Some one
else fired shotgun. think. can't be
sure, about the same time from the
side / tried to get up, but l couldn't,
and then they got together for con-
sultation. The man had hurt-l didn't
recognize him-came and looked at me.
He was nursing himself all over and
groaned, and laughed, think; at any
rate my arm was lying stretched out
on the grass, and he stamped his heel
into my hand. and after little Of that
I Iquit feeling.
I'm not quite clear about what hap
pened afterward. They went away
not far, think. There's an old shed. a
cattle shelter, near there, and | think
the storm drove them under it to wait
for slack. 1t seemed long time.
Sometimes / was conscious. sometimes
l wasn't. thought | might be
drowned. but l suppose the rain was
good for me. Then remember being in
motion, being dragged and carried a
long way. They carried me up steep,
short slope and set Inc down near the
top. knew that was the railroad EN-
bankment, and thought they meant to
lay me across the track, but it didn't
occur to tbem-they are not familiar
with melodrama-and long time after
that | felt and heard q great banging
and rattling under me and all about
me. and it came to Inc that they had
disposed Of me by hosting me into an
empty freight car. The odd part Of it
was that the car wasn't empty, for
there were two men already in it. and
knew them by what they said to me.
"They were the two shell men that
cheated Hartley BOwlder, and they
weren't vindictive. They even seemed
to be trying to help me little. though
perhaps they were only stealing my
clothes. and maybe they thought for
them to do anything unpleasant would
be superluous. could see that they
thought was done for and that they
had been hiding in the car when l was
put there. l asked them to try to call