Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-10-19
THE FIGHTING PLACE

stopped the fghtin by putin the meetin'
house whar had been the fightin' place.
PUT on the third Sunday somebody come
to hear Railway. 1t wasn't none o the
Raineses, nor yit none o the Barlows: it
was stranger to the community, we'll
dressed man wearin' black beard, and he
had found out aforehand about the fightin
place and the meetin house and all. This
stranger took off his broad, black hat, walked
in, and set down about middleways, whar
he listened to every word the preacher said
When the closin' hymn lacked jest little
o bein' sung, the stranger got up and slipped
away.
Now, thar was branch O the crick which
run down from the Raines side O. the heller
and also thar was branch O the crick that
come from the Barlow side Along in the
middle o the week the preacher he happened
to wander up the Raines branch, whar he
found two moonshine stills that had already
been broke up. Up the Barlow branch he
found the same thing.
This explained to his mind the bushes;
o the strange man who had listened to him
preach the Sunday afore. Still, he won
dered that he hadn't heerd O. no Shootin
Sort o curious, he went up to see Old Grand
pap Sam RaineS.
The old man was settin by the fire a
maxim a new AK handle when the preacher
got thar. He invited Railway in, and told him
to take chair, which same Railway done
Brother Raines,' begins Railway, "has
there been revenuers in this here locality"
mot lately says the old man, hangin'
his head and rakin' his knotty fingers
through his white ha'r.
"Then, says Railway, show come it that
thar has been several moonshine stills de-
stroyed?'
I'VE done it-that is, we tore up our two,
which was down thar on the branch" SAYS
Old Grandpap Raines.
And | see that thar has been two more
busted up over on the Barlow side,' says
Railway.
a didn't think they'd do it, says Old
Grandpap, seemin' like he was powerful
surprised.
"And what caused you Raineses to bust
up yore two stills?' axes the preacher.
Accuse Wine is a mocker, and strong
drink is ragin,' by gyar!' says Old Grand
pap Raines. "Acause-aw, say, Preacher,
hain't you never found it out VT, in the
name O goodness? Why, we've all, every
burned one of us, been slippin' down thar
in the laurels this side o the meetin house.
and hstenin' to you preach. Not one
word of 1t have we missed, Preacher, bless
yore soul! And if them thar Barlows has
done went and tore up their stills-why, by
gyar, its shore sign that they've been a
listenin' too"
Railway gifts to his feet and shakes Old
Grandpap Raines's hand then he starts
without another word for the rough meetin'-
house with the cross on its roof He was SO
glad that his tryin to do good hadn't been in
vain.
But he was troubled about the strange
man who had listened to his sermon on the
third Sunday of his preachin If that man
wasn't revenuer, who was heo The more
Railway thought about it, the paler he got.
Who on earth was the stranger?
On the next Sunday, Railway got up early
~ and fixed hisself few bites O. break
fast; then he set out and studied the Good
Book until time to start for the meetin'-
house. When that time had come he went
walkin slow up the side O. the crick 1t
was the finest kind of winter day. Thar
wasn't no wind, and the sun come down so
warm that Railway took his coat off and
walked with it on his arm.
When he got to the meetin house he
throwed the door wide open, and also opened
the winders, SOS his divided congregation
could hear him better. And as he started to
sing the openin' hymn thar stepped in at the
door a little SharD-eyed Teller with n cbie1d