The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1909-04-29

- was staying with Amos.
man.
Say. this is gettin' sorter kinde
close. as the darkey said when the null
kicked him" observed Amos. 'Thi
makes five breaks to my certain knowl
edge: snyder's over to White Dee
valley; the postoffice IN Blair's Gap
M~cCornick's on Bottle river; and tw
weeks 6 the store at Green Bria
creek. Better keep your eye peele,
these nights, Squire. You'll be next
Ihere.s a regular gang at this"
Say, Ulie," observed the squire, ig
noring Amos. ever stop to think Their,
hain't been a robbery in this section 70,
80 years fore the Farthings come il
mere? Mind yeh. l amt making M
charges, but have o thought of it?'
oh. pshaw, squirrel" CALCULATED Dan
who was much holder now he had moth.
ing to lose. You've got Farthing or
the brain. There amt no honester mar
IN Pennsylwaney still than Al Farthing
Nosuhi You're mad at him jest be-
cause he's got a little of your trade
still, and you've made up our mind tc
rum him wunst."
IF he's all right l want to ask you a
few questions: Where does he get all
that money! L offered 'em six hundred
dollars for that little mare and they
SAID they wouldn't take two hundred
and fifty thousand, Money amt nc
object up there. They've gut it to
burn. Then where does he and one
few days? Where does all that
store stuff corne from that he's trying
to sell o %fellers? Mighty little freight
comes for him down to Spruce creek.
Then why do these store robberies be-
gin jest the minute he gets here, and
why does the trouble up at the old
cabin take up at jest the same time?
Heigh?"
Now, that's pretty thin evidence, 1
call it, squire" retorted Dan. Fore
tried to take a mans reputation away
I'd get something better than that"
oh, no; you don't believe nothing
about that old housed Oh. not" Lem
Fisher had Strengthened up on his nail
keg. You don't believe there's some
thing strange about that old house?
e seen a thing there, did yeh? Oh,
no."
Say, DAN" Uttered another. Il
heard they measured your jumps next
Already"
Punt yeh hand right onto the house,
didn't yeh wunst?" A burst of good
natured laughter echoed about the
stove.
Wal. I did see someslng," admitted
yeh a dozen times, I hain't saying it's
q ghost still. l run fore I knowed it.
One dom have to be a ghost to swear
yetst.' h tone was that Of the man
defending his last ditch.
"Humph! o can't get on of 1t that
way" broke In Lem in high key.
You know there hain't been no track
In there all winter. You know 1t.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES know about
that awful black ring"
"Fiddlesticks! Cats and a iddle."
burst in Amos. "of all the old gran
MES! I'm going UP there some day and
tear h a old shanty down. hide and
hinges. Darned IL l amt. I'm good and
sick OF all this tarnal nonsense I'VE
been hearin' here night and day.
Haunted house.--Oh, Lord"
You go slow, Amos Hardin: you go
mighty slow. We-uns knows what Yves
Attacking about. Yessuhi Against the
time you've been UP there some dark
night and been into hat house then
you a talk. But you keep still
against that time. for we-uns have saw
this with our eyes wunst, and heard it
with our ears. Yessuh!"
Huhl" snorted Amos.
Now, h whole matter is Jest here"
Lem impressively. we
might az well speak 1t right out as to |
be all thinking about 1t. Al Farthin's |
a hacker" He lowered his voice and |
ooked about the room furtively, as IL
some fearful creature might be lurking |
M L . q lllCACE dllu
a pow-wower; / know 1t. You can tell |
that jest by lookin' at his eyes-kinder |
sharp and beady, like q weaseIs, and
they never keep still a minute, but !
all the time shiftin' quick's
this way and hat way. / tell
you-uns that atn's an honest eye still.
you needn't tell me he don't know
what's going on in that ole shanty. II
amt noticed 1t and hain't tried to |
find out what's up, then he's a fool.
and whatever else AL Farthin' is he |
in no fool. OF course he knows 1t,
and OF course he's at the bottom Of 1t. |
he's a pow-wower and a haexer-i
you mind what I sayes, and you watch
out sharp how o u ag'in him. He
wagged his head IN solemn warning.
1t was evident hat the man was in
fearful arnes and that he believed all
the little circle also believed 1t. To
Amos, however, the matter was a red
rag.
"Pow-wower." he exploded, straight
ening up and glowering about him. IF
pow-wow a few brains into |
Dutch skulls 1t would be the
greatest thing that eve happened in
this valley. ! can pow-wow Jest as well
as II Fartin' can. II he's q pow-wower
you git him down here some day, and
poW-wow the poW-wow out of him
In three minutes
- W0uldil 6llldhS d speech like I0at.
sub, for no amount of money. Nosuh.a
UHe lowered his voice solemnIy. Eve
pow-wowing Inc hacking, I have,
fore now. II you've saw 1t, Poppy.
The old mar mumbled q decided
"Mmh-huh." and nodded impressively.
Il tell you," went on Tile, pow
wowing amt to be spoke OF in that
way. It's a mighty serious thing, pow
wowing is. / could tell enough cases
to fll a book as big as 10 awTnnicks,
n Poppy here could tell yeh twict as
many more already. tell you It's an
awful thing to go against q hacker
wunst, an awful thing" He rolled out
the words In s~epulchural tones.
"Yessuh. he's right chimed In Lem
Fisher, who was h valley archives on
things occult. What was II that give
the oppnehmer to Katie Barndollar?
p was 1t that drnwed the lightning
Andy Bowersock's barn? What was
4 tina killed Luke S~nyder,'-he smoke
In g shuddering whisper-down in
Turkey Bottom and left the great black |
ring round his neck? What was ify |
Aou-uns all knows what IL was. And
tell you,A Amos Hardin you watch OUT
Still. Don't you u up against Al
sEarthin' Don't you dasteto."" shud-
dering silence has fallen over the group.
They were looking f~urttvely over their
6n0nlderS and into the dark corners
It's lest al I'm feIHnu vet1 n