Cleveland County herald., 1919-03-06

hill few steps and stopped ana whistled to my Ally. 1 could hear her answering whinny far down the dusty road and then her hoofs as she gal loped toward me. She came within few feet of me and stood snortins. l caught and mounted her and rode to the nearest house for help. On the way l saw why she had stopped. number of horses were feeding on the roadside near the log house where An drew Crampton lived. Andrew had just unloaded some hay and was back ing out of his barn. I hitched my lilly and jumped on the rack saying:
 ''Drive up the road as quick as you can. A man has been murdered"
 What fearful word it was that I had spoken! What panic it made in the little dooryard The man gasped and jerlled the reins and shouted to his horses and began swearing. The woman uttered little scream and the children ran crying to her side.
 The physical facts which are further related to this tragedy are of little moment to me now. The stranger was dead and we took his body to our home and my uncle set out for the constable. Over and over again that night l told the story of the shooting. We went to the scene of the tragedy with lanterns and fenced it off and put some men on guard there.
 In the morning they found the rob- ber's footprints in the damp dirt of the road and measured them. The whole countryside was afire with ex- citement and searching the woods and fields for the highwayman. The stranger was buried. There was nothing upon him to indicate his name or residence. Weeks passed with no news of the man who had slain him. had told of the gun with a piece of wood broken out of it's stock, but no one knew of any such weapon in or near Lickitysplit.
 One day Uncle Peabody and drove | up to GrimshaW's to make a payment of money. I remember it was gold and silver which we carried in a little sack. I asked where Amos was and l Mrs. GrimShaW-a timid, tired-lOoking bony little woman who was never seen i outside of her own house-said that he was working out on the farm of a MT. Beekman near Plattsburg. He had gone over on the stage late in June to hire out for the having. I observed that my uncle looked very thoughtful hoo oolv Ioa to say.
 "You never had any idee who that robber was, did yep he asked by and by.
 "No-I could not see plain-it was so dusk" said.
 The swift words, "Your money or your life" came out of my memory and rang in it. l felt it's likeness tc the scolding demands of Mir. Grim shaw, who was forever saying in ef. l feet:
 ''Your money or your homew That was like demanding our lives because we couldn't live without our | home. Our all was in it. Mir. Grim. | shaw's gun was the power he had over us, and what terrible weapon il wasi I credit him with never realiz ing how terrible.
 We came to the sandhills and then Uncle Peabody broke the silence by saying:
 q wouldn't give fifty cents for as much O this land as bird could fly around in day.'
 Then for long time I heard only the sound of feet and wheels untitled in the sand, while my uncle sat look ing thoughtfully at the siding. When spoke to him he seemed not to hear me.
 Before we reached home I knew | what was in his mind, but neither dared speak of it.
 People came from Canton and all the neighboring villages to see and talk with me, and among them were the Dunlelbergs. Unfounded tales of my bravery had gone abroad.
 Sally seemed to be very glad to see me. We walked down to the brook and up into the maple grove and back through the meadows.