Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-02-25
CHAPTER xxI11.-(continued.)

The farmers and people of the less
urban parts of the country were ac-
customed to found their opinions upon
the Tocsin. They regarded 1t us the
single immutable rock Of journalistic
righteousness and wisdom In the
world. Consequently. stirred by the
outbursts Of the paper, 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
on.
The Tocsin. however. was not hav-
lug everything Its own way. The vol
ume Of outcry against Happy Fear and
his lawyer had diminished. 1t was no.
ticed. in very respectable quarters"
The information impaired by Mike
Sheehan to the politicians at Mr.. Far
bach's had been slowly seeping through
the various social strata of the town.
and, though Mt first incredulously re-
jected. 1t began to find acceptance,
Upper Main street cooling appreciably
in Its acceptance Of the Tocsin as the
law and the prophets. There were
even few who dared to wonder In
their hearts II 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 llttlesafter 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.. Bradbury'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
| It was a way to Miss Tabor's regard,
which since her gentle rejection Of him
he had grown to believe, good youth.
might be the pleasantest 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?
The best Of those who gathered ON
inously about the courthouse and its
purlleus were the young farmers and
field hands, artisans and clerks. one Of
the latter being a pimply faced young
man Qately 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.
embryonic. semi-rowdy type, the Amer
ican 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
clothes are like those Of brakeman
out Of work, but who is not brake
man in or out Of work; wearing the
black soft hat tilted forward to shelter
las counter does the contempt Of q
clerk-that expression which the face
does not dare wear quite in the open,
asserting the possession Of supreme ca
pacity in wit, strength, dexterity and
amours; the dirty handkerchief under
the collar, the short black coat. al
ways double breasted; the eyelids
sooty, one cheek always bulged, the
forehead speckled. the lips cracked,
horrible teeth and the aftectation Of
possessing secret information upon NIL
matters Of the. universe, above all, the
instinct Of finding the shortest way to
any scene Of official interest to the
policeman, fireman or ambulance SUR
geon-a singular being, not profession
ally criminal, tough histrionically
rather than really, full Of its own
argot Of brag, hysterical when crossed.
timid through great ignorance and
therefore dangerous. 1t furnishes not
the leaders, but the mass Of mobs, anf
it springs up at times Of crisis frors
heaven knows where. You might hay
driven through all the streets Of CT
naan q week before the trial and hay
seen four or five such fellows. bs
from the day Of its beginning Il
square was full Of them, dingy shut
cocks batted up into view by the II
sin.
They kept the air whirring with th
noise. The news of that sitting VIII
had caused the squire, Flitcroft !:
Peter Bradbury to risk the courts
pleasure was greeted outside with j
and vehement disfavor. and when.
noon, the jurymen were marsha
out to cross the yard to the Matte
House for dinner a large crowd
lowed and surrounded them until t!
reached the doors Of the hotel. "Ds
let Lawyer Louden bamboozle yos
"Hang himg' "Tar and feathers #.
We eft We don't hang himP' These were
the mildest threats. and Joe Louden,
watching from an upper window OF
the courthouse, observed with hou-
bled eye how certain Of the jury shrank
from the pressure Of the throng, how
the cheeks of others showed sudden
pallor. Sometimes public sentiment"
has done evil things to those who have
not shared 1t, and Joe knew how rare q