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Show -'" BASE INGRATITUDE" " THE WIDOW'S RAM BUNTED JEEMS AND DIED FOR IT, Tim Prisoner Turns on Illi Accusers and Tells nrrowInC Tale That Mollifies tha Judge. 1 was travelling among Ibo mountains nt East Tonnessco and ono day about uoou was caatlni; about for a place where I ralght Rot something to cat, when my cjo nu attracted by a number ot borc that wero lied ncsr a ruinous old lot' bouse. Curiosity and a hopo tbat I might be ion tbe trail of somotblng to cat drew me to tbo house says Ople P. Head. Upon entering tho doorway I found a Justlco of tho poaco holding court. It was a criminal case, and I discovered the prisoner to bo a long, lank follow, with .a bony faco and a complexion that proclaimed pro-claimed the clay.oator. I fancied that having killed lorao orib he was now on trial to determine whether or not he should bo sent boforo the Grand Jury us sort of sarcastic preliminary to being Jianged, and had begun to pity his pro-foible pro-foible wife and presumable children when tho Judge said: , I "This hero court, beln sorter tired, will now tako n recess fur halfer hour. The Court has sot hero au' chewed new .tobackcr till tbo hldo Is about all took often tho Insldo of his mouth, nn' I wnntcrsay that If anybody has got any itobacker that is a lectio milder In Its Tiarts. pass a chew of It right up to the Court." Tho prisoner took out n twist of tobacco to-bacco and handed It to tlioJudgo, whereupon where-upon tho Jurist remarked: "This Court 'thanLs you, Jecms, but at thosamo tlmo reminds you (lint tbo law of this great land ain't to bo bought for a mess of pottago nor a chaw of tobackcr. How's jo' crsp. Jccms?" "Sorter wallcrln' with tho crab grass an rasslln' with tho rag weed. I vrouldcr hud It all right but this hero troublo coma on me. When a man Is bowed down In tbo speret bo ain't thlnkln' of craps, lie Is athlnkln' of the shxmo that mout fall oc him an' tako all the color out of bis repurtutlon." "Yes, that's a fact, Jccms." "What Is all this about?" I asked, turning to a long-haired fellow that sat -near whero I stood. "Wall." he nnswerod, leaning over and 4urulng looso n squirt of tobacco extract that might have einged a cat. "Jecms Tlmbcrly he shot a sheep an' I reckon lie's In !ur It." "They don't Intend to hang blui, do 4hej ?" "No. wuj'ii that. They'll hit him about dfly lashes with a hickory au" then moke him work a country road somo day when (bar's a boss show in tho xelgbborbood." At this juncture tho Judgo pounded V "JEST LET MR HAVE A MINIT." HH on tbo tablo. "Como to order now. Tho HJ 'Court is about to put on tbo solemn !HM gyarment of tbe law of this here f reo an' Hr mighty land, an' If any man so fur fur- 1 It e'1 uim8e" 8B t0 Interrupt tho pro- BJB -ceedln's, ho'U fall under the wltberln' If displeasure of yourn truly. Now, let's r git at this business, fur this Court has other affairs on hand. This Court must go somo tlmo this evculn' au' reprimand : a man tbat pizencd his dog. Jeems, as J said at tho outeot of this trial, I never . -was mora shocked In my life. Fur many years wo bavo know'd you to bo reasonably honest, with generally a putty good dab of meat In yo' smoke- jjousc, an' wo kaln't sco why you should have killed tho Wldder Dalton's sheep." "Tes," spoko up the widow, who, for 4ho first time, I noticed was present, sit- 5 'ting in a corner, "an' a finer rom uever blow his breath on a bunch of pennyrlle. . Hut hero comes Jeems an' shoots bim, an' 9 that too when ho's got moro moat than t 1 havo an' he knows that I've got tbreo M sons-in-law to feed." m "Jedge." said .Teems, "If you will Jest !9 let mo havo a mlnlt, I will fling a good Jl deal of light on this hero subject. I V -don't deny a killln' of the shcop" pM "Woll. then, Jecms, you ncenter say jl no more. You'vo stated tho very fact in that no air tryln' to git at, an' tbar ain't LV no uco In foollu' along hero uo longer. W The court 'lows that it will hotter sent- fjU noo you, Jeems." BB "Not without glvm' me a hearln', I mjj hope)" jjH "I don't sec what good a hearln' will & do you when you bavo made that con- ( K fcsilou." I M "Wall, Jest llstou to my talk an then W mebby you'll see. I don't want to tako 91 up yo' tlmo so that you kaln't meet tho HI follcr that pizencd yo' dog, but I do in- HI alst on bavin' a hoarlng." 1 "Wall, then, go ahead, but cut her , PH abort." "Jeems" got up.roscaed bscxbla long hair and thus addressed the assembly: "One cold Wlnttr night, when the snow come down faster than you ever seen chaff coma outeu a wheat fan, 1 heard a bleatln' noise, an', goln' to tbe door. I thought tbo aouud come from the valley not fur from the house. I told ray wlfo thstl bsd to go down In tho valley because be-cause I hoard a lamb callln for help.rtid let me say right hero tbat I mny be bad in a good many things, but no lamb over called to mo In vain. I thought of Blinon Peter that was told to feed tho Lord's sheep thought of it as I stood tuar In tho door Willi tho snow a-drlvln past me Into tho bouso. My wlfo said that I better not go out in sfch a night, 'specially as I wa'n'l feelln' very well; but I 'lowed that I couldn't sleep with tho pitiful cry of tbat lamb a-rlngln' In my ears, so I took my lantern au' went down Into tho vaHer. Tbo snow was whirllu' so fast that I could hardly seo wliar I was goln', but at last, cotnln' nearer an" nearer to tho bleatln', 1 at Inst found a llttlo lamb with his head stlckin' out of a snow-drift. "I took htm out; his leps wero frozen stiff as slicks. I took him to the bouso an' warmed him by tho Arc got a bottle bot-tle of milk and fixed it so be could suck. I built up a good Are so ho wouldn't get cold durlu' tho night, an' every tlmo ho would bleat I would git up an' fix his bottle. The woathcr stayed cold for a "HE SENT ME SrilAWMNO OX THH OIIOU.ND." long time, an onco when tbo old cow got out of tho lot an' wandered off on' didn't como up In tlmo to give milk for the Inmb I searched for her on the mountain side an' way down In the valley. val-ley. It was late when I got back homo, an' long before I reached tho bouso I heard tho lamb n-bleatln'. Uo seemed to bo powerful glad when I came in with the milk, an' tbe thought I 'read in his eves was: 'I never will forglt you.' Wal, to mako a long Btory short, I brought up that lamb till bo was as ilno n sheep as you ever saw, an' In every look out his eyes be said that ho never would forglt mo. We called blm Bob an' ho 'peered to like tho name. Ono day the next Fall, Nat Sarschot, that I owed $3. como over to my house on' 'lowed that he must have the money. I didn't havo it an' told him so. Just then Bob he como up. Til take this sheep says Nat,' an' be done it In splto of all my beggln' an proralsin' that I would pay him as soon ns I could get tho money. Last Spring I heard tbat Nat had sold Bob to tho Wldder Dalton. So much for tho first part, an' now for tho second: A day or two ago I was goln' through the woods, carryin' a bag ot corn ou my back, an' all at onao Iter-bhipt Iter-bhipt something took me an' almost knocked mo lifeless. "As loon as I could git up 1 looked rouud an' tbar, not moro than ten feet away, stood Bob. a-shakin' of his head. 'Gracious alive. Bob,' said I, 'don't you know mo?' II o backed a little, nn' jest as I expected to sec tho look tbat said bo was nevor goln' to forglt me, he shot at ine an' gave mo a biff that sent mo sprawlin' on the grouud. I think ho hit mo tlueo times before I could git Ap, an' then ho followed ma to the fenco, n-churuln' n-churuln' mo every Jump ot tho way an' tlcklodl W'y, I nevor saw a ram en-Joy en-Joy himself so In my life. Well, wheu I got home I sot down an' thought a long tlmo about tho Ingratltudo of this life, an' thon I thought I would teach that rascnl a lesion; so I got my gun and went back down into tbe woods. I held tho guu behind me an' poked about. Putty soon I saw Bob, an' ho saw mo about tho samo time. Iloro bo como. I didn't say a word. lie was so tickled that ho thought he'd stop an' laugh a llttlo before blflln' mo, an' he stopped an' suorted with delight, an' Jest thcu I ups WJLITKU yOK HIM. with my gun. I novor saw such a surprised sur-prised sheep. AY'Lun ho saw that I was' fixed for him be tried to look lovln', but I let him have it light between tbo eyes. That's ray statement Jodpo nn' it shows that I wa'n't out otter meat, lut revenge, re-venge, fur I didn't even skin tho rascal; an' now, it you want to whip me an' raaV mo work on the county road, all rJgU." i ."Jocms," said the Judge, "any court ' that could have tho heart to convict you oughter bo hung. Wldder Dalton, what . havo you did with that sheep's meatt" "I'vo got it at home." "Wal, you fro home an' roast a bin' quarter of It. This court an Jesms air goln' to tuko dinner with you to-mor-ror." |
