The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1908-04-24

really. rnsr terV nours ago" II We
the first sisn she had made, and they
recognized her 10 a man.
There were uncertain mutterings BE-
low till q new man raised his voice
Both Roy and Helen recognized pex
try.
BOYS. we've overplayed. We don
want these -MeNamara's Our
meat OLD bald face Up yonder has g
10 what he's told. ana I'm agin this
twenty to one midnight work. I'm
zoin home" There We're some Will
perings. then the original spokesman
called for Judge Sdllman. The old
man tottered to the window. palsied
terror stricken object The girl was
ylad he could not be seen from below.
I'VE won't hurt you this time. JUDGE
but you've gone far enough. Wen
give You another chance; then. if yo0
don't make good. we'll stretch you 70
a lamn post Take this as a warninr.
81 s-shan do my d-d-duty." said the
judge.
The men disappeared into the dark
ness. and when they had gone Clients
ter closed the window. pulled down the
shades and lighted a lamp. He Foe
by how narrow a margin a tragedy
had heen averted If he had fired
these men. his shot would have kindlei'
feud which would have consumed
every vestige of the court crowd and
himself among them. he would have
fallen under a false banner, and his
life would not have reached to the
next sunset Perhaps it was forfei
now. He could not tell. The vigilantes
would probably look upon his part as
traitorous. and at the very least he
had cut himself off from their support.
the onlv support the nCrthand offera
him. Henceforth he was a renegade
a pariah. hated alike by both faction
He Durposely avoided sight Of Stillman
and turned his back when the judge
extended his hand with expressions of
gratitude His work was done, and he
wished to leave this house. Helen fol-
lowed him down to the door and as he
opened it laid her hand upon his sleeve.
"Words are feeble things, and | can
never make amends for all you've done
for u.s.
"For usv' cried Roy, with break in
his voice do you think | sacrificed
my honor. betrayed my friends. killed
my last hope, ostracized myself, for
'usY This Is the last time I'll trouble
you, perhaps the last time I'll see you.
No matter what else you've done, how
ever. you've taught me lesson, and
thank you for it, have found myself
at last. I'm not an Eskimo any longer
I'm man!'
you've always been that" she said
~ don't understand as much about this
affair as | want to, and it seems to me
that no one will explain it. I'm very
stupid, | guess. But won't you come
back tomorrow and tell it to me?"
mo" he said roughly. You're not
of my people. Mcnamara and his are
no friends of mine, and I'm no friend
of theirs" He was half down the
steps before she said softly:
"Good night, and God bless you
friend"
She returned to the judge, who was
in a pitiable state, and for long time
she labored to soothe him as though
he were a child. She undertook to
question him about the things which
lay uppermost in her mind and which
this night had half revealed, but he
became fretful and irritated at the
mention of mines and mining. She sat
beside his bed till he dozed off, puZ-
zling to discover what lay behind the
hints she had heard till her brain and
body matched in absolute WEAKNESS
The reflex of the days excitement sap
ped her strength till she could barely
creep to her own couch, where she
rolled and sighed, too tired to sleep
at once. She awoke finally, with one
last nervous flicker, before complete
oblivion took her. A sentence was on
her mind-it almost seemed as though
she had spoken it aloud:
'The handsomest woman in the
north-but Glenister ran away"