Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1914-02-11
THE RECOGNITION OF
JESSE BADLE|GH
Continued from first page)

cneaply as ne can and hOldS on TO all
he gets, as you may find out to your
cost some fine day."
Look heah mistah! none o'that if
yoh please sub! OF Satan is shore as
like to git his claws on yo'-all as his
hoofs on me-" exclaimed Amaziah
wrathfully.
well! we'll! don't get excited
over little thing like that" quietly
observed the stranger, lit was only
an innocent joke; no harm was
meant by it. will meet you at Hen
derson with the boy all ready for de-
livery; better not mention the mat
ter to your wife till l see you again.
BY the time these beneficent ar
rangements for the future of the
child were completed the night was
| far spent and the two conspirators
we're about to prepare for sleep
Mrs. Badleigh having already retired,
the quiet of the night was suddenly
broken by one of the most appall-
ling screams ever heard by mortal
ears; so frightful was the astounding
outburst that its effect upon the in
mates of the cabin was, for the mo-
ment, paralyzing.
Gosh almighty! what was that?'
cried Amaziah in terror, springing
from his seat and falling fiat uopn the
floor, probably thinking the day OF
Judgment was at hand, while the
other man startled for the moment,
but with better control of himself,
moved over to the window and eau
tiously peered out into the darkness.
Nothing could be seen from the inside
but there was a great uproar on the
outside-a short distance from the
house, as if some one in great agony
was seeking to free himself from an
incumbrance he was unable to shake
eff. Mrs. Badleigh awakened by the
alarm displayed far greater self-poise
than either of the men; she sough,
to have the mystery cleared up al
once but was unable to prevail upon
either of them to investigate it from
the outside, so it was sometime be-
fore the enigma was solved. When
Badleigh put away the stranger
horse he was compelled for want OF
room in the stable to hitch his mule
outside. During the night the ami
NAL had broken his hitching strap
and had been wandering about near
the house. In his wanderings he had
several times passed near the window
or shown his head there, and it was
this that had caused so much agita-
ton in the shack. Toward morning
the mule had accidentally crushed a
great nest of hornets of the vespa
maculato genera, which was swinging
from the branch of a tree near the
house, and the hornets maddened by
the destruction of their dwelling and
the wounding Of some OF their num-
Der, ferociously attacked the author
of their misfortune, striking him
about the nose, the ears, the eyes and
other sensitive parts, infiicting in
tense pain and causing him to cry
out in his agony and thrash around
in his frantic efforts to rid himself
of his enemies. BY this time it was
near daybreak so the stranger with
nothing more to detain him, after
disposing of the morning meal
mounted his horse and took his de-
parture well pleased with the result
of his mission.
CHAPTER H.
After the stranger had taken his
of Mr.. and Mrs. Amaziah Badleigh, on
the morning after his night sojourn
at the humble home on the banks Of
the Cumberland, Amaziah, in most
remarkable squirt of activity proceed
ed at once to dispose of his live stock
and farm implements; using the pro-
| CeeQS LneTeOI III the purchase Oh
companion mule, to serve as team
mate for the tranquil Judas. Also a
serviceable wagon with wide tires,
and a tent-cloth cover. The wagon
was provided with scant supply of
bedding, cooking utensils, corn-meal,
bacon and such additional food stuffs
as were deemed necessary and could
be the more readily obtained in the
vicinity.
i Mr. Badleigh, held fast in the grip
of the wanderlust, set his face to the
west, fiourished his whip over the
backs of his mules, turned his back
forever upon his late home, said
'giddap," and with his wife by his
! side began a journey which covered
hundreds of miles of prairie and
woodland, often through long street
ches of water-covered low-lands, or
across swollen streams which threat
ened them with instant destruction.
1t was only after weary weeks of APP
parently endless travel that the east
~ II.