Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1922-09-21


stood in his presence, not with droop
but straight In the manly resolution
to discharge the duties an adverse fate
had thrust upon him. In the belief
that 1t would make him look more like
slave, he now wore his coat turned
wrong side ont.
Master, salute you" he remarked.
"All right" said BRACE. "But turn
your coat / want my slave, the grind
er Of my mill, to appear respectfully
clad. You may sit down."
II thank you, sir"
"You didn't last long"
"No, master The tangled-haired
bag kicked me sidewise, like 4 COW.
In only two pots But what can you
expect of a man that has an ace-full
beaten? How long can man preserve
his freedom at that rate? And a fell
low with a spindle chin and a nose
no bigger than the average wart beat
me with four jacks. Crushed me And
he would have crushed julius Caesar
just the same Well, after all, free
dom has many responsibilities. As a
slave I'll cultivate what virtues can
get hold Of, and look toward old age
and a cabin on the hillside. And now,
as It is natural for every man to hide
his degradation, will you permit me to
call you Virgil in the presence Of 9th
er people?"
II thought you didn't believe in the
natural thing! But all right; grant
your request And now I suppose I'd
better give you some pocket-change.
1t isn't well for even slave to be
broke"
The slaves face frightened with
hope. "You couldn't make 1t as much
as five dollars, could your"
mo, thirty cents"
Shottle took the money and sat
dropping. BRACE gave him cigar, and
they smoked for time in silence. At
last Shottle looked toward Drace, his
face guiltless Of the whimsical humor
that had hitherto possessed 1t.
Master" he said, II don't want to
be inquisitive, and If I'm prying into
what's none Of my business, won't
mind your saying so. But I want to
be a faithful slave, and l can serve
you best If know what-what are my
masters purposes in life. For exam
pie, was there any special reason for
your learning to throw and tie that
way? Is there anybody in particular
I could help you to put the rope ont"
brace made no answer for a mo-
ment, but bent searching eye upon
his new servitor. Somehow the mans
soul seemed to shine transparent in
his face.
Liberty" he said, did you ever
hear Of man named Stepho la yitte"
Liberty nodded. yes, I've heard Of
him; they say he's an outlaw, SNUG
gler.'
"And worse" said BRACE. Hes tho
man who-Liberty, give me your
word, your oath, that you'll keep this
a sacred secret!"
Liberty gave his word and his oath
with certain quaint dignity, and
brace went on:
Liberty, before the war my father,
Alfred BRACE, was manager Of line
of steamboats, on the Ohio. In his en-
ploy was the creole Stepho la Vitte.
After time it came to my fathers
knowledge that Stepho was not only
dishonest in ordinary dealings but had
been guilty Of piracy along the Gulf
coast. And SO my father dismissed
Stepho from position which the Gre
ole's dishonesty had made lucrative
and valuable to him.
Just after that" brace went on,
"the war broke out. La Vitte became
a guerrilla-one of the men Of Guam
trell's stamp, who kept out Of the army
but who gathered in bands and lived
by rapine along the border. was only
little boy, Liberty, when La Vitte's
band Of guerrillas crossed the Ohio
near Cincinnati and raided the little
town where we lived. But the horror
Of that night still burns like flame
In my brain, Liberty"
Drace stopped, drew from breast
pocket card and handed it to Shot
tie. On it was written in bold black
characters "Stepho la Vitte, with the
compliments Of Alfred Braces son
Virgil
Shottle read the card, then looked
inquiringly at BRACE:
Liberty" the young man explained,
"those guerrillas under La Vitte
burned our little town and killed near
ly every grown man in it. For word
was brought of their coming, and the
men-nearly all of them married men
or old-who had not gone to the war
seized weapons and went out to de-
fend their houses.
"They were massacred almost to a
man. . /. And it was not plumber
alone that led them to choose our lit
tie town for outrage, Liberty, but I
passion for revenge. For next morn
ing my father was found hanging to
tree. And on his breast was pinned
card that read: Alfred BRACE, with
the compliments of Stepho la vitte."
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