Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-02-19
& a THE JUST
THE UNJUST
~ By VAUGHAN KESTER
copyng III compan.

in Mount Hope he'd never hear the
last Of it,"
As neither Mrs. Shrimplin nor Gus
ter questioned this point, Mr.. Shrimp
In reverted to his narrative.
started in to tell you how I put
Murphy out of business, didn't !, son?
the facts brought out by the coroner's
jury embarking on what he con-
ceiVed to be bit Of happy and elabo-
rate realism. was that I'd shot him
in self-defense after he'd drawed a
sun on ne. He had heard l was at
Fort Worth--not that ] vas looking
| for trouble, which I never done; but
| never turned It down when anyone
was at pains to fetch it to me: was
always willing they should leave it
| with me for to have merry time.
Murphy heard I'd said f he'd come to
Fort Worth I'd take him home and
! make a pet of him; and he'd sent
| back word that he was looking for a
man with two ears to play with: and
| I'd said mine was on loose and for
him to come and pull 'em off. After
/ that there was Just one thing he
could do IL he wanted to be we'll
thought Of and he done it. He hit
the town hell-snorting, and so mad he
was fit to be tied" Mr. Shrimplin
paused to permit this striking phrase
! to lay hold of Clusters ina gination.
Yes. sir. hell-snorting, and so bad
! he was plum scairt of himself He
said he's was looking for gentleman
who had sent him word he had two
| ears to contribute to the evening S
gayety, by which I knowed he meant
me and was in earnest. He was full
of bootleg whlskey-"
What kind of whisl1ey is that,
pa?" asked Custer
That" said Mr. Shrimplin, looking
| into the round. innocent face of his
son, that's the stuff the traders
used to sell TO the Indians. Strong?
| Well, you might say 1t was middling
| strong-just middling-aboHt three
| drops of it would make a rabbit spit
in a bulldogs FACET
! 1t was on one memorable eth of
| November that Mr.. Shr'mplin reached
this height of verbal felicity, and,
being Thanksgiving Day it was, aside
from the smell of strong yellow soap
and the fresh starched white shirt,
| very like a Sunday.
] He and Custer sat before the
| kitchen stove and in the intervals of
his narrative listened to the wind
rise without, and watched the sparse
| fakes of fine snow that it brought
/ coldly out of the north, where the
cloud banks lay leaden and dull on
| the far horizon.
Mr.. Shrimplin had risen early that
day. or, as he told Custer, he had
got up soon," and long before his
son had left his warm bed in the
small room over the kitchen, was well
on his rounds in his high two-wheeled
cart, with the rack under the seat
which held the great cans of gasoline
from which the lamps were filled. He
had only paused at Maxy Schaffer's
Railroad Hotel to partake of what ht
| called a Kentucky breakfast-a drink
Of whiskey and a chew of tobacco
a simple dietary protection against
the evils of an empty stomach, te
which he particularly drew Clusters
| attention.
His fathers occupation was entire
! ly satisfactory to Custer. Being en-
ployed by the town gave him an of
| fetal standing. perhaps not so dis
tinguished as that of policeman, but
still eminently worth while; and Mr..
Shrimplin added not little to the
sense of its Importance by dilating
| on the intrigues of ambitious rivals
who desired to wrest his contract
| from him; and he impressed Mr.. Gus
| ter, who frequently accompanied him
on his rounds, with the wisdom of
keeping the lamps that shone upon
| the homes of members of the town
council in especially good order Fur
| thermore, there were possibilities of
adventure in the occupation; it took
Mr.. Shrimplin into out-of-the- way
streets and unfrequented alleys, and,
as Custer knew, he always went
armed, Sometimes, when in an I'M
usually gracious mood, his father
permitted him to verify this fact by
feeling his bullying hip pocket The
! feel of it was vastly pleasing to Gus
| ter, particularly when Mr.. Shriinplin
| had to tell of strangers engaged in
mysterious conversation on dark
| street corners, who skunk away as he
approached. More than this, it was
a matter of public knowledge that he
had had numerous controversies in
! low portions OF the town touching the
right of the private citizen to throw
! stones at the street lamps; to Custer
he made dire threats. He'd toss a
scare into them red-necks yet. They
! bust his lamps once too often-he was
laying for them! He knowed pretty
well who done it. and when he found
| out for sure" He winked at Custer,
| leaving 1t to his sons Imagination to
determine just what form his ven-
geance would take, and Custer, being
nothing If not sanguinary, prayed for
| bloodshed.
But the thing that pleased the boy
best was his fathers account of those
meetings with mysterious strangers
How as he approached they moved
| off with many a furtive backward
glance; how he made as if TO drive
| away In the opposite direction, and
then at the first corner turned swiftly
about and raced down some parallel
street in hot pursuit, 10 come or them
| again, to their great and manifest
| discontinue Cii'eumstantially he de-
| scrihed each turn he made, down
what streets he drove Bill at u gallon,
| up which he walked t,lat trustworthy
animal; all was deliberately worked
out. The chase, however. alwaya