The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1922-11-24

but upon that girl OF the red roses
when Shottle appeared again. Libert
stood In his presence, not with q droo
but straight In the nanly resaiutio
to discharge The duties an adverse fat
had thrust upon him. In the belle
that IL would make him look more liIs
a slave. he now wore his coat turned
wrong side ont.
"aIasfer ! salute you" he remarked
~AIl right" said Drnce. "But turn
your coat. want my slave, the grind
err of my mill. to appear respectfully
clad You may sit down."
81 thank you. sir"
"You didn't last long"
"No. master The tangIed-raircd
hay Kicked me sidewlse. like cow.
In only two pots. But what can Won
expect of a man that has an ace-fulI
beaten? How long can man preserve
his freedom at that rate? And fel.
low with a spindle chin and 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
don has many responsibilities. AS o
slave III cultivate what virtues cal
ge; Mold Of and look toward old age
and & cabin on The hillside And now
as II Is natural for every man 10 hide
his degradation. will you permit me to
call you virgi! in the presence Of 9th
er people?"
al thought you didn'r believe in the
natural thlngi But all right; grant
your request. And now suppose I'd
better give yon some pocket-changc
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"
"No. thirty cents"
Shottle took the money and sat
dropping Drace give 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 II.
MASTER" he said. II don't want 10
be Inquis.tive. and II I'm prying into
what's none of my business. I won't
mind yoar saying so. But want to
be n faithful slave, and I can serve
You best II 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 on?"
Drace made 10 answer for 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 In yitteY'
Liberty nodded. "Yes. I've heard of |
him; they say he's an outlaw. SNUG
glcr"
"An,l worse" said BRACE. "He's the !
man who-I.iherty give me your
word. your oath. that you'll keep this
n sacred secret"
Liberty gave his word and his oath
with certain quaint dignity. and
Drace went on:
Liberty. before the war my father.
Alfred Drace. was manager of n line
OF steamboats, on the Ohio. In his enr
ploy was the creole Stepho Ia Vitte
After time n came to my fathers
knowledge that Stepho was not only
dishonest in ordinary dealings but had
peen guilty of piracy along the Gulf
coast. And so my father dismissed
Stenho from position which the ere
,le's dishonesty had made lucrative
md valuable 10 him.
Just after that" BRACE went on.
the war broke out. la Vitte became
guerrilla-one Of the men of Guam
rcll's stamp. who kept out of the amy
mi who gathered in bands and lived
~ rapine along the border. | was only
little boy. Liberty. when La vitte's
and of guerrIIas crossed the Ohio
ear Cincinnati and raided the little
own where we lived. But the horror
f that night still burns like flame
n my brain. Liberty"
Drace stopped. drew from breast
ocket = card and handed II TO Shot
lie. On it was written in bold black
iiTf ~ t'i tHftiA'iV I'll 'itiCf WIN TIC
OF Alfred Braces son
-irgil"
Shottle read the card. then looked
,quiringly nj Drace:
Liberty" the young man expiaine1.
those guerr.llas under La Yitte I
urned our little town and killed near
! every grown man In il. For word Q
as brought OF their coming. and the
cn-nearly all of them hurried men 9
: old-who had not gone TO the war +
lied weapons and went out to de- /
nd their houses.
''They were massacred almost TO q /.
an. And IL was not plumber I {,
pne that led them TO choose our lit i
town for outrage. Liberty, but a
ssion for revenge. For next morn
: my father was found hanging 70 e
rec. And on his breast was pinned 4
,ard that read: alfred Drace, with =
compliments of Stepho In yitte."