The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1909-08-05

haystack six or seven miles away. 1
was railrOa'ied TO jail for six months,
Kept in chains for twenty days as a
desPeradO. and then / went out
through hole in the wall and left a
flaming old barrack behind me. am
no man 10 go back on a woman. but
you see she had eIoped Icy herself and
with herself. hadn't anything 10
do with it. They simply dragged me
Into the affair ly the heels. and it cost
the county $4,000 to build new iaii
The old one must have caught ire
through spontaneous combustion.
''One August day few years ago
was headed for Newport and my villa
when l saw smoke issuing from 4
farmers barn. | jumped the roadside
fence, ran to the barn and saw that
II was ON fire and then hustled for
the house and gave the alarm. The
farmer had two hired men, and the
family were eating dinner. 81! rushed
for the barn. but it was too late.
worked as hard as any one in trying
TO save things and as a reward was
taken into custody as an incenliary
The farmer pretended to remember
that l had come along two or three
years before and made threats because
he would not feed me
Il was locked up in the snokehouse
while messengers We're sent for 4 con
stable. Travellers on the highway and
other farmers gathered, and for d
time there was talk # strinC.uS HE
up 10 limb. Did protest and Gcuy?
Not word. 1t would have been
breath thrown away. | caught lust
one sympathetic look in that crowd.
and that was from the farmers wife.
Soon after l had been locked up the
hTe spread TO wagon shed. calling
the crowd away. and then the woman
came 10 the smokehouse and passed
me crowbar through little wicket
and said:
pig your way out through the
back wall as soon as you can. Nv
husband set the barn on fire with his
pipe, hut they will send you TO prison
if you don't get away
stammered His Thanks.
i began 10 stanimer nv thanks. hnt
she cut me short by saying that she
would meet me at a certain dead tree
a mile down the road at II o'clock
that night and 90 on the tramp with
me. and so | turned to my work. The
sm"kehouSe was OF brick. but busted
out a wall in five minutes and took leg
bail through the orchard. At II o'clock
that night ! was ten miles away and
still going. l can't say that the woman
kept the dead tree date. but the
chances are even up that she did. She
probably called ii a case Of insratitude
on my part, but it wasn't. It was
doing the best thing for her to keep
away.
ITO get case nearer home. l came
into town two weeks earlier last fail
than usual on account Of a woman. In
s"untering through New Jersey a con
stable picked me up on a charge Of
horse stealing. the very last offen>e
against the law that dilapldated gen
tlemau would think Of committing.
re might as We'll steal a sawmiu.
However, I should probably have been
convicted Il the rhine lad not the
real die confessed. That put the
court IN 4 hole, ana 10 get even with
cle I vas charged with being Il suspi-
ciouS person ard given a sentence Of
thirty days. over in Jersey you are
suspicious person if YOU can't tel how
far it i from the Cape Of Good Hone
to New Zealand. It was thirty DAYS or
a fine Of SO. and widow among the
spectators in court stepped forward
and came down with the cash. She
said ! could 90 home with her and
work out the fine trimming the or
chard aud digging potatoes. and she
pretended to see the closest kind Of
resemblance between me and Il school
master who had once loved her. hut
died before the matrimonial knot could
be tied. What did | do: Why. Just as
any sensible, chivalric dilapiGated gen
tleman Sho"ld do You could see ro-
nance, sentiment and spirit of ad-
venture in that womanS eyes. and
after expressing my thanks for her
Kindness | got out Of the courtroom
through a window and ran for dear
life. Several men took after me, but
they stood no show. When a q. e is
running away from 4 woman filed
with romance and ready to go tramp.
ing he has wings. and il takes an aero
plane TO overhaul him" NJ. QUAD.