The Dickson County herald. (Dickson, Tenn.) 1907-1979, 1915-05-07
CHAPTER


Joined boafds, standing atar IN . fence
OF the same construction! What 10
thsrs 80 this TO rouse q whole neigh.
borhood and collect before II group
of eager. anxious. hesitatins reopisf
This is Judge ostrandsrs plaza. and
anyone who knows Shelby or tho sos
siD Of its suburbs knows that this
house OF his has not opened Ito doors
10 any outsider, man or woman. for
over q dozen years. nor have his gates
been seen In all that time to cape at
Anyone's instance or 10 stand Enclosed
TO public intrusion. The seclusion
sought was absolute. The men and
women who passed and repassed this
corner many times day were a. igno-
rant 90 the townspsople In general OF
what lay behind the gray. rnonotonoas
sxterior Of the weatherbeaten boards
thsy 30 frequently brushed against
The house wac s*sre. Of urse--they
nj knsw tbs house. or did once--but
there were rumors OF another fence. q
sscond barrier. standing few feet In
side the nrst and similar 20 II In all
respects, even ts the gates which cor.
responded exactly with these outer
and visible ones and probably were
Just as fully provided with bolts and
bars.
And nowi In the freshness OF this
summer morning. without warning OF
any seeming reason for the change,
the sfrict habit of years has been
broken into and this gate OF gates in
no, Gully standing unlocked before
kheir eyes, but q woman--a stranger
10 the town as her very act Shove
has been seen to enter thereto On.
ter. but not come out: which means
that she must still DO inside. and pos
sibly In the very presence Of the
Judge.
Where 10 Belaf Why does he allow
his errands-But Il was Bella. or 10
they have been told. who left this
gate altar he, the awe and
terror OF the town. the enormous. re-
doubtable. close-mouthed negro. trust
cd al man Ia seldom trusted, and
faithful to his trust. yea. UP to this
very hour. as all must acknowledge.
IN spite Of every temptation land they
SAd been many and siluring) to dis
close the secret OF this home OF which
he was not tho least interesting fac
tor. What has made him thus aud
denly careless. he who has never been
careless betorei Money! A bribe
from tho woman who had entered
Sherei
What else was there to believed
There stood the gate with the pebble
holding u away from the post; and
here stood half the nelghborhood, In
q fascination which had for It's motif
tho knowledge that they. themselves,
II they had courage enough. might 70
In. just as this woman had gone In,
and see-why, what she IL seeing
now--the unknown. unguessed reason
FOR all these mysteries-~-the hidden
treasure or the hidden sorrow which
would explain why he. their tirst citi.
zen, the respected, even revered Judge
OF their highest court should make use
OF such precautions and show such un.
varying determination 10 bar out all
Corners from the place he called his
home.
II had not always been 40. Within
the memory OF many there It had been
m abode OF cheer and good fellowship.
Not few OF the men and women now
hesita,!ng before It's portals could
boast OF meals taken at the judges
ample board. and OF evenings spent In
animated conversation In the great
room where he kept his books and did
bis writing.
But that was before his son left him
IN 30 unaccountabie manner; BE-
fore-yee. all were agreed on this
point--hetore that other bitter ordeal
OF his middle age, the trial and con.
demnatiob OF the man who had way.
laid and murdered his best friend.
Though the effect Of these combined
e0wows had not seemed to be immedi.
ats tone month had seen both):
though . half-ycar had elapsed before
all sociability was lost In extreme self.
absorption, and a full ono before he
took down the picket fence which had
hitherto been considered y sufficient
protection to his simple grounds, and
'put up these boarts which had no Gem.
pletely isolated him from the rest Of
The world. II was evident enough to
the friends who recalled his look and
So a. he walked the streets with Al,
gsroan E;Aarldgc on one side and hin
brilliant. evererccesstul son on the
other. that the change now observable.
In him was due 10 the violsn, sunder.
ing Of these two ties, Grief slowly
settled into confirmed melancholy. and
melancholy tato eccentricitias.
Judge ostrnnder was a reciuss u
the most uncompromising type: but he
was such for only half his time. From
trn In the morning TIL ave In the after
noon. he came and went like any other
cisissn. fulfilling his judicial duties
with the same scrupulous care a. for.
merly ard with more snabillty, In.
deed. hc showed at times. and often
when II was least expected. . mellow.
ness az temper quite foreign to him in
his early daya The admiration
awaksned by his nne appearance on
49, t.nrnh ~xs neypr fnArrsd now nv