The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-06-12
CHAPTER xviII.
son1e ona Rutts ln.

CHAPTER XVIII.
 Some one Butts tn. 1 f~1 HE way he done 1t left that there word hanging in the room so you could almost see it and almost feel it there like it was thing that had to be faced and looked at and took into account. They all feEE 1t that-aaxVa az, too, fur they waah sound fur minute. Then VIII says
 we don't plan murder, and you'1I find this ain't joke. And since you refuse to accept counsel''
 Jest then Buck Hightower interrupts him, yelling out T make a motion Billy Harden be prosecuting attorney, then. Let's hurry this thing alongE' And several started to applaud and call fur Billy Harden to prosecute. But Will, he pounded down the applause agin and says:
 .I was about to suggest that Mfr Harden might be prevailed upon to ac- cept that task.
 'sYes," says the doctor. very gentle and easy. Quite sol I fancfed my self that MT. Harden came along with the idea of making q speech either HOT or aga1nSEs & ess
 MT Chairman says Billy Harden. flushing up and suffering jest little, tsI b-beg leave to d-d-declines''
 tsWhat!' says the doctor. sort of playing with Billy with his eyes and grinning and turning like to let the whole crowd In on the joke, Decline The eminent gentleman declinesl And he is going to sit down, too, with all that speech bottled up in him. Demos thenesp' he says, s.you have lost your pebble in front of all Greece
 Several grinned at Billy Harden as he set down. and three or four laugh ed outright I guess about half of them there knowed him fur a windbag, and some wasn't sorry to see him josh ed But seen what the doctor was trying to do He knowed he was in an awful tight place, and he was feel ing that crowds pulse 50 to speak.
 But the little bit of laugh he turned against Billy Harden vas only on the surface. like a straw floating on a whirlpool These men was here fur business.
 Buck Hightower jumps up and says: twill. I'm getting tired of this court foolishness. The question is Does this man come into thls county and do what he has done and get out again9 We know all about him He sneaked In here and gave out he was here to turn the nfggers white-that he was some kind of a newfangIed prophet sent especially to niggers, which is blasphemy In ftself-and he's got en. stirred up. Do we save ourselves more trouble by stringfng him up as a warn ing to the negroes9 Or do we invite trouble by turning him 1oose2 Whfch2 All it needs is a vote.''
 And he set down agin. You could see he had made a hit with the boys They was kind of a growl rolled around the room The feelings in that place was getting stronger and strong CT. was scared, but trying not to showsit-
 Just a moment says pr. Kirby, getting on his feet and taking step toward the chairman. And the way he stopped and stood made everybody look at him. Then he went on:
 "Once more," he says I call the at tention of every man present to the fact that what the last speaker pro- poses iss'-
 And then he let 'em have that word agin full in their faces to think about
 Murder! Merely murder,
 He was bound they shouldn't get away from that word and what 1t stood fur. And every man there did think, too, fur they was another little Fause.
 They come bang from one of the windows. It. broke the charm. Every body jumped. I jumped myself. When the end of the world comes and the earth busts in the middle it won't sound no louder than that bang did It was a wooden shutter. The wind was rising outside, and 1t flew open and whacked agin the building.
 Then bises d1eavy set man that hadn't spoke before rig up from one of the hind seats. like he had heard a dare to fight, and walked slowly down toward the front He had a red face which was considerable pockmarked. and very deep set eyes and deep voice.
 Since when,r he says, taking up bis stand dozen feet or so in frona of the doctor-sssince when has any ctvi- hzation refused to commit murder when murder was necessary for it's protection? The word you insist on is just word, like any other word. z
 Murder" says the doctor. lis thing"
 Tt is word says the other man, flor a thing-for thing which some times seems necessary. Lynching, war, execution, murder-they are all words