The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1904-04-07

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They answered him aUitt angry shouts.
their votes when you run for circuit
Judge. What are we dom here? What's
the good of listening to your
There was a yell at this, and those
who heard the speaker would probably
have started for the Crossroads had
not rumor sprung up which passed
rapidly from man to man and in a few
moments had reached every person in
the crowd. The news came that the
two shell gamblers had wrenched bar
out of window under cover of the
storm, had broken Jail and were at
large. Their threats of the day before
were remembered now with convincing
vividness. They had sworn repeatedly
to Bardlock and to the sheriff and in the
hearing of others that they would "do''
for the man who had taken their mon
ey from them and had them arrested.
The prosecuting attorney, quickly per-
ce1ving the value Of this complication
in holding back the mob that was al
ready forming, called Horner from the
crowd and made him get up on the
fence and confess that his prisoners
had escaped, at what time he did not
know, probably toward the beginning
OF the storm, when it was noisiest.
"You see," cried the attorney, "there
is nothing as yet of which we can &C.
cuse the Crossroads. If our friend has
been hurt it is much more likely that
these crooks did it. They escaped in
time to do it, and we all know they
were laying for him. You want to be
mighty careful, fellow citizens. Hor-
ner is already in telegraphic communi-
cation with every town around here,
and he'll have those men before night.
All you've got to do is to control your
selves little and go home quietly"
He could see that his words Except
those in reference to returning home
no one was going home) made an i'm
preston. There was babble of shout
ing and argument and swearing that
grew louder and louder. nc
Mr.. Ephraim Watts, in spite Of all
confusion, clad as carefully. as upon
the preceding day, deliberately climbed
the fence and stood by the lawyer and
made a single steady gesture with his
hand. He was listened to at once, as
his respect for the law was less noto-
rious than his irreverence for it, and
he had been known in Carlow as Gus
tomarily reckless man. They want
ed illegal and desperate advice and
Quoted down to hear it. He spoke in
his professionally calm voice. liz
Gentlemen, it seems to me that Mr..
Smith and Mr.. Ribshaw," nodding to
the man with the rawhide whip, "are
both right. What good are we doing
here? What we want to know is what's
happened to Mr.. Harkless It looks
just now like the shell men might have
done it. Let's find out what they done.
Scatter and hunt for him. Soon as any
things known for certain @Hibbards
mill whistle will blow three times.
Keep on looking till it does; then,' he
finished, with barely perceptible
scornful smile at the Attorney then
we can decide on what had ought be
DONE"
Six Crossroads lay dark and steam
Ing in the sun that morning. The forge
was silent, the saloon locked up, the
roadway deserted even by the pigs.
The broken old buggy stood rotting in
the mud without single lean little old
man or woman-such were the chill
dren OF the Crossroads-to play about
1t. Once, when the deputy sheriff rode
through alone, a tattered black hound,
more wolf than dog, half emerged,
growing, from beneath one of the
tumbledown barns and was jerked
back into the darkness by his tail, with
snarl fiercer than his own, while a
gun barrel shone for second as it
swung for stroke on the brute's head.
The hound did not yelp or whine when
the blow fell. He shut his eyes twice
and skunk sullenly back to his place.
The shanties might have received a
volley or two from some of the mount
ed bands, exasperated by futile search
Ing, bad not the escape of Horner's
prisoners made the guilt of the Cross
roads appear doubtful in the minds of
many. AS the morning waned the adj
vocates of the theory that the gam
blers had made away with HAIRLESS
grew in number. There came tele.
gram from the Rouen chief of police
that he had clew to their whereabouts.
He thought they had succeeded { in
reaching Rouen, and it began to be
i generally believed that they had es.