Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1905-10-16

sent. they would comply with it, but
as he had already been tried and
found guilty once they thought it
hardl, fair to him to try him again
without his consent.
Velvet arose, the eyes of the
tbrong upon him. He was a tall,
slight. graceful fellow, with swag-
Ger about him that insensibly at
fracted men and women alike and,
with a smile that showed his white
+oetb under the black mustache, re-
marked that he was always delight
ed to please lady, but that under
the circumstances he could not see
ANYTHING to be gained by it. He
had in fact pleaded guilty in the
first place, and all that remained
for the judge was to pass sentence,
but that as they insisted on trying
him once to please themselves they
might as well try him again to please
the lady.
There was a murmur of approval
at this sentiment from the audience,
which was sternly checked by the
court. The widow had been dipping
snuff and eying Velvet during his
and the courts remarks and seemed
to have made up her mind to some
thing she had been considering, for
she suddenly closed her snuffbox
with a click, rose from her chair
and, turning to the court, said:
"Jedge, I'm the person what's bin
most hurt in this yer scrap. I'm lef
a lone woman, with nary man ter
provide fer me, an I've been er
thinkin' ther best way out O this yer
biznis is fer this man what kilt my
man ter git me er new one" She
stopped amid a deathlike silence.
Velvet was the only man that pre-
served his customary unrutf1ed COM
posture. Every other face wore an
expression of Mortified astonish-
ment for a moment, and then a yell
of delight went up from the crowd.
The cool effrontery Of the woman
had caught their sense of the fitness
Of things. Here, in country where
a woman most needed a mans pro-
lection, her man had been taken
from her. What more just than
that the man who had caused his
taking off should replace him! The
racket subsidinp. the court gravely
arose and said:
''Pris'ner ct the bar, yer hev biz
tried n foun' guilty of murder. Hey
yer anythin' ter say why ther sen
tence in this yer cote should not bt
past 'pon yer?" Velvet shook his
head smilingly, and the court con
tinued, ether sentence of ther cote
is tibet yer shall marry this yer wo.
man, n the cote, ez jestice, will
tie yer up right now" At this there
was yell that fairly shook the roof,
and the audience rushed inside the
bar to shake hands with the prospec-
tive bride and groom and offer con-
CALCULATIONS, but the bride had
something else to say first.
"Jedge," she shrilled, Eve bin
tell'd tibet Mud wind a constable Ell
gamblin' last night n [ want the1
money"
The coin and dust had been i'm
pounded by the court, and he re-
luctantly turned it over to the wild
ow. After looking it over she stow
ed it away in a voluminous poke
and announced her readiness for tn
: ceremony. The counsel for tn
prosecution and defense acted a
!. groomsmen, a couple of 'ladies'
!; ! from the ''hurdy gurdy' next doc
as bridesmaids, and the foreman o
a the jury gave away the bride.
Q Surely such another wedding wa
q never seen. The festivities laste'
a until the fiddler was completely ez
; hausted, and when a couple of day
u later the Flat recovered from it
q carouse Velvet and his wife had dis
appeared.
n .
A few days later a tall, swagge1
% ing, black mustached man, accom-
lie panied by woman dressed in rust
II black, with an immense sunbonne
"a covering her head and face, stood o
u the deck of Panama steamer max
ing its way down San Francisco ba
al toward the Gate. They were at th
e: rail gazing at the fast receding cit,
Oh Suddenly the man snatched the SUI
X, bonnet from the woman's head an
ct whirled it overheard and as it floa
a ed astern said:
~ "Goodby to the Widow Mud, an
eSS now, old girl, we can be comfortab
40 again. The old bonnet served i
er turn and served it we'll, but l can
look down two miles of stovepil
eT every time l want to see your pref
al face"-GeOrge Charles Brooke
Buffalo News.