The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-02-19

When the Briscoe blackboard had left
the Crossroads far behind and had
come in sight Of Plattville Mr.. Bris-
GOES visitor turned to Fisbee with a
repetition Of the shiver that the laugh
ter of Mr.. Skillet had caused her and
said half under her breath, 81 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" he
said softly.
She laughed and pressed his hand.
'I'm afraid not. 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 a 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 a lean, fierce eyed,
understood 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-
ly lined, and her eyes were as hypo-
critical as they were savage. She was
very thin and little, but old Toms
brown face grew a shade nearer white
when the light fell upon her.
you're no Plattville GIRL" he said
sharply. ..-..,...
You liev' cried the child. "You lie!
am! You leave me go, will you? I'm
lookin' fer pap, and you're liarw
"You crawled in here to sleep after
your seven mile walk, didn't your
Martin went on.
you're liarw she screamed.
look here" said Martin slowly,
'4you go back to Six Crossroads and
tell your folks that if anything happens
to a hair Of Mr.. Harkless' head every
shanty in your town will burn, and
your grandfather. and your father, and
your uncles, and your brothers, and
your cousins, and your second cousins,
and your third cousins will never have
the good luck to see the penitentiary.
Reckon you can remember that mes
sage? But before I let you go to carry
1t guess you might as we'll hand out
the paper they sent you over here
with"
His prisoner fell into a paroxysm of
rage.
'Tll git pap to kill YEP she shrieked,
striking at him. 81 don't know nothin'
bout yer Six Crossroads. ner no pa
pers, ner yer Mr.. Harkels neither, ner
you, We razorbacked ole devil. Pap
I'll kill We! Leave me go! Leave me
go! Pap III kill We! I'll git him to
kill YEP Suddenly her struggles ceas-
ed, her eyes closed, her tense little mus
cles relaxed, and she dropped toward
the floor. The old man shifted his grip
to support her, and in an instant she
twisted out Of his hands and sprang
out of reach, her eyes shining with tri-
umph and venom.
"Yahay, Mr.. Razorback!' she shrill-
ed. Flows that fer high? Pap I'll
kill We Sunday! Yell be screechin' in
hell in a week, an we 'ull set up an
drink, our applejack an laff!'
Martin pursued her lumberingly, but
she was agile as a monkey and ran
lodging up and down the counters and
Knocked him, singing, Gran nanny,
Tipsy Toe" At last she tired of the
game and darted out Of the door, fling
ing back a hoarse laugh at him as she
went He followed, but when he reach
ed the street she was a mere shadow
fitting under the courthouse trees. He
looked after her forebodingly, then
turned his eyes toward the Palace no.
tel on the corner. The editor Of the