Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-03-21

Il
Then I drive up an put i'm in my
4 cart"
4 Mrs. Fanshaw was always a calm
woman; she went out at the gate
waddled up to the cart, and shook tho
human heap on the straw.
"Looky heer, what's a-ailin' of you
JadeT she asked, seeing his eyes open
Fanshaw sat up slowly, but he
looked like man with only a shadow
Of a soul in him; his eyes glared in
ghastly sockets and their whites had
turned red. As he looked round al
the group he seemed to recognize
them, but shifting look of terror
was in his glance. He began to work
mis- lips, to the edge of which his
stubbly beard grew, but only unin.
telligible sounds issued.
His tongue is paralyzed," com.
mented his wife; "look how that side
is draTed down to his neck. / de.
clare he's got wad O. tobacco be:
twixt his jaws clamped thar as tight
as a cider press. Jade, spit that thar
truck out! Spit it out, tell you'll"
And as he paid no heed to her com.
mands, she thrust her fore1nger be-
tween his almost toothless gums as II
SSs were a child and pried out the
brown mass. "Well!" she said, re-
signedly, well have to git i'm in the
house, Bud will want his cart. Come,
you boys" Ito Ronald and David)
"help lift i'm out"
Dave sprang into the cart, and Ron
aid was about to do the same, when
Fanshaw's distended eyes fell on him.
The old man raised his hands as If to
ward off a blow and cried in words
now easily understood: "Take i'm
away; he wants to kill mel"
Ronald paused, but Fanshaw's ter.
ror did not abate. He got to his feet
quickly and springing from the cart
he ran. his knees knocking together,
across the road towards the woods.
'Stop i'm, he's tryin' to kill mel He
wants me to tell i'm who he Is, an
whar t'other is buried!"
A remarkable change came over Mrs.
Fanshaw; she turned quickly to Ron
aid, and with an uneasy smirk, said !:
Don't you go nigh i'm, Ron; he's
clean out'n his senses, an. thar ain't
no tellin' what quar- notion might strike
tim."
Ronald stood wondering, as Tarbell
and Dave ran after the old man. They
caught him by his arms and began to
half carry, half drag him towards the
house. But Fanshaw's distended eyes
were stillfixed on Ronald in alright and
be struggled and fought his captors like
wild man.
"Tm not agoin' to have i'm put me in
JAIL" he snorted. "He's done reported it
to Reddin', an together they are agoin'
TO have me swing for what l never
done!"
Again Mrs. Fanshaw faced Ronald;
this time she stood between him and
his father. A frightened look Of cum
ming lay in her heavy-browed eyes.
.If was you, Ron," she said, hurried
tly, aid go-upstairs; he's tuck a quar-
notion somehow that you are ag'in i'm,
an l wouldn't aggravate i'm"
Glad Of an excuse to get away from
the narrowing scene our hero went up
10 his room. Presently he heard the
clatter Of hob-nailed boots on the porch.
The old man, now pacified, was being led
like q dumb animal to his room. Then
all was quiet below. The silence lasted
till he heard Dawes voice outside
speaking through a broken window
pane to his mother.
"I'm a-goin' to ride fur doctor" he
was saying.
The floor complained OF its burden
as Mrs. Farshaw went out on the porch.
well" she replied. "you might as
we'll, l reckon; but wouldn't git Sloan /;
he'll charge two prices, an dun US to
death, 1t hain't nothiu' but stroke
nohow, an his drugs nor nobody else's
can reach it. It's jest question o
time. DR.. Wade will do as well as any
body"
Later in the afternoon Ronald had
come down and was sitting before the
fire in the living room. The man had
fallen asleep, watched by Bud Tarbell,
who had sent his cart home and offered
his services according 10 the custom
among neighbors in that vicinity. Mrs.
Fanshaw came in and began to look for
bottle of liniment on the mantel-
piece.
"Dr. Wade's jest gone off," she told
Ronald, "he says it's the second stroke
he's had, an that the next one will
carry i'm off as sure as preachin'. II
was you l wouldn't go nigh i'm, Ron,
It's best to humor pussons like he Is"
Our hero made no reply. Dave came
from the sick room and stood on the
stone hearth warming his toes at the
flames. Mrs. Fanshaw had found the
bottle for which she was searching, and
turned to go.
"He won't last long," she said to
Dave; "seems to me heerd yore pa say
he left off payin' on his life insurance"
1.-TWO yeer ago he did," said David
Gespondently. II had put good money
of my own into that, thinkin' II he died
the insurance would help us buy farm
of our own out west, whar Uncle Joe
saws they are so cheap, but in that
hard time season when all the crops
was burnt pa let it lapse, an it's gone
to the devil"
"It's jest our usual luck" grumbled
the old woman; "some n would a hap
pened to a-kept all that money from
reachin' US anyhow. We never was
born under q good STAR"
Ronald looked up. "You needn't let
that bother you, mother" he said, soft
ly. "The insurance policy is all right;
| attended TO it,"
The sudden change in Mrs. Fanshaw
was not alone due to gratified surprise.
Ronald thought he had never seen her
look at him quite SO strangely. She
started to say something, which seemed
to have rushed impulsively to her
tongue, and then she shook her shoul-
ders, closed her lips tightly and left the
room.
Dave laughed. "She certainly acts
peculiar to-day" he said. Dang it, pa
does, too, as for that matter. wish you