The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1907-08-23


murCer had u0f dared 10 do anythinl
except follow the Tocsin's lead. The
Tocsln. hayinS lit the Ere. led it-feG
L saltpeteT sll suiphur-for now Mar
tin Pike was fighting hard.
The farmers aud people OF the less
urban parts OF the country were ac-
-ustomed 10 found their opinions upon
the TOcsin. They regarded II as the
single immutabIe rock Of journalistic
Righteousness and wisdom in the
world Consequently. stirred by the
outbursts Of the Vhper they came into
canaan in great numbers. and. though
the pressure from the town itself was
so strong that only a few OF them
managed to crowd into the courtroom.
the others joined their voices to those
somber murmurs outdoors, which in
creased In loudness as the trial went
IN.
The Tocsin, however. was not hav-
ing everything its own way The vol
ume Of outcry against Happy Fear and
his lawyer had diminished, IL was no
ticed, In very respectable quarters"
The information impaired by Nike
Sheehan to the politicians at Mr. Far
bach's had been slowly seeping through
/ the various social strata Of the town,
and, though at first incredulously re-
iected, it began TO find acceptance
Upper Main street cooling appreciably
In its acceptance Of the TOcsin as the
law and the prophets. There were
even a few who dared to wonder In
their hearts If there had not been a
mistake about Joe Louden, and. al
though Mrs. Flitcroft weakened not,
the relatives of Squire Buckalew and
Of Peter Bradbury began to hold up
their heads little after having made
home horrible for those gentlemen and
reproached them with their conversion
as the last word of senile shame. In
addition, the coloners grandson and
Mr.. BradbCry's grandson had both
mystifyingly lent countenance to Joe,
consorting with him openly, the former
for his own purposes, the latter be-
cause he had cunningly discovered that
II was way to Miss Tabors regard,
which since her gentle rejection of him
be had grown to believe, good youth,
might be lie pieasantest thing that
could ever come to him. In short. the
question had begun to thrive, Was it
possible that Eskew Arp had not been
insane after all? II
The best OF those who gathered ON
Inously about the courthouse and it's
purlleus were~the young farmers and
field hands artisans and clerks one of
the latter being pimply faced young
man 0ately from the doctors hands,
who limped and would limp for the
rest of his life, he who, Of all men,
held the memory of Eskew Arp in |
least respect and was burningly de- |
sirOus to revenge himself upon the liv.
ing.
The worst were of that mystifying,
semi-rowdy type, the Amer.
lean voyou. in the production of which
Canaan and her sister towns every
where over the country are prolific
the young man, youth, boy perhaps.
creature of nameless age, whose /,
lut of work. but who Is not a brake
nan IN or out of work; wearing the
black soft hat tilted forward to shelter
as a counter does the contempt of
'lerk-that expression which the face
loes not dare wear quite in the open,
asserting the possession of supreme ca
,acity in wit, strength, deXterity and
lmours; the dirty handkerchief under
he collar the short black coat. al
Ways double breasted; the eyelids
ooty, one cheek always bulged the
orehead speckled, the lips cracked,
orrible teeth and the &fectation of
assessing secret information upon all L
matters of the universe, above alb the a
nstinct of finding the shortest way to t
ny scene of official interest to the
fireman or ambulance sur q
coma singular being, not professions r
lily criminal tough histrionically {
lther than really, full of its own q
rgot Of brag, historical when crossed, s
illu iIHIOuEu STedt IBHOIduCe ulu ~
lerefore dangerous. 1t furnishes not t
he leaders, but the mass of mobs, and L
springs up at times of crisis from
eaven knows where. You might have "
riven through all the streets Of Ca II
aan week before the trial and have y
zen four or five such fellows. but Y
'om the day OF its beginning the a. .,
luare was full of them, dingy shuttle -
'cks batted up into view by the Toe :.
n. "
They kept the air whrring with their ~ ~
,ise. The news of that sitting which
I'd caused the squire, Flitcroft and -
ater Bradbury to risk the courts dis ~
easure was greeted outside with loud -
Id vehement disfavor, and when. at y,
ION, the jurymen were marshaled -
It to cross the yard to the National ~
ouse for dinner a large crowd fol- -
wed and surrounded them until they ~
ached the doors Of the hotel. Don't w
Lawyer Louden bamboozle your eN
lang him" Tar and feathers fer ~. ~