Tombstone epitaph., 1917-02-25

The answer was below Of rage. Old Milt McBriar threw forward his rife
 Anse looked up and spoke slowly: T reckon it wouldn't profit ye much to harm us. Milt We ain't armed. an 1t would bring on a heap of trouble"
 Outside rose an angry chorus of voices. The news that the jail was empty had gone through the crowd.
 For a time the McBriar stood there debating his next step. The town seemed at his mercy. Seemed! That word gave him pause. The way home lay through Havey territory. which might mean twenty miles of solid ambush. Anse Havey sat too quietly for Milts ease of mind. Was he bait ing some fresh trap?
 The old intriguer felt baffled and at sea He had grown accustomed to weighing and calculating with guileful deliberation. He baked at swift and impulsive action. Moreover. if he de bated long, he might not be able to control his men. He looked up-to see little Milt. who was fighting back the crowd at the door and locking them out. Beyond the panels could be heard loud swearing and the impa- tient shuffiing of many feet
 What shall we do, son?" inquired the older man of the younger. His voice had 8 note of appeal and break ing power.
 When Young NH. had ridden out of Peril no feudist in the hills had borne a heart fuller of hatred and hunger for vengeance. but that was because of his father. Now his father was free. For Luke Thixton he had profound contempt He saw in the situation only a game of wits in which Anse Havey was winner. Well" he replied with a grin he could not repress, Init looks right smart ter me like thar .haint nothin' to do but ride on back home an try again next time"
 That counsel in the end prevailed. struggle with a mutinous spirit. These men had come for action and they did not want to ride back foiled, but the word of Old Milt had stood urchal- lenged too long to fail now. Yet he led back a grumbling following and bore a discounted power. They could not forget that Havey had worsted him.
 So the spirit of the men who had come to fight vented itself in the yell and the random shots to which there | was no reply. and again train of horsemen were on their way into the ] hills.
 When it was all over and Juanita sat there in her empty school she was realizing that. after all. the desperate moment had only been deferred and must come with absolute certainty. Christmas was only two days off and her gun-rack was empty. When she had come home there had not been a single weapon there.
 | There would be no Christmas tree now! The beribboned packages lay in | sion, she knew that the desks would have been as empty as the gun-rack The whole turtlelike life had drawn in its head and the countryside lay as though besieged.
 On Anse Havey's book-shelves were new volumes, for Juanita was feeding his scant supply. and softer type of poetry was being added to his frugal and stern repertoire. A number Of men left the mountains and went into | exile elsewhere. These were the wit nesses who must testify against Luke Thixton and whose lives would not | have been worth a nickel had they stayed at home.
 Then came Christmas day itself. bleak and soggy with the thaw that had set in and the moody dreariness of the sky. The sun seemed to have despaired and made its course spirit lessly from dawn to twilight. crawling dimly across its daily arc.
 Brother Anse Talbott came over to the school and found both women sit ting apathetically by an untrimmed fir tree amid a litter Of forgotten pack ages. The children of Tribulation ] were having the sort of Christmas they had always had-a day of terror and empty cheerlessness.
 Hit seems like right smart pity fer them children ter be plumb. tee totally disapp'inted." unused the old preacher 'S'pose now ye put names on them gewgaws an let me jest sorter ride round an scatter 'em."
 You dear old saint" cried Juanita. suddenly reused out of her apathy. But you'll freeze to death an get drowned in some ford"
 "Thet's all right" the preacher an swered briefly. 'T reckon kin go ther route"
 It took Good Anse Talbot three days of battle with quicksand and mire to finish that mission. At each house he told them that Juanita Hol i land had sent him, and the girl was canonized afresh in hearts old and young. back in roadless coves and on bleak hillsides.
 |
 Every evening found Anse Havey seated before Juanita's hearth. study ing the flicker of the f1relight OF her face. Every detail of her expression became to him as something he had always known and worshiped-
 Some day Malcolm would cone bact