The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1905-08-16

o. .....l. ..,.<. ;'e->slvyd Il war.liil-
ron: t:.p E.',:.:ise Caps. and one night i;
. <. Il: ia: ie Was rewarded. for The
l:dcrs attempted IN entrance Ee aAd
"a farmer ana t:le farmers sons beat
Il tie ,:arauGers ard did !; satisfacto
y ;!E:ou1t CT damage in return. Two
II :le White Caps they captured and
bo;.nti. and others they recognized.
Tl.en tie state authorities hearkencd to
the voice of the Herald and its owner
There We're arrests. and in the course
of time there was a trial. Every pris
oner proved an aIihi-could have proved
Il dozen-but the editor of the Herald.
after virtually conducting the prcsecu-
ton. went upon the stand and swore to
man after man. Eight men went to
the penitentiary on his evidence, five
of them for twenty years. The Platt-
vile brass band serenaded the editor Of
the Herald again.
There were no more raids, and the
Six Crossroads men who were left kept
to their novels, appalled, and shaken,
but as time went by and left them un-
molested they recovered a measure OF
their hardness and began to think on
what they should do to the man who
bad brought misfortune and terror up
on them. For lorg time he had been
publishing their threatening letters and
warnings in Il column which he headed
''Humor of the Day"
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 =
repetition of the shiver that the laugh
ter of Mr.. Skillet had caused her and
said half under her breath, II wish-l
half wish-that we had not diven
through there" She clasped Mr.. Fis-
bees hand gently His eyes shone. He
touched her fingers with a strange, Shy
reverence.
You will meet him tomorrow" he
said softly.
She laughed and pressed his hand.
Pm 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 q lean, fierce eyed,
undersized girl Of fourteen clad in one
ragged cotton garment, unless the coat
of dust she wore over all might be es-
teerned 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 shade nearer white
when the light fell upon her.
You're no Plattville girl he said
sharply.
you lie! cried the child. "You lie!
am! You leave me go, will you? I'm
looLin' for nan and yo11're liarr'
"You crawled in here to sleep after
your seven mile walk, didn't you?"
Martin went on.
You're a liar" she screamed.
'Look here" said Martin slowly.
You go back 10 Six Crossroads and
tell your folks that if anything happens
to a hair of Mr.. H;45kless' head every
shanty in your town will burn. and
your grandfather, ard your father, and
your uncles. and your brothers, and
your cousins, and Your second cousins.
and your third cousins will never have
tie good luck to see the penitentia:y
Reckon you can remember that mes
sage? But before let you so to carry
it l guess you might as we'll hand out
the paper they sent you over here
with
His prisoner fell into a paroxysm OF
rage
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