Bryan daily eagle and pilot. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1909-1918, 1912-08-20


| told of1havfng seen the schoolmastsr
in. secret conversation with man In
aliyery STABLE Jed did not deny the
conversation. He had been asked by
q man from the North who was look
Ing up coal lands to investigate Ger.
tain lands as far as he could and re-
port. He had the mans address. but
as II was In his own handwriting IL
condemned rather than cleared him.
1t couldn't be proved that he was
guilty. but 1t was felt by all that he
had at least been indiscreet. and II
was determined to administer prop
er punishment and send him from the
Cove.
Had the proofs been sufficient Jed
Baker would have been put to death.
As II was, the punishment was 10 be a
whipping and Punishment. He had
been sized up for man without
sand" 1t was believed that he would
cringe and weep like a woman. They
looked to see him go white and fall on
his knees and beg for mercy even as
the punishment was announced He
had astonished the Cove by his calm
demeanor during the examination. He
astonished it again by saying:
You can whip me and you can
drive me out. but you cannot make an
informer of me. The charge is false"
Who could II have been II not
you?" was asked.
Jed shook his head and stared at the
blank wall and made no answer At S
o'clock that evening he was tied to a
tree and whipped and cast loose and
told to disappear before sunrise. There
We're those who felt sorry for him. but
all felt that the punishment was due.
After being cast loose he sat down
on a log for an hour with his head In
his hands. While he was sitting there
the widow Carson was going about in
her cabin with tears in her eyes. Tom
Beardsly came in to tell her OF the
whipping. and she detected the ex-
ultation In his tones. Then she in
stantly remembered thing or two.
de had been in town during the two
days she was. She had noticed him
In company with man she believed TO
be an official of some sort In passing
the hotel she had caught fleeting
glimpse OF him as he lodged out Of
sight Her woman's intuition helped
her to conclusion in moment. and
wheeling on the young man. she ex-
claimed:
"Tom Beardsly you did it--you did
III"
you must be crazy" he replied.
you did 1t, and | know you did.
What did We have agin him' How has
he ever harmed your"
Don't talk nonsense. wilder. I'm
tellin' you here and now that I've been
thinkin' heap of you for a right
smart while back. and"
tom Beardsly, who give the still
away"
"Thinkin' heap OF you. wilder.
and right now I'm askin' you to be my
wife. You know how I'm fixed. and
-"
The women of the Cumberland shoot
as well as the men. They do not hunt
bears and wildcats. but they kill
squirrels and game birds. The widows
shotgun stood In corner OF the room,
She walked over and lifted 1t up and
wheeled on Tom to say:
mot another word from you. Out
you go, You was jealous and you did
Ill"
{Ie went without word. Ten min
utes later she was kneeling beside the
man who had been whipped and say
ing:
"Oh. Jed. but you never gave the
still away"
"No," he whispered.
at was Tom"
"Mebbe."
And you knowed It all the time"
"Mebbe"
"But why didn't you say so' Why
did you take the whippin'?"
"Kase-kase thought you loved
him and you two was gwine to
marryl"
Then another woman knelt down
and. with tears running down her
cheeks. she said:
"Jed, didn't hear that they was
gwine to whip you It'll 1t was all over,
II had heard would have told the
men that | give the still away.
would have lied TO save you. I'm AKIN
your pardon. Jed. I'm sayin' that |
am the sorriest woman on all this we're
mounting"
Jed put hand Ion the shoulder OF
each woman and rose up with painful
effort. He realized that both loved
him. One knew the truth-the other
would have lied for him.
"Goodby." he said. as he moved
off into the dark woods.
He had been whipped In public. He
had been disgraced forever in Laurel
Cove. And on the door of the humble
schoolhouse next morning Uncle Jim
Henderson affixed a paddock and then
wrote in quaint characters In chalk:
This skule is out"