Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-12-12

human bein no way you take 1t. A
man may have a good education and
grand notions and be perfect scamp
and not know it till something hap
pens to prove it."
Pappy paused and Knocked the not
embers out Of his pipe.
I'VE had a feller like that in here
once. He was prospector named Hor-
ton And he'd set on the top of worm
fence half day arguin' that 1t want
ethical for a man to have anything o1
his own. Lowed it was selfish; that
we ought to hold everything in COM
mon. He talked wrong so well that
nobody could answer him, and / didn't
try to.
II knowed he'd run up ag'in the
moral law in the shape of a man some
day and git the Ten Commandments
and the fore part Of the Sermon on
the Mount taught him with the butt
end Of an OK goad. And it happened as
/ expected.
"Nothin' happened to him so long as
he took his say out ag'in' Adam and
Eve, lowed there wasn't no such per-
son as Jonah, that the sun never stooo
still the way Josh said 1t did, and that
II was a pint blank lie about Moses
partin' the Red Sea with stammerin
rod. None Of US set any great store
upon them little exaggerations OF the
Scriptures. But when l see that fell
low making up to the women with MS
fine clothes and sech talk as that NOR
ais were jest customs, like partin
their hair in the middle. l knowed his
time was short.
For women amt got much reliabil-
ity Of mind. That's the way they take
up with every new fad and new reli-
gion that comes along. So l say II
made me nervous to see the way Hor-
ton was headin' his arguments toward
the female members Of our communi-
ty. And he kept right on accordih
to his logic till hecome to covet Bill
Stark's wife. Mary Stark was the
prettiest woman in the valley. She
had married Bill because he'd helt on
to her till she said yes but she know
ed no more about love than hen spar
row do about spring. And she would
have lived and died none the wiser, as
most women do. If it hadn't been for
Horton.
Now, it won't do to covet another
mans wife in this valley. And in par
ticular it was a mistake for Horton to
covet Bill Stark's wife. And if he
hadn't been a dern fool he'd have
knowed better than to tech anything
that belonged to a man with a face
like a vise Bill want what you call
gentleman, but, jumping cats, he was
a man, Still, Horton couldn't take a
warnin' because Bill was so dull and
dumb. He so p'intedly despised him
for bein' that way that he finally
wheedled Mary off to his shack uI
yonder on Blood Mountain one day
without so much as an umbrella to
hide 'em from Bill.
II recollect 1t so well, 1t was in the
early spring. We were burnin brush
in the fields gettin ready for the plow-
in and the air was full Of smoke and
the faint smell Of wild flowers. Me and
Jim Bledso were in the new ground al
the foot of the mountain when Horizons
shack settin' on the ridge just above
About the middle of the afternoon, as
we stood by a pile Of burnin' logs, we
seen Horton and Mary pass up the lit,
tie trail toward the shack. He was
talkin' grand, as usual. We could tel
by the tone of his voice, and l recol-
lect how wild and white her face look
ed as she went by.
Il was all of tremble when the
door shet behind 'em, and / says tc
Jim:
Lands sake, what must we do"
But Jim had took one look at them
two and now he was runnin' like al
possessed down into the holler where
Bill was also burnin' logs.
We'll, sir, in about three shakes o.
a sleeps tail here comes Mary's nus
band tearin' over the hill. His arms
x, 50
opening and shettin' like ne was get
tin ready to squeeze something tc
death, and, by ginger, sir, he wa!
laughin'-but it want a funny laugh
He want more'n five yards away
when the door opened and Horton
come out to meet him with the white
fool look a man would have at sucf
a time. 1 don't know whether he aim
ed to fight or just to argue as usual
for Bill lit on him before he coul(
speak
Mister, did you ever see two mel
fight to kill one another with thei
bare fists? There amt more terrible
sight in nature. This one I'm tellin
YOU of was more like first class dol
fight than anything else. Them TIVE
were clamped together as tight as TIT
hug of hate could draw 'em. They rip
ped and tore the earth with their heel
and tore and bit one another with thei
teeth. Lord, sir, it makes me sick ye
to think of that sight! And all thi
time that poor little fig Of woman
inside the house didn't show her face
presently l saw Starke stumble a
if he were about to fall. and yelle'
to Jim Bledso comm back across tn
field.
Dang it, Jim,' seZ l, we amt go
in to stand here and let that poleca
murder Bill, air we?'
NO sez he, as we hurried up tn
trail together, and we won't let Bi
git into trouble for KILN a skunl
neither
We'll, sir, we got there just in tim
TO keep him from chokin' Horton I
death. They were lyin on the groun
covered with blood, and Bill had nj
hand on Horizons throat. l reache
down and ketched him good and har
by the small of the back. And wit
that we drug 'em apart. Bill riz an
started for the house, blind mad still
rJz..or sbat bic ayes and RaSDed 'YO