The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1907-07-04
Continued from last week. }

Hanpy Fear was safe inside. but the
jostlers were outside. bafiled. ugly and
stirred with the passion that changes
q crowd into a mob.
Then some Of them caught sight Of
Joe as he stood alone at the top Of
the steps, and great shout OF rage
and eXultation arose.
For moment or two he did not see
his danger. At the clang of the Goor
bis eyes. caught by the CLEAN Of a
wide white hat. had turned toward the
street, and he was somewhat fxed!y
watching Mr. Ladew eXt:icate Ariel
and her aged and indignant escorts
from an overflow Of the crowd in
which they had been caught. But a
voice warned him. the wild piping OF
a newsboy who had climbed into tree
near by.
"Joe Louden," he screamed, look
out"
With q mulfied roar the crowd surged
back from the Jail and turned toward
the steps. Tar and feather him..
"Take him over to the river and throw
him in" Drown him" Hang him..
Then thing happened which vas
dramatic enough in its inception. but
almost ludicrous in its effect. Joe
walked quietly down the steps and
toward the advancing mob with his
head cooked to one side, one eyebrow
lifted and one corner of his mouth
drawn down in family distorted
smile.
He went straight toward the yelling
forerunners. with only small bundle
Of papers in his hands, and then, while
the nonpartisan spectators held their
breath, expecting the shock OF contact,
straight on through them.
A number of the bulge checked form
ed the scattering van of these forerun-
ners. charging with boarse and cruel
shrleks Of triumph. The first. appar-
entity about to tear Joseph Louden to
pieces, changed countenance at arms
length. swerved violently and with the
loud cry. Head him Off, dashed on
I'D the stone steps. The man next be
hind him followed his lead. withsthe
same shout. strategy and haste. Then
the others OF this advance attack. find
Ing themselves confronting the quiet
man. who kept his even pace and show
ed NO intention Of turning aside for
them, turned suddenly aside for him
and, taking the cue from the first, pur-
sued their way, believing: Head him
of, Head him off," until there were
q dozen and more rowdyish men and
youths upon the steps, their eyes blaz-
ing with fury. menacing Louden's back
with frightful gestures across the mar
tie balustrade as they Historically
bleated the chorus. Head him of"
Whether or not Joe could have walk
ed through the entire mob as he had
walked through these is a matter for
speculation. 1t was believed in Ca
naan that he could. Already o gust
of mirth began to sweep over the stern
er spirits az they paused to marvel no
less at the disconcerting advance Of the
lawyer than at the spectacle presented
by the intrepid dare1svils upon the
steps. kind Of lahe Actually opening
before the young man as he walked
steadily on. And when Mr.. Sheehan,
leading half dozen huge men from
the Farbaeh brewery, unceremoniously
shouldered a way through the mob to
Joe's side, reaching him where the
press was thickest, II Is question II
the services Of his detachment were
needed. ~ms<-a
The laughter increased. 1t became
voluminous. Homeric salvos shook the
air. And never one of the fire eaters
upon the steps lived long enough to
live down the hateful cry Of that day,
"Head him off, which was to become
a catchward on the streets, taunt
more stinging than any devised by de-
lberate invention, an insult bitterer
than the ancestral doubt, a fighting
word and the great historical joke OF
Canaan, never omitted in after days
when the tale was told how Joe Lou
den took that short walk across the
courthouse yard which made him may
or Of Canaan. "-~
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