The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1905-07-27
WICkLYS WOODS
CHAPTER xvII1.-tcontinued)
By II. W. TAYLOR

ward jestingly denominated by the hui
morous Hoosiers, wore away. The mill
tia had been out all night, and two half
days. And the Overcoat road had been
kept warm" by the friction of the big
bare hoofs OF courier horses galloping
back and forth. The population Of Sand
town, and, In fact, of all the dependent
districts of the Wabash country, momen-
tarily In expectation Of some startling
event, are at length gratifed by the ap-
pearance Of an unusually large squad OF
the volunteer couriers. And at once the
word goes round, from mouth to mouth,
that Coonrod Redden is only little
way back escorting the representative
o. the Sandtown and Southwestern
Railroad-the opposing organization to
the Sandtown and Northwestern-to the
court house square, where the sales
would proceed at once.
Lizzy Wickly and her mother having
gone back to their own little home, so
near the very end of the Overcoat road
that from the bedroom window up stairs
everything was plainly visible, only three
hundred feet away at the court house, sat
there and looked and listened.
Presently she saw the same carriage
In which she had seen Mr.. Mason drive
through the streets two days ago. Then
she remembered that Coonrod Redden
had said threateningly that he ought to
''be hosst up" and that he would be If
he dared to poke his nose into Sandtown
again.
But now he drives confidently In, and
With no less a person than Coonrod Red
den seated beside him on the front seat
of the carriage, and two gentlemen on
the other seat. One of them may be
Mr.. Huntley for aught she knows. But
really, she scarcely thinks about it.
There is almost an endless array OF
this spontaneous levy of Wabash cav
alrymen riding along after the carriage.
These battalions are headed by some or
the Dikeses and the Ellets. And she
knows from this fact that the furious
people from Big Rattlesnake Creek have
been placated in some mysterious way.
As the head of the column comes near
IL opposite, Mr.. Mason looks up, smiles,
and raises his hat Then Coonrod Red
den sees them at the window and leans
out and waves his hat and shouts some
thing at them. But not 3 word can be
distinguished because al the very first
wave of the hat vast shout starts at
the front among the Dikcses. and goes IN
an increasing wave back to the very rear
of the line, half q mile away, where ii
sounds like a shrill and high-keyed echo
of the nearer and louder shout. Some
body below the window calls out:
What is ut, Jim? What did you fell
lers do, anyhow
Come up to the court house un see.
Come on; come right on, everybody, up
to the court house yardv'
Then the words are drowned in an
other one of those odd, strange and
almost frightful shouts that, beginning
among the Dikeses in stentorian roar
goes back along the line, rising in vol
ume and rising in tone as the sound
wave SWEEPS back, until it is pitched two
octaves above In a wild, shrill, treble hall
a mile back, among the boys of fifteen
who again prolong it and raise it VI
after it has almost died away.
A horrible suspicion flashes upon
J.izzy. She remembers in an instant al
the slow-growing antipathy Of these PEG
pie to Mr.. Mason She remembe, tx
serious charges that they have mad,
reiterated against him. She remembers
too, the dark and ominous words OF Coon
rod Redden. And she knows that if tn,
old Hoosier does no more than to remain
quiescent, those whooping and yellint
savages from Big Rattlesnake will wresl
a terrible and public vengeance upon tn,
doomed man.
So maddening was this terrible appre
hension that after the first moment Of
faintness and utter incapacity which i
caused, she must have become almost OBJ
livious to everything not directly per
taining to the circumstances immediate
" environing this man, who had gon,
past her to his grave, placid and smil
ing.
She had no recollection of how ant
when she left her mother, or how So,
pushed and crowded her way through tn,
throng to the south door of the cour
room. True, every rough and uncoutl
rider or footman of them all Instant,
gave way when he saw her, and ever
reached out to pluck the sleeves or col
lars of others in front who could no
see her, ard hence blocked up the way.
LET 'e- pass elong thar, boys! Crow,
back thar a leetle, and let Lizzy Wickl,
git apasti She's intrusted en- this then,
more'n anybody. She wawnts to see "a
she gifts her rights called out Big jim
bikes, as he set about pushing this wa,
and pulling that, in order to make q pat
for the greatly agitated young woman.
Better let FER go up stairs thar, Jim
She can git to the winder en- the shut
room, un see ut all, 'thout gittin run owe
by the crowd. Little Seef Dary's gut tn
key. Seef! H-yurw
That was young Starr Go-uns, sh
knew Then the door was reached, an,
the stair door to the left being unlocke,
and instantly locked again after she ha,
gotten inside, she found there was som
one on the steps little way above her
Come right up h-yur, Lizzy, if 70,
wawnt to see the show. / guess tn
shurf's rooms open. Yes, h-yur hit is
The winder's up, too! Now, eff you dom
mine the crowd a-lookin ut yuh, h-yur'
a good plaist," said the young Doc bikes
as he pulled one of the large, yellow
wooden armchairs up beside the window
I'll kline nh stan h-yur en- front NV yuh
an they CANT see yuh quite so plain. It
the biggest crowd I've seed h-yur sens
the Red Line run against the Nigge
Baby, un beat 'er! Whur do oil then
slick lookin' fellers live at, / wonder
Haint ut funny 'at youh don't know no
body, bar'ly, when you git up over un
thisaway I'm look down at I'm? Why,
scaicely knowed old Coon Redden. The
all looked the cuerstesty'
Lizzy scarcely heard word of tn
running comments of the young Do
bikes. The carriage WIS drawn up a
xho founo obor,f csvfv foof from, Tho r,<rf1