The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1914-01-15
The Man as Was
Wronged
By M. QUAD
Copyright. 1913. by Associated Lit
erary Press.

we hadn't all been out of sorts with
our luck we should have had a word
OF welcome for the stranger as he en-
tered our camp that wretched after
noon. AS 1t was fifty Of US saw him
leave Chinese trail at Dead Mans FL
bow and walk into our camp, and new
or man rose up to salute him.
The stranger seemed to expect just
such a reception-that Is, he didn't
seem bit surprised. He passed down
the single street we had named Road
to Riches, turned to the left at the
lone pine tree. and without once look
ing around him he staked off claim
and began to erect a shanty.
bad man. I'm afeared," growled
Judge Slasher as he partly closed one
eye and gave the stranger the benefit
Of the squint.
Bin bounced out of some camp for
stealin'," added the big chap from
Kentucky.
''Tell you he's got "a hangdog look"
put in the man known as 'Ohio Bill"
Every man in the camp was down
on the fresh arrival and that without
cause Ordinarily we were jolly set.
and stranger coming among us met
with words of cheer but that after
noon the devil was to pay. The three
mules belonging to our camp had stray
ed off and been gobbled up by the In
dams, and on the heels of this discov-
cry came the announcement that we
had only salt enough to last two days.
while the sugar was entirely gone.
Two weeks had passed. and while
some of us had given the stranger a
curt "Good morning" no one shook
hands with him or entered his shanty
to smoke friendly pipe Then a
climax came The six Of us. occupy
ing one shanty, were working in com
mon, and our bag of dust was buried
In corner Of the fireplace One
morning this bag was missing. and
class row In no time. There was the
hole where some one had dug under
the stones and carried off the treasure
and whom were we to suspect?
Yes. we were mad. and in the ex-
element of the first discovery we came
near having a free fight among our
selves. 1t increased our anger to dis
cover that we could not reasonably sus-
pect any one, and this fact made every
one Of us try harder to pick up clew.
At length Judge Slasher sprang to his
feet with the exclamation:
"By the bones of Kidd, / know the
THEIR
"Who is her
THAT hangdog, sheep stealing stran-
ger! Hang me If didn't dream of his
coming in here last night to borrow a
shovel, and it was his digging under
the stones which started that dream.
He has held aloof from us, and that's
proof enough that he came here for no
good purpose"
1t was a straw to catch at. We had
lost in night all we had gained by
months of hard work, and we didn't
stop to reason. 1t was decided to lay
the charge at the strangers door, and
If he could prove his innocence so
much the better for him.
The news that the White House. as
we called our shanty, had been robbed
spread like wildfire. and as we started
for the strangers claim our crowd
numbered full hundred. AS the
crowd swooped down on the man he
started Off at run.
Halt, halt. halt. or we'll shootw
shouted a score of men.
Hes the thief-stop him. stop him.
roared the Judge
Five or six shots were fired almost
as one. and the fugitive tumbled for
ward on the rocks. Three bullets en-
tered his back, and as the foremost
men bent over him and turned his
white, scared face to the heavens he
gasped out:
You have murdered me. God for
give YOU
"Now to search him." said the judge
as he came up, and half dozen hands
made quick work of 1t. Resting on his
breast and made fast to his neck by a
ribbon was package wrapped in Oil.
skin. There was a hutter of excite
ment as the judge rudely snapped the
string and held the package in his
hand. 1t was our dust?
No! We formed circle around the
Judge as he sat on rock and opened
the package, and in less than a min.
ute there were white faces among us.
What were the contents? A photo
graph Of fair faced middle aged wo-
man, and on the card was written:
"Mary-died June 10, 1857"
That was the dead mans wife, There
was second photograph-that Of a
babe about year old-and the Judge
read aloud In a trembling voice:
"Our Harry-died April 4. 1857"
That was not all. On a card were
locks Of their hair. And we were look
ing down upon these things and feel
ing our hearts swelling up and our
eyes growing misty when up comes
our good for nothing, half wftted cook
n l. IL r