The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1921-10-06

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"Aw, shet upi Ye can tell It at the
trial" growled old Ball. Then to his
klnsmen.
We'll hold Dale right here, boys,
ontel the shuriff he's sent after comes.
And Wen not move Adam, which same
Is accordin' to law. / reckon ShurlGf
Tom Flowers'll find a different job
from what he expected to find; won't
he, boys2 Say, | wlsht one o. you
feilers'd gi' me good. big chaw o.
tobacker BE burned Of don't. Adams
death, 1t has made me feel sort o.
bad. by comics, and tobacker's allus
| o consolation
"Blll Dale, you haln't got chaw o.
t0backer on ye, have ye-bOught to-
bncker, store tobacker? It's burned
sight better'n homemade, | says. ye
say ye don't chew Chew-h--ll
| Whyn't ye say 'chaw,' like a mani /
allus knowed We wasn't no count, no
how. Nobody at don't chaw tobacker
amt no count. =. All right. jim
Ike" to his nephew, "I'll take chaw
o. yores. then. And I'll take a tol'ably
big chaw, Jim Ike. cause Adams
death has made me feel sort o. bad.
and tobacker's allus consolation"
The sounds OF the shooting had car
ried far, and 1t wasn't long until the
scene Of the tragedy was crowded with
Balls and Torreys, Littlefords and
Morelands. Major Bradley and Hayes.
too, were there. Every man OF them
was armed; very little thing might
easily turn the place into a shambIes.
The major saw this, and he was
afraid. He drew the leaders OF the
Morelands and the Littlefords aside,
and finally prevailed upon them to d.
their utmost toward keeping peace uL-
Ill the coming OF the sheriff.
At first John Moreland and Ben Lit
tleford were for taking Bill Dale from
the Balls and Torreys who guarded
him, If they had to dcpopulate the
whole Ball settlement, Jerusalem Cove
and Hatton's He'll to accomplish Ii !
Happily, the majors counsel prevailed.
Sheriff Tom Flowers was a tall and
1.-THE, smooth-faced man. He arrived
with Luke Moreland at noon, after
hours Of hard riding. He saw the high
tension, and Immediately steeled him
self TO handle the situation After
riding straight TO the center of the
gathering and there halting his horse,
he said evenly:
I'm order that ] may know who to
arrest, | must know something OF the
circumstances Only one man must
speak at a time. No playing bad with
me; and remember that, gentlemen
I'll certainly drop the fellow who
starts playing hoss with me, If it's the |
last move | make on earth. Now some |
body gently use his powers of speech" |
Major Bradley, more soldlerlike than |
ever, went forward. "As the attorney |
Of Mr.. Dale, who stands accused of |
killing Adam Ball." he said to the Of
ficer, Il beg leave TO state that my |
client will do no talking at present"
Dale understood, and he did not |
open his mouth.
But old Ball had something to say.
and he proceeded to say t.:
"He killed my son, Adam" pointing
to Dale, 'in cold blood. Me and about
a dozen o. my kin was on our way
over Long ridge to look at bee tree,
when we heered three pistol shots. We |
was right up thar" pointing to the
northward, "and we come a-runniI. /
over here to see, by comics, what was
the matter. Well, by comics, we found
Bill Dale thar down on his knees
aside o. my son. Adam, who was as
dead as hi or deader; and Bill Dale
was a-sobbin and a-sobbin' about II.
And ef he never killed my son Adam,
what was he a-sobbin' and a-sobbln'
about, / AK you that? And my son
Adam he had rifle, by comics, but
he never shot none at all. lie was
with us up to few minutes before, and
he hadn't shot none all mornln'.
Shurft Flowers. wisht ye'd gi' me
good, big chaw o. tobacker, by gon-
nles, cause my son Adam his death
il has made me feel bad"
Major Bradley stopped caresslng his
well-kept gray imperial, walked over to
the dead mans rifle, picked 1t up and
put its muzzle to his nose. He scented
fresh powder-smoke. Then he faced
old Ball with strange, hard glitter
In his blue eyes
''You are liar, sir" he said with a
peculiar pollteness.
A stir ran quickly over the Balls
and Torreys Sheriff Flowers called
out:
"Quiet, there |" and there was quiet.
lie continued: 'Where is Mr.. Dale's
revolver?'
The Balls had 1t. They produced 1t.
1t had three empty chambers when
II should have had but one
Pass II to me butt first" ordered
the laws representative. He knew
that many man had been shot while
taking revolver barrel first, and he
was taking no chances.
Old Ball obediently turned the weap-
on around