The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1916-01-20
CHAPTER XXI.

e. low, the matter is like this. Z
3 fNt continued Pole, FAN Z want
II you to think hard on it, fer
I'm all baIled up Nan' hardly
know what I believe am what don't
believe. Now. in the fust place, 1t is
impossible to even start on a hunt like
this unless you have some little thing
or some particular person to aim at.
Now. I've got this much to start on.
an it issall i have got. The Lord
knows It IS small enough when you
realize that you may be suspectin' an
Innocent man an one without a dollar
to defend h1sse with You remembers
the day Howard an Craig met in town
an hid that row? Well, that mornin'
just as Craig was startin' off to town,
I happened to be IN Trumbley's piece
o. woodland on the slope overlookini
Crafgis farm. was up thar to see
about some trees I'd agreed to cut
: down and stack up inscords fer Trum-
bley's winter supply. Well, seed
Craig leave his boss at the barn an
walk across his field to whar Abe Full
ton was naakins a wire fence fer i'm.
The truth is, Puck no particular mo-
<tice OF en-, an the distance was so
great that I couldnt see Their faces
good nor oar what was said, but
somehow It struck me at the time that
they was havfn' words
Whether it was Their motions or.
looks or what not don't know, but,
anyways, remember that the fust.
thought that popped into my. head aft
er Crafg's m1xup with Howard was
that Craig had quarTeled with Abe an
that was one reason he was SO ready
to pounce on somebody else. But i
didn't LET the thing weigh much with
me at the time, fer, you see, 7 was fol
OWN the, other scent but after that
failed Ituck up the other an trie>- to
see ef 4 could connect Abe with the
kiIlin'r
AN did you-did you, that's the
question r. Abner's lower lip was quit
ering under tense suspense. His bushy
Brows had met
81 don't know, Uncle Alb: as God ia
my finaI judge, I DON'T Pole return
ed .'an' that's why I've come to you.
All I could do was this. I went by
Craigs field an seed that the fence
wasn't finished, but Iscouldn't say that
meant anything. fer Craig was slow
pay, am no sensible person would keep
on workin fer a dead man Without
knoBinF who was his boss, anyway
No, Of course not, Abner agreed.
seWas that all p
t-No, not quite. I next set out to Il ok
fer Abe. seed I'm In a bunch o.
1oafers at the cotton compress. " har
Jobs by the hour was give out fer
truekin an. Ioadin' an the like I
knowed most Of 'em. All the time Abe
seton a bale o. cotton Within a stick
an sayin' nethin' I noticed that he
wouldn't laugh much along with the
balance, but when came to think of
1t couldn't remember ever seem the
cuss smile or pass joke nohOw, an
70. you see, I couldn't go by that.
studied i'm good hour got the
crowd to talk about the murder once,
an 7 watched Abe. hut couldn't no
tice that he acted anyway different
szan the RESI- He jest SET with his
feet crossed am the brin o. his old t
over his eyes an trimmed straight in
front of i'm
81 see, / see," Abner nodded thought
fully
II set about in sly, sunderland way
among folks that had knowed Abe a
long time. to see eff he'd ever been in
any difficulties Now, here comes the
only pint I've found worth censiderin'
an 4 want yore opinion. Ten years
ago, when Abe lived over the noun
tain, he was arrested an, tried fer as
sault on Teller an put in Jail fer a
year. The teller who he mighty nigh
Killed owned a little sawmiIT whar Abe
was workin', an one day at log rolIin'
the saWniu man got mad at Abe fer