The vidette. (Iuka, Tishomingo County, Miss.) 1912-1967, 1915-09-16

Z samson drew near, ne saw tndt SO1ie
ten or twelve men, armed with rifles,
separated from groups and disposed
themselves behind the tree trunks and
the stone coping of the well. None Of
4 them spoke, and Samson pretended
that he had not seen them. He rode
his mule at a walk. knowing that he
was rifle-covered from half-dozen
4 windows. At the hitching rack direct
4 ly beneath the county building, he
1 flung his reins over post, and. swing
ing his rife at his side, passed esu
fiously along the brick walk to the
I jail The men behind the trees edged
around their covers as he went. keep
ing themselves protected, as squirrels
creep around trunk when hunter is
/ lurking below. Samson halted at the
/ Jail wall and called the prisoners
name A tousled head and surly face
I appeared at the barred window, and
the boy went over and held converse
! from the outside.
How In hell did We git into town."
demanded the prisoner
Il rid In" was the short reply.
How'd We git in the jailhouse?"
The captive was shamefaced.
Il got leetle too much Ticker, an
was shootin out the lights hast night"
he confessed.
What business did We have hyar in
Hixon?"
Il Jest slipped in ter see gal"
Samson leaned closer and lowered
his voice
Does they know tibet We shot them
shoots at Jesse Purvy?"
Tamarack turned pale.
NO" he stammered, they believe
you done hi"
Samson laughed. He was thinking
OF the rifles trained on him from
dozen invisible rests.
How long air they a-goin' ter keep
ye hyar?" he demanded.
Il kin git out tomorrer eff pays the
fine. Hits ten dollars"
And eff 20 don't pay the fine?"
Hits dollar day"
81 reckon We don't low ter pay hit,
do yer"
81 lowed mebby we mout pay hit fer
me. Samson"
Eye done lowed plumb wrong. /
come hyar ter see eff ye needed help,
but hit pears ter me they're lettin' ye
off easy"
He turned on his heel, and went
back to his mule. The men behind the
trees began circling again. Samson
mounted, and, with his chin well up,
trotted back along the main street. II
was over The question was answered.
! The Hollmans regarded the truce as
/ still effective. The fact that they were
| permitting him to ride out alive was
wordless assurance of that. Incl
dentally he stood INDICATED in the
eyes of his own people.
,SLescott stayed on week after that
I simply in Difference to Samson's insist
ence. To leave at once might SAVIOR of
night under fire, but when the week
was out the painter turned his horses
head toward town, and his train swept
him back to the Bluegrass and the
East.
A quiet of unbroken and deadly
routine settled down on Misery. The
conduct of the Southsin keeping hands
OF, and acknowledging the justice OF
Tamarack Spicer's Jail sentence, had
been their answer to the declaration
of the Hollmans in letting Samson ride
into and out of Hixon. The truce was
established When, a short time later,
| Tamarack left the country to become
railroad brakeman, Jesse Purvy
passed the word that his men must,
until further orders, desist from vio-
lence. The word had crept about that
Samson, too. was going away, and, IL
this were true, Jesse felt that his flu
ture would be more secure than his
past Purvy believed Samson guilty,
despite the exoneration Of the hounds.
| Lescott had sent box of books, and
Samson had taken q team over to
Hixon, and brought them back
He devoured them all from title
page to fms line, and many OF them
he went back to. and digested again.
He wrestled long and gently with
his uncle, struggling to win the old
mans consent to his departure But
Spicer South's brain was no longer
plastic. What had been good enough
for the past was good enough for the
| future. Nevertheless, he arranged az.
fairs so that his nephew should be
able to meet financial needs, and to go
where he chose in a fashion BETTING
South.
November came in bleakly, with
raw and devastating breath of fatality.
| The smile died from horizon to hori-
zon, and for days cold rains beat and
dashed the forests. And, toward the
end of the month, came the day which
Samson had set for his departure.
At the threshold, with the saddle
bags over his left forearm and the rife
in his hand. he paused. His uncle stood
at his elbow and the boy put out his
| hand.
"Good-by, Unc' Spicer." was all he
said. The old man, who had been his
| second father shook hands. His face,
too, was expressionless, but he felt
that he was saying farewell to a sol.
! der of genius who was abandoning the
field. And he loved the boy with all
the centered power of an isolated
heart.
half-mile along the road, Samson
halted and dismounted There, in a