Evening star., 1913-02-23
Continued from page 4

He looked hard at the Gov nor; then got
up and walked to the one little barred WIN
dow, whar he stood with his eyes turned to
these hills back here. All we could do to git
him to offer some sort of excuse for shootin
Lafe didn't git him to open up. He just
closed up as tight as the bark on hick 'ry
tree, and not another word could we git him
to say.
So the trial come off, and Jep Mcbride
was sentenced to be hung.
L matter, somehow, and he'd come home
hangin'. Tep walked out to the scaffold with
as ca m a nerve as he ever had in his life
with his head as high as colts, and his eyes
always off O. the ground, and his jaws set
hard as iron. Before the moose was put
around his neck, the Gov'nor come into the
jailyard and walked up clost to the scaffold
Him and Jep stood thar and looked at each
other for whole minute, the hardest looks
l ever seen in my life. rAnd yit they WASH t
hardly what you'd call looks of hate.
"Jep,' says the Gov nor, "whar are you
goin' when it's all over and done with?'
Jeps scraggly face stayed as hard as a
rock. | was clost to him, and | jest barely
seen his mouth move to speak one o the bit
terest words that the tongue of man ever
laid itself to. That one word was-"hell.
"Hain't you ashamed o yoreself?" says
the Gov nor
Jep lifted his sunburnt nose little higher
MAYBE says the Gov'nor, "you'd like
to see yore good little wife and yore boy
wunst more.
He ordered 'em brought in. They found
the woman and her speckled boy settin
in a OK wagon outside O the jailyard, both
of EN- a snubbin and the boy a hangin' onto
a slab O cornbread soaked up with cane
mOlaSSeS.
But Jep Mcbride changed when he seen
'em. His face softened; then his eyes filled
up and run over into his scraggly beard.
"A1y Cod" he says, all a tremblin' a holdin
his big hands out towards his folks, "rly
Cod"
They run to him, and fell on their knees, a
holdin' to his long legs.
"Jep," says the little woman, "if you
know anything that will help you any, for
my sake tell it, Jep, can you stand to think
about people p'intin' their fingers at our
only boy and sayin' to each other, That
boys daddy was hung for murder? Jep,
lifes too short for foolishness. The jedg-
ment of God comes too soon. / always did
believe that the p'izenest varmint on earth
was jest plain fool Jep honey, if you do
know anything, in the name of our little boy
here tell it,
"Tell it, Jep," says the Fiddlin' Gov'nor,
who had come up and stood right afore Jep.
"If you know anything, tell it!'
Jep McBride's heart was broke, and so
was that fool wild sperit O his'n. He drapped
down on his knees afore the Gov nor, the
Fiddlin' Gov 'nor-that blessed, splendid
man!
CIT up from thar" says the Gov'nor.
- "Kneel only to Heaven and to a good
woman"
at was for YOU that done it, says Jep,
tears a streamin' down his cheeks. ANY
body that would climb tree to put a bird S
nest back, and anybody that can play a
fiddle like you can, is too good man for the
country to lose. l was jealous about you a
beatin' me all to pieces playin' the fiddle,
and l didn't like you. Then you made me
mad a calm me murderer when you rode
up on me settin' aside O the road jest after
I'd shot Lafe.
"Gov'nor, the Old Scratch was in me as
big as a hoss. | was so mad | decided that
I'd die afore I'd let you know I'd done any
thing to save yore life-which was the reason
l wouldn't tell how come me to kill Lafe.