The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1912-08-16

port. He had the mans address, but
as 1t was in his own handwriting it
condemned rather than cleared him
1t couldn't be proved that he was
guilty, but it was felt by all that he
had at least been indisereet, and it
was determined to administer a prop
er punishment and send him from the
Cove.
Had the proofs been sufficient Jed
Baker would have been put to death.
As 1t was. the punishment was to be
whipping and Punishment He had
been sized up for man without
said 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 1t 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 it 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
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 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 a thing or two.
He had been in town during the two
days she was She had noticed him
In company with a man she believed to
be an official of some sort In passing
the hotel she had caught a fleeting
glimpse of him as he lodged out of
sight. Her womans intuition helped
her to conclusion in moment, and
wheeling on the young man, she ex-
claimed:
Tom Beardsly, you did it-you did
it,"
you must be crazy" he replied.
you did It, 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
thinkln' a heap of you for a right
smart while back, and"
tom Beardsly, who give the stlll
away?"
"Thinkin' a heap of you, wilder.
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 gol You was Jealous and you did
it,"
He went without a 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,
1T was Tom"
"Mehbe."
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
marry"
Then another woman knelt down
and, with tears running down her
cheeks, she said:
Jed, I didn't hear that they was
gwine to whip you till 1t was all over.
II | had heard / would have told the
men that l give the still away. |
would have He'd to save you. I'm AKIN
your pardon, Jed. I'm sayin' that l
am the sorriest woman on all this yere
mounting.
Jed put a hand on 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 paddock and then
wrote in quaint characters In chalk:
This skule is out"