The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1915-04-02

eltner eyeQ lllll III llleApA0o0i'N
or gave him the greeting OF the tut
riner,"
! Then the whistle shrieked from the
trestle over the Middle fork, ana at
only a short distance rose the cupola
of The brick courthouse and the scat
tered roofs of the town. Scattered
over the green slopes by the river
bank lay the white spread Of tented
company street, and, as he looked OUT
he saw uniformed figures moving 10
and fro and caught the ring OF a Ougle
call So the militia was on deck;
things must be baG, he reflected lie
stood on the platform and looked
down as the engine rOared along the
trestle. There were two ga''"'2 e;lfS'
One pointed it's muz1le toward the
town, and the other scowled up at the
face of the mountain. Sentries paced
their beats. Men in undershirts lay
doing outside tent flaps. 1t was all
a picture of disciplined readiness, ana
yet Samson knew that soldiers mace
of painted tin would be equally effec-
tive. These military forces must re-
main subservient to local civil authorl-
ties, and the local civil authorities
obeyed the nod of Judge Holman and
Jesse Purvy.
AS Samson crossed the toll bridge
to the town proper he passed two
brown-shirted miltiamen, lounging on
the rail of the middle span. They
grinned at him, and, recognizing the
outsider from his clothes, one OF them
commented;
"Ain't this the hell of town.?
ITS going to be" replied Samson
systematically, as he went on.
Still unrecognized, he hired a horse
at the livery stable, and for two hours
rode in silence, save for the easy
creaking of his stirrup feathers and
the soft thud of boofs.
The silence soothed him. The brood
ing hills lulled his spirit as a grooming
song lulls fretful child. Mile after
mile unrolled forgotten vistas. Some
thing deep in himself murmured:
"Home!"
1t was late afternoon when he saw
ahead of him the orchard of Purvy S
place, and read on the store wall a
little more weather stained, but other
wise unchanged:
Jesse Purvy, General Merchandise
The porch of the store was empty
and as Samson flung himself from his
saddle there was no one to greet him
This was surprising, since, ordinarily
two or three of Purvy's personal
guardsmen loafed at the front to watch
the road Just now the guard should
logically be doubled Samson still
wore his eastern clothes-for he want
ed to go through that door unknown
AS Samson South he could not cross
its threshold either way. But wher
he stepped up on to the rough pOrcf
flooring no one challenged his advance
The yard and orchard were quiet from
their front fence to the grisly stock
ade at the rear, and, wondering a
these things, the young man stood fol
a moment looking about at the after
noon peace before he announced him
self
Yet Samson had not come to the
stronghold OF his enemy for the pur
pose of assassination. There had beer
another object in his mind-an utterly
mad idea, it is true, yet so bold O.
, conception that it held ghost o.
promise. He had meant to go int
Jesse Puryys store and chat artlessly
like some inquisitive "furriner." He
would ask questions which by theil
very impertinence might be forgiven
on the score of a strangers folly. But
, most Of all, he wanted to drop the cas-
: ual information, which he should as
, sumo to have heard on the train, tina
Samson South was returning. and t
, mark, on the assassin leader tn 9ifec
of the news In his new coos Il wa:
! necessary to give at least the rather
: warning before he struck. and h,
meant to strike. If he were recoe
nized, well--he shrugged his shoulders
> But as he stood on the outside. VIII
} ing the perspiratian from ais orehead
3 for the ride had been warm, ne hearC
3 voices within. They were loud an,
angry voices. 1t occurred to him thu
/, by remaining where he was he mieh
: gain more information than by hun
t rying in
r 1--we done been your executioner 70
/ twenty years. complained a voice
{ which Samson at once recognized Al
: that OF aaron Hollis, the most trustee
! of Purvy's personal guarus u main
g never iaid down on We yet Me an jim
Asberry killed old Henry South. w
+ laid fer his boy, an would a got hin
} eff you'd only said Their word. wen
!. inter Hixon an killed Tam rack Spicer
| with soldiers all round me Their,
{ hain't no other damn fool in thes
J. mountings would a. took such lon,
, chance es tibet. I'm tired of II
4 They're a-goin' ter git me, an / want