Show A man for the ages By Irving bacheller CHAPTER 1 I wherein abe lincoln reveals his na method e thod of conducting a lawsuit in th the e case of henry arimstead Brim stead et al vs lionel davis they found many of davis notes in tazewell county abe Lincol ns complaint represented seven clients and a sum exceeding twenty thousand dollars with the papers in ills his pocket harry went nent on to the honey creek settlement there he found that the plague had spent itself and that blin had gone to a detention camp outside the city of chicago ile he was not permitted to see her the regulations having become very strict in the city he went to the store of EU ell fredenberg the merchant received him with enthusiasm thus thusia hism sm chicago had beg begun ri to recover from the panic trade was lively harry spent the afternoon with mrs kelso and baby boy box I 1 he wrote a very tender letter to dim bim that day he told her that he had come to chicago to H ahe e so that he might be near her and ready to help her if she needed help the same old love is in my heart that made me want you for ni wife long ago that has filled my let teis and sustained me in many an hour of peril he wrote if you really think that i wu ou must marry da ls Is I 1 ask nou ou at lea leat least t to wait for the developments of a suit buit which abe lincoln Is brinl bringing ing in behalf of mau lilau citizens of tazewell county it i likely that we shall know more thi we e do now before that case ends i saw your beautiful little boy he look so much like you that 1 I long to him and keep him with me in a few das lie he received this brief I 1 aply dear harry your tour letter Pl pleased elsel and pained me I 1 li have ave been so tossed about that I 1 dont know quite whore I 1 stand for a long iong time my life has ha been nothing but a series of emotion what honest abe may be able to proe e I 1 know not but I 1 am sin sine e thal lie he cannot disprove the filet fact that mi davis lins has leen been kind and generous P me for that I 1 cannot e eor er cease 0 i be grateful I 1 should hane hae malile him before now but for one circumstance my little boy cannot 1 alx lx made to like him he will nill have nuth noth ing to do with mr da bals dals Is he will no be bribed or coerced I 1 saw in this i of trouble tio uble I 1 left home hoine im all went down into the very shadow 0 death it may be that we nie iia nine beal saed for each other by the wisdom nova of childhood I 1 must not see you now nor shall I 1 see him until I 1 hanc hae my way eien een our nour call cannot male make me forget that I 1 am under a promise im glad you like the boy no ile Is a wonderful child I 1 named him ne cemiah for ills grandfather wo we call him nim and sometimes mr nimble because he is so lively im homesick to see him and you I 1 am going to dison to teach and earn money fol foi mother and the baby dont tell anyone where I 1 am and above all dont come to see me until in good heart I 1 can ask you to come god bless aou ou MUNI BIM in a few weeks the suit came on oil davis defense as given in the answer in alleged that the notes were to be paid out of the proceeds ot the sale of lots and that in consequence of tile the collapse of the boom there h had ad boon been no such proceeds As to the understanding der standing upun upon which the notes were ere drawn there was a direct issue of veracity for which abe lincoln was anas exceedingly well prepared ills his cross examination was as merciless as sunlight falling round thing it was kindly and polite in tone but relentless in its when it ended the weight of davis character hud had been accurately established lis lied in ills his masterly summing up mr lincoln presented every stance in faor of the defendants position with remarkable insight lie anticipated the arguments of his attorney ile he presented them fairly and generou generously sl to the court and jury according to cambon the opposing lawyers admitted in a private talk that lincoln had bad thought of presumptions in favor of davis willell which had not occurred to them lay the cliar char act clastic of mr air Lincol ns method in a 0 lawsuit it was a safe thing for him to do 10 for lie he never took a case in which ill juo tice was not clearly on his side samson writes if he had been dece deceived led as to the merits of a 11 cue cu e he would drop it with willi the sword of justice in his hand he invincible A judgment was ins rendered in favor oc nc plaint Hrs for the full 11 1 al mount of gummaw their afa claim hn with costs osfak 99 the character cafa atef of lionel dais da Is lind had been sufficiently re repealed caled even the credulous mrs kelso turned against him mr lin coans skill as a 1 lawyer n yer was reco recognized in the north a well as in the middle counties from that day forth no man enjo cl a like popularity in tazewell county when samson sams on and harry needles left the courthouse there seemed to be no obstacle bem between een the N oung man hajn and the consummation of his wishes unfortunately as they were going down the steps danis who nho blamed samson for ills troubles flung an insult at the sturdy vermonter samson on who had the then arrived at years of firm discretion was little disturbed by th t the h e anger of a man so discredited but harry on the sound of the hateful words nords had leaped forward and dealt the speculator a savage blow in the face which for a few seconds had deprived him of 0 the power of speech that evening a friend of davis called at the city hall with a challenge the liot hot blooded young soldier accepted it against the urgent counsel of samson traylor mr lincoln having left the city As to the details of the tragic scene that followed next nest day the writer has little knowledge samson was not tho the t ape pe of man for such a chronicle the diary speaks of his part la in it with shame and sorrow and remorse we know that it was at daybreak when he and harry rode to a point on the prairie something more than a mile from the city limits there he tells us they met davis dails and one friend of the latter and two surgeons it Is evident too that great secrecy had been observed in the plan and its execution and that until some time after the last act lincoln knew nothing of the later developments in the drama of davis downfall for the rest of the deplorable scene the historian i orian mus must con content en himself rise w with the naked details in the diary of a puritan pioneer 1 I went because there was no escape from it and with the shadow of gods wrath in my soul samson writes the sun rose as we halted our horses forsea we paced the field the two men took their places twenty yards apart the pistols rang out at the command to lire fire and both men fell davis had been hit at the left shoulder my handsome boy lay on his tacy tace the bullet had bored through his right lung before I 1 could reach him he had risen to his feet to go on with the battle davis lay like one paralyzed zed by the shock of the bullet his seconds declared they were satisfied I 1 saw sav them take the bullet out of harrys back where it had lodged under his skin I 1 helped them put the wounded men into the wagon and rode to the home of one of the doctors near the city w N herein were rooms for the accommodation of critical cases leading harrys horse and praying for gods help and forgiveness I 1 took care ot of the boy until ste stee e N nuckles came to j 71 the two nien men took their places help me bini bim arrived when alic ii harry was out of his head and know her she na was q determined to stay and do the nursing but I 1 let her she did not look strong I 1 loaned her the oney money i 11 to pay pan the debt to davis and persuaded her lie r to go back to her work in dixon she went beuc and was rather heartbroken about it the ilie surgeon said that eliat hurry harry would lle if lung acer bet in it set in but lie he pulled through ile he mended sl slowly oily I 1 had some fear of arrest but the conspiracy of slie silence nee kept tile facts under cover it was ills partly due I 1 guess to tile the friendship of john wentworth for me and honest abe ile hu kept it out of the papers there were no complaints and the rumors soon fell into site silence ace the boy mr nimble Is a cunning little man when lie he began to get better harry loved to play with him hill and listen to his talks about fairies the young man was able to leae ills his bed by and by but lie he get over his weakness and pallor he had no appetite I 1 sent him with nuckles into the wisconsin woods to live ive lu in the open then I 1 took the small boy to dixon with me in the saddle bini had just got back to her work she told me that eliphalet Ell phalet biggs had haa been there ile he had heard of the boy and wished to sec him and demanded to know where ho he was for fear that biggs would try to get possession ot of mr nimble I 1 took him with me ko ta in tile saddle LCT aso j be continued rr 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