The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1914-04-23

the mantel-plece IN NapOleOnlc dlt
tude. That he said, fixing his ey(
glasses, SIS your greatgrandfathe
Devil-John Valiant"
"DevilJohnl" echoed his host. "Ye1
I've heard the name"
The doctor guffawed. He earne
1t, reckon. never realized what
sinister expression that missing Opt
gives the old ruffian. There was
skirmish during the war on the hill
side yonder and a bullet cut 1t out
When we were boys we used to cal
him old One-Eye."
TT interests me enormously" job
Valiant spoke explosively
"The stories OF Devil-John would fill
a mighty big book" said the major
by all accounts he ought to have
! lived in the middle ages" CROSSING
the library, he looked into the dining
room II thought ! remembered. The
portrait over the console there is his
wife, your great-grandmother. They
say he bet that when he brought his
bride home, she should walk into Da-
mory Court between rows of candle
sticks worth twenty-thousand dollars.
| He made the wager good, too. for
when she came up those steps out
there, there was row Of ten candles
burning on either side OF the doorway.
each held by young slave worth a
thousand dollars in the market.
Some say he grew jealous of his
wife's beauty. There were any num-
Der of stories told OF his cruelties to
her that aren't worth repeating She
died early - poor lady - and your
grandfather was the only isnue. Devil
John himself lived to be past seventy,
and at that age, when most men were
stacking their sins and groaning with
the govt, he was dicing and fox-hunt-
ing with the youngest Of them. He
always swore he would die with his
boots on. and they say when the doc
tor told him he had only few hours
leeway, he made his slaves dress him
completely and prop him on his horse.
They galloped out so, negro on
either side of him. 1t was a stormy
night, black as the Earl of Hell's rid
ing -boots, with wind and lightning,
and he rode cursing at both. There's
an old black-gum tree a mile from
here that they still call Devil-ic'.
tree They were just passing under
1t when the lightning struck it. Light
ming has no effect on the black gum,
you know. The bolt glanced from the
tree and struck him between the two
slaves without harming either of
them. 1t killed his horse, too. That's
the story. To be sure at this date
nobody can separate fact from fic-
ton. Possibly he wasn't so much
worse than the rest OF his neighbors
not excepting the parsons. Other
times, other Manners"
They weren't any worse than the
present generation" said the doctor
inadvertently "Your four bottle men
then knew only claret: now they pun
ish whiskey-straight."
The major buried his nose in his |
julep for long moment before he
looked at the doctor blandly. Il agree
with you, Bristow," he said: "but it's
the first time l ever heard you admit
that much good of your ancestors"
Good" said the doctor belligerent-
ly ME? | don't! said people now
were no better. AS for the men OF
that time, they were cheap swagger-
ing lot of DULLES and swash-bucklers.
When I read history I'm ashamed to
be descended from them"
81 desire to inform you, sah," said
the major, stung. chat I too am a de-
scendant of those DULLES and swash-
bucklers. as you call them. And l
wish from my heart thought we, now
adays. could hold a tallow-dip to
them"
you refer, no doubt" said the ooc-
tor with sarcasm, ito our friend Devil
John and his ideal treatment of his
wife!"
mo, sah." replied the major warm
Iy. I'm not referring to Devil-John.
There were exceptions, no doubt, but
Tor the most part they treated their
folk as | believe their Maker
made them to be treatedl The man
who failed in his courtesy there, sab,
was called to account for 1t. He was
mighty apt to find himself standing in
he cool dawn at the butt-end of "a"
He broke off and coughed. There
was an awkward pause in which he
set down his glass noisily and rose
md stood before the open bookcase.
4 envy you this, sah,' he said with
somewhat of haste "A fine old col
ection. Bless my soul, what curious
,olumei"
AS he spoke. his hand jerked out a
leavy-looking leather-back. Valiant,
who had risen and stood beside him,
Jaw instantly that what he had drawn
rom the shelf was the morocco case
hat held the rusted dueling-pistol! In
he majors hands the broken box
opened, A sudden startled look darted
lcross his leonine face. With smoth-
red exclamation he thrust it back
the books and closed the
class door.
Valiant had paled. His previous
hiding of the weapon had escaped his
mind. Now he read, as clearly as If
t had been printed in black-letter
cross the sunny wall. the significance
4 the majors confusion. That weap-
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