Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-10-27
DAILY SHORT STORY
THE LITTLE GRAVE.

emerge from the manor house of q
plantation in the south. The woman
carries under her arm an Oblung metal
box long enough 10 contain an infant.
the man spade. Not far from the
house is Il plot of ground i'll which the
bones of the AshleyS for generations
lie buried. The two go TO this spot; the
man digs grave. the coffin is lowered
! and the earth thrown back. In due
time u small headstone i erected bear
ing the name Alexander Ashley, aged
eight months and seven days.
Twenty years pass. Leonard Hunt.
man Of thirty. is i'll possession Of the
Ashley estate. He is the son of CamiI-
Ia Hunt. nee Ashley. and the planta-
ton passed into his hands. his uncle
Charles Ashley dying childless. Leon
ard Hunt has inherited whatever is
bad in the Ashleys. They are high
strung race. made domineering by the
possession of slavss. and in Leonard
this feature is abnormally eXaggerat-
ed. He is feared by the planters in
his neighborhopd because he will brook
40 will but his own and enforce his ar
rogant demands ut the mouth of the
pistol.
one afternoon Il rear door of the
Ashley manor opened. and Leonard
Hunt, followed by three others, stepped
out on u the veranda and walked
hastily toward Il bit Of ground sur
rounded by trees. There was hard look
on his face. for he was bent on putting
out of his way the man next behind
him, young Harry BCckwith, who had
come between him ana the woman he
would make his Wife. The men had
met for social enjoyment ut Ashley
Manor. ANA Hunt had deliberately in
suited his guest. The two principals
We're going 10 settle their affair. the
two other men, Gridlcy ana Stone. tc
act rs seconds. GridIey carried n small
box containing pistols. and as soon as
the ground was reached he and Stone
paced off the distance Then the com
batantS were placed i'll position and the
signal given. Reckwith fired into the
branches of tree above his antago-
nist'S head and received Il bullet in his
breast.
The party We're bending over him.
Stanching the blood, when an Old negro
woman came out of the manor house
group. When she saw Beckwith lying
on the ground in It pool of blood she
began to wiring her hands and wall:
VIVA q missy make me sw'ar Ia
never tell till he was twenty lone? And
TO think he'd n been twenty-one mex
month! heard yO', Mars Hunt; heard
yO' calm him names 10 gentleman
would bear 10 near. And he yo' guest.
Wha' MI tie Ashlcys think to know
one of EN- killed 4 guest. and they the
most hOspitdhlc men in the s'uth.'
whats the matter with you, Liz
zie:" growled Hunt. Il couldn't help
II that the quarrel arose in my house"
"Yo' Killed him because Missy Agnes
loved him. and yo' know il"
You Internal Niger. shut up
"Yo'n have hard time shuttfn' me
| up. Mars Hunt. and now if it is too
late I'm goin' 10 speak. u yo see that
grave over there Yo' think little
| Alex Ashley lies there? He don't: no
such thing. He lies there''-pnintfn.
! to Bcckwith. y put the coffin in the
ground myself. l was Missy Ashley's
! maid. Colonel Ashley got q divo'Ce
and married again. Missy was afraid
| his new wife would get rid of little
! Alex II make sure Of the estate 70 her
own son. ! told her 'twasn't any use.
| 70 little Tommy was sickly and died
| soon after. But she would have it. |
and my man put some stones in
Child's coffin and buried it, givin' out
! that Alex was daid. while his mother
carried him off at night, and he was
brought up by her uncle. Mars Harvey
| Rock his oyI-r,
! You lying bag" yelled Hunt. Have
you gone mad"
IF yo' want TO find out yo' go dig
up the coffin and see
There's nothing but dirt there after
| 50 long a burial" said Hunt, terror
stricken lest the wOman's story was
| true
missy thought of that, and she had
! 1t put in metal box
| Meanwhile the two seconds, unmind-
| full Of the woman's talk. had been con
sulting and. taking up the form from
| the ground. had carried il 10 the house
| The men had been too hot to wait for
surgeon. hut now one was sent for and
soon came gallOping up on horseback
After examining the wounded man he
! pronounced the chances all against
him. Then came Agnes Barr. passing
Hunt In the hall without raising her
| eyes 10 him. and, going TO Beckwiths
room. she implOrcd him 10 live for her
| sake.
Hunt for awhile ignored the negro
story. but the two seconds had heard
enough of it to wish TO have it con
| firmed or diSproved. and when Hunt
at last yielded to the pressure Of cir
| cumstanCes and opened the grave it
was done in presence OF witnesses.
While the party We're at the grave
! Agnes Barr was with her lover. Old
Lizzie stationed herself at the window
where she could overlook the disin-
! terment
| They're pullin' It up. Mars Alex"
she said There It comes. Gracious.
| how moldy Il Is, They're rubin the