Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-03-24

Crossroads men, and he perceived that
the searchers had mistaken the tracks
he followed for those Of earlier parties
| in the hunt. On the embankment he
saw number Of men walking west
and examining the ground on each side
and a long line of people following
them out from town. He stopped. He
held the fate of Six Crossroads in his
| hand, and he knew 1t.
| The men on the embankment were
walking slowly, bending far over, their
eyes fixed on the ground. Suddenly
one Of them stood erect and tossed his
arms in the air and shouted loudly.
Other men ran to him, and another far
down the track repeated the shout and
the gesture to another far in his rear.
This man took 1t up and shouted and
waved to a fourth man, and SO they
passed the signal back to town. There
came almost Immediately three long,
loud whistles from q mill near the sta
ton; and the embankment grew black
with people pouring out from town,
while the searchers came running from
the fields and woods and underbrush
on both sides of the railway.
Briscoe began to walk on toward the
embankment.
The track lay level and straight, not
dimming in the middle distances, the
rails converging to points both north
west and southeast in the clean washed
Oi, In ,lnc ~ tn,
child's drawing book. About seventy
miles to the west and north lay Rouen.
In the same direction, nearly six miles
from where the signal was given, the
track was crossed by road leading
directly south to Six Crossroads.
The embankment had been newly
ballasted with sand. What had been
discovered was broad brown stain in
the sand on the south slope near the
top. There were smaller stains above
and below, none beyond 1t to left or
right, and there were many deep foot
prints in the sand. Men were exam
lining the place excitedly, falling and
gesticulating. 1t was Iige Willetts
who had found It. His horse was
tethered to fence near by at the end
Of lane through cornfield. Jared
Wiley, the deputy sheriff, was talking
to group near the stain, explaining.
You see. them two must have
knowed about the o'clock freight and
that it was to stop here to take on the
empty lumber cars. don't know how
they knowed 1t, but they did. 1t was
this way: When they got out the win
dow they beat through the storm
straight for this side track. At the
same time Mr.. Harkless leaves Bris-
GOES, goin' west. 1t begins to rain.
He cuts across to the railroad to have
q sure footin' and strikin' for the
deepo for shelter-near place as any,
except Briscoe's. where he's said good
night already. and prob'ly don't wish
to go back, fear Of givin' trouble or
keepin' 'em up. Anybody can under
stand that. He comes along and gets
to where we are precisely at the time
they do, them comm from town, him
strikin' for it. They run right into
each other. That's what happened.
They recognized him and raised up
on him and let him have It. What they
done it with don't know. We took
every thing in that line OF Of 'em.
Prob'ly used railroad iron, and what
they done with him afterward we don't
know, but we will by night. They'll
sweat it out of 'em up at Rouen when
they get 'em."
II reckon maybe some of us might
help" remarked Mr.. Watts refectively.
Jim Bardlock swore a violent oath.
'That's the talkv' he shouted "Ef I
amt the first man Of this crowd to set
my foot in Roowun and first to beat In
that Jail door I'm not town marshal
of Plattville, county of Carlow, state
of Indiana, and the Lord have mercy
on our souls"
Tom Martin looked at the brown
stain and quickly turned away. Then
be went back slowly to the village.
On the way he passed Warren Smith.
rs it so?" asked the lavseer.
Martin answered with dry throat
He looked out over the sunlit fields
and swallowed once or twice. Eyes,
It's SO. There's good deal of 1t there.
Little more than boy he was" The
old fellow passed his seamy hand over
his eyes without concealment. "Peter
mint very bright sometimes. it seems
to me-" he added brokenly; overlook
Bodetfer and Fisbee and me, and oil
IT us old husks, and-and"-he gulp-
ed suddenly, then finished-"and act |
the fool and take boy that's the best
we had. l wish the Almighty would
take Peter off the gate. He amt ut
fer it,
When the attorney reached the spot
where the crowd was thickest, way
was made for him. The old colored
nan, Xenophon, approached at the
same time, leaning on hickory stick
Ind bent very far over, one hand rest
ng on his hip as II to ease rusty
oint. The negroes age was an incentive
o fable. From his appearance he
night have known the prophets, and he
wore that hoary look Of unearthly wis
ION which many decades Of super
titious experience sometimes give to
members Of his race. His face, SO tor
ured with wrinkles that it might have
,een made Of innumerable black
breads woven together, was a living
mask OF the mystery of his blood.
Iarkless had once said that Uncle