Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

m Sfi' ■'' & .••■ % KM'-". •* m Mg&rf By ... WILL N. HAR.BEN ABNER DANIEL “Uncle Ab, you ort to be killed," sullied Pole. “You’ve been settin’ beer the Inst half hour pokin’ fun at that feller, an’ you know it. Well, I’m go- l:i’ on home. Sally's n-goln’ to fry some Author of "XOtjUr/tU" Copyright, 1902, by HARPER «l BROS.. Who Publi&h the Work in Book Form. All Right* Reserved • • l! o’ ’hitchln’ wings on folks, but I do be lieve you could preach yore sermons— s«oh as they are—In Pole Baker’s yeers till flabrlel Mowed his lungs out, an’ Pole ’(1 still be inoonshinin’. An’ some times I think that sech fellers as Alan o’ this truck fer me, an’ I’m as hungry Bishop ort to be paid fer what they do ! as a bear.” in betterin' the world. 1 don’t see why A few minutes after he had gone you fellers ort always to he allowed to Hole came out of his room and sat rake in the jack pot unless you’d ac- down In his chair again. “That seems ’omplish more’n outsiders that jest turn (to be a sorter bright young man,” he remarked. “As bright as a new dollar,” returned Abner in a tone of warm admiration. T CHAPTER IX. HERE is a certain class of individuals that will gather around a man in misfortune, and it differs very little, if it differs at all, from the class that warms Itself in the glow of a man’s prosper ity. Horses were hitched to the fence from the front gate all the way round to the side entrance. The mountain people seemed to have left their vari ous occupations to subtly enjoy the spectacle of a common man like them selves who had reached too far after forbidden fruit and lay maimed and torn before them. Their disapproval of the old man's effort to hurry Providence could not have been better shown than in the failure of them all to comment on the rascally conduct of the Atlanta lawyer. They even chuckled over that part of the incident. To their minds Perkins Was** sort*of faroff personification of a necessary evil, who, like the devil him self, was evidently created to show mortals their limitations. The Rev. Charles B. Dole, a tall, spare man of sixty, who preached the first, second, third and fourth Sundays of each month in four different meet ing houses within a day’s ride of Jtish op's, came around as the guest of the farmhouse as often as his circuit would permit. He was called the “flghtin' preacher” because he had had several fearless hand to hand encounters with certain moonshiners whose conduct he had ventured to call ungodly because unlawful. On the second Saturday after Bish op's mishap, as Dole was to preach the next day at Rock Crest meeting house, he rode up vis usual and turned his horse into the stable and fed him with his own hands. Then he joined Abner Daniel on the veranda. Abner bad | seen him ride up and purposely buried ! his head in his newspaper to keep from | offering to take the horse, for Abner | did not like the preacher “any to ! hurt,” as he would have put it. Dole did not care muuh for Abner 1 either. They had engaged in several doctrinal discussions in which the j preacher had waxed furious over some of Daniel’s views, which he described as decidedly unorthodox. Daniel had kept his temper beautifully and had the appearance of being amused through it all, and this Dole found j harder to forgive than anything Abner had said. “You all have had some trouble, 1 heer, sence I saw you last,” said the j preacher as he sat down nnd began to wipe las perspiring brow with a big handkerchief. “Well, 1 reckon it mought be called that,” Abner replied as he carefully folded his newspaper and put it into his coat pocket. “None of us was ex pectin’ of it, an’ it sorter bu’sted our calculations. Alf had laid out to put new high back benches in Rock Crest, j an’ new lamps an’ one thing another, j an’ it seems to me”—Abner wiped his too facile mouth—“like I heerd *im say one day that you wasn’t paid enough fer yore thunder an’ that he’d stir around an’ see what could be done.” Abner’s eyes twinkled. “But, lawsy me! I reckon ef he kin possibly raise the scads to pay the tax on his invest ment next yeer he’ll do all the Lord ex pects.” “Huh, I reckon!” grunted Dole, irri tated, as usual, by Abner’s double meaning. “I take it that the Lord hain’t got much to do with human speculations one way or other.” “Ef I just had that scamp that roped ’im in before me a minute, I’d fix ’im,” said Abner. “Do you know what de nomination Perkins belongs to?” “No, I don’t,” Dole blurted out, “an’, what’s more, I don’t care.” “Well, I acknowledge it sorter inter ests me,” went on our philosopher in an inscrutable tone, “beca’se, Brother Dole, you kin often trace a man’s good ur bad doin's to his belief in Bible mat ters. Maybe you don't remember Jabe Lynan that stold Thad Wilson’s stump suckin’ boss an’ was ketched an’ put up. I was at the courthouse in Dailey when he received his sentence. occasion shown a decided tendency to bunch all stringent religious opinions together and cast them down as out of date. When in doubt in a conversation with Abner, the preacher assumed a ! the shoe bein’ on another foot. the’r hands to the Job at odd times.” Dole drew himself up straight and glared at the offender. “I think that is a rather personal re- “Did you notice that big, wedge shaped .nark. Brother Daniel,” he said coldly. ! head o’ his'n? It’s plumb full o’ brains. “Well, maybe it is,” returned Abner; One day a feller come down to Fil- “but I didn’t mean fer it to be. I’ve more's store. He made a business o’ heerd you praise up certain preachers feelin’ o’ heads an’ writin out charts fer the good they was a-doin’, an’ I at 25 cents apiece. He d dn’t waste saw no harm in mentionin’ Alan's much time on the rest o’ the scabs he method. I reckon it's jest a case o’ examined, but when he got to Pole’s coldness on the outside that was often not consistent with the ires within him. "1 don’t see what all that’s got to do with Brother Bishop’s mistake.” he said frigidly as he leaned back in his chair. “It sets me to wonderin’ what de nomination Perkins belongs to, that’s all,” said.Abner, with another smile. “I know in reason he’s a big Ike in some church in Atlanta, fer I never knowed a lawyer that wasn’t foremost in that way o’ doin’ good. I'll bet a hoecuke he belongs to some hifalutin’ crowd o’ worshipers that kneel down on saft cushions an’ believe in scoopin’ in all they kin in the Lord’s name, an’ that charity begins at home. I think that myse'f. Brother Dole, fer thar never was a plant as hard to git rooted as charity is. an’ a body ought to have it whar they kin watch it close. It’ll Yes, he’ll fight, an’ ef he an ’ neglectin’ the’r own race beca’se it mjmpM wmm goin’ to tell you how this misfortune o’ Alt’s had affected Pole. He’s been like a crazy man ever since it hap pened. It's been all Alan could do to keep Mm from goin’ to Atlanta an’ chokin’ the life out o’ Perkins. Pole got so mad when he wouldn’t let Mm go that he went off cussin’ Mm fer all he was worth. I wonder what sort of a denomination a man ud fit Into that '11 cuss his best friends black an’ blue beca’se they won’t let Mm fight fer 'em. ever does Jine the ranks above he’ll do the work o’ ten men when thar’s blood to spill. I seed Mm in a row once durin’ election when he was leggin’ fer a friend o’ his'n. He stood right at the polls an’ wanted to j slug every man that voted ag’in Mm. He knocked three men’s teeth down , the'r throats an' bunged up two more t*o that they looked like they had on false faces." Here the preacher permitted himself to laugh. Being a lighting man him self. his heart warmed toward a man who seemed to be born to that sort of thing. . “He looks like he could do a sight of it,” was his comment. At this juncture the subject of the conversation came round the house, carrying a big piece of bacon wrapped in a tow grain bag. “Say thar,'Pole," Abner called out to the long, lank fellow. “We are a-goin' to have preachiu’ at Rock Crest to morrow. You’d better have a shirt washed an’ hung out to dry. They are a-beatin’ the bushes fer yore sort." Pole Baker paused and brushed back his long, thick hair from his heavv eyebrows. "I’ve been a-waitiu’ to see ef meetin’ , ever 'd do you any good, Uncle Ab.” he laughed.' "They tell me the more you go the wuss you git to be. Neil Filmore said t'other day ef you didn't quit sbootin’ off yore mouth they'd give you a trial in meetin’.” Abner laughed good uaturedly as he spat oxer the edge of the veranda fioer to the ground. “That’s been talked. I know, Pole,” he said, "lint they don’t mean it. Tiny ■ all know how to take my fun. But you come on to meetin’. It will do you good.” "Well, maybe I will,” promised Pole. And he came to the steps, and. put ting his bacon down, he bent toward j them. “It's a powerful hard matter to know exactly what’s right an’ what's wrong in some things," ho said. “Now, looky heer.” Thrusting his hand down into the pocket of his trousers, he drew out it piece of quartz rock, with a lump of I was noggin he talked fer a good hour. 1 never heerd the like. He said ef his talents had been properly directed Pole ud ’a’ made a big public man. He said he hadn’t run across sech a head in a month o’ Sundays. He was right, you bet, an’ every one o’ the seven brats Pole’s got is jest as peert as he is. They are a-growln’ up in idleness an' rags too. I wisht I could meet some o' them durn big Yankees that are a-sendiu’ the'r money down heer an’ buildin’ fine schools to educate niggers Help! Hep! A Cry which goes up out of the midst of great calamities Like Floods, Famine, Pestilence, Fires and Tornedoss. In the case of^FiresJandTornadoes the Help is Prompt and Certain, if you prepare • yourself before the disaster by taking out a'Policy against loss or damage by Fire, Wind storms and Tornadoes. Can also furnish Life, Accident and Health Insurancejin the most reliable companies. Toe Gaffney City Land and Improvemem Company Offers for sale Building Lots In this flourishing town, Gaffney Olty ; Also 1 aruih neai by and In reach of the Schools of Limestone Springs and of this place. In lots of from 30 to 100 acres on liberal time rates; also Agricultural Lands to rent for Farm pur poses. For full particulars apply to J. Vw Agent. N. B.—All persons are forbidden to enter on.-walk or ride through or over the lands of this company, cutting and removing timber. Ashing or hunting, under penalty of law. "Saij thar, Pale,’' Abner called out. die a heap times ef you jest look at It, an' it mighty nigh always has bad soil ur a drought to contend with.” Just then 1’ole Raker. Who has al ready been introduced !o the reader, i rode up to the fence and hitched his horse. lie nodded to the two men on the veranda and went around to the yellow gold about the size of a pea half smokehouse to get a piece of bacon imbedded in it. “That thar’s puore Bishop had promised to sell him on gold. 1 got It this away: A feller that credit. “Huh!" Dole grunted, and he crossed his long legs and swung his foot up and down nervously. He had the look of a man who was wondering why such insufferable bores as Abner should so often accompany a free dinner. He had never felt drawn to the man, and it irritated him to think that just when Ins mental faculties needed rest Abner always managed to introduce the very topics which made it necessary for | him to keep his wits about him. “Take that feller thar,” Abner went ; on, referring to Baker. “He’s about the hardest eustomer in this county, an’ yet he’s bein’ managed right now. He’s got a wife an’ seven children an’ is a holy tenor when he gits dnmk. Ile.used to be the biggest daredevil moonshiner in all tbe‘.ser mountains, but Alan kept be friendin’ Mm fust one way an’ another used to be my right bower in my still business left me when 1 swore off an’ went over to Dalonega to work in them mines. T'other day he was back on a visit, an' he gi\-e me this chunk an’ said he’d found it. Now, I know in reason that he nabbed it while he was at work, but I don't think I’d have a right to report it to the minin’ compa ny, an’ so I’m jest ohleeged to receive stolen goods. It ain’t wuth more’n a dollar, they tell me, an’ I’ll hang on to it, 1 reckon, rut her ’n have a laborin’ man discharged from a job. I'm tryin’ my level best to live up to the line now, an’ 1 don't know bow to manage sech a thing as that. I’ve come to the con clusion that no harm will be done no how, beca’se miners ain’t too well paid anyway, an’ ef I jest keep it an’ don’t git no good out of it I won’t .be in it any more ’n ef I’d never got hold o’ the tell he up one day an’ axed Alan what blamed thing.” he could do fer im. Alan ain’t none o’ “But the law. Brother Baker,” said yore shoutin’ kind o’ Christians. He : Dole solemnly. “Without the law we'd shakes a nimble toe at a shindig when be an awful lot o’ people, an’ every he wants an’ knows the ace from a ! man ort to uphold it. Render the ten spot, but be gits thar with every | things that are Caesar’s unto Caesar.” , claw in the air when some’n’ lias to be Pole’s face was blank for a moment, ! done. So when Pole axed Mm that and Abner came to his rescue with a Alan jest said, as quiet as ef he was I to earn- his nine axin ’ ’ im fer 11 Liatch to light a cigar, er—a pair o' socks ‘Quit yore moonshinin', Pole.’ That xvas all lie said. Pole looked Mra straight in the eye fer a minute an’ then said: “ ‘Alan Bishop, you don’t mean that!’ “‘Yes, I do, Pole,’ said.Alan. ‘Quit! Quit smack off!’ “ ‘You ax that as a favor?’ said Pole. “ ‘Yes, as a favor,’ said Alan. ‘An’ you are a-goin’ to do it too.’ “Then Pole begun to contend with Mm. ‘You are a-axin’ that beca’se you think I’ll be ketched up with,’ he said, ‘but I tell you the’ ain’t no man on the face o’ the earth that could find my still now. You could stand in txvo feet mines for boss stcalin’, an' that life was of the door to it all day an’ u^t find it wife sent me to im an’ one thin', or oilier—a p an’ other necessary tricks, a little can o’ lye f r one thing. She hadn't the ' anc to go. ns she said she bad a patch o’.xoung ct ia In lice mt. | found Mi l as happy :.s ef lie xvas goin’ off on a excursion. lie laughed an’ Mowed it ud he s me time ’f .re Me got back, an’ I wondered xvhat could ’a’ made Mm so ci uTenied, so I made some in quiries on that line. 1 found that he was a firm believer in predestination an’ that what xvas to lie xvas foreor dained. He said that he firmly believed he was predestinated to go to the coal too short to be kickin’ ag’in the Lord’s way o’ runnin’ matters. Besides, be said, he’d heerd that they issued a plug o’ tobacco a week to chawin’ prison ers, an’ he could prove that be was one o’ that sort ef they’d look bow he’d ground bis Jaw teeth down to the gums.” “Huh!” grunted Dole again, his sharp gray eyes on Abner’s face as if he half believed that some of his own theories were being sneered at It was true that be, being a Methodist had not ad vocated a belief lu predestination, but Abner Daniel had on more than one if you looked fer it with a spyglass. 1 kin make bug Juice all the rest o’ my life an’ sell it xvitliout 1 eiu’ ketched.’ “ ;i want you to give it up,’ said Alan, an’ Pole did. It was like pullin’ an eye tooth, but Pole yanked it out. Alan is workiu’ on Mm noxv to git Mm to quit liquor, but that ain’t so easy. He could walk a crack with a gallon slosbin about lu ’im. Now, as I started to say Alan ’ain’t got no cut an’ dried denoini nation an’ don’t have to walk any pai tlcular kind o’ foot log to do his wori but it’s a-goin’ on jest the same. Nox I don’t, mean no reflection on yore wu broad smile and sudden laugh. “I reckon you don’t remember him, Pole,” be said. “He’s dead. He xvas a nigger that used to belong to old man Throgmartin, in the cove. He used to be sech an awful thief during slavery days that it got to be a common sayin’ that everything lyin’ round mought as well be his’n, fer lie’d take it sooner ur later anyxvays.” “I’ve heerd o’ that nigger,” said Pole, much to the preacher’s disgust, which grew us Pole continued: “Well, they say a feller that knoxvs the law is broke an’ don’t report it is as guilty as the man who does the breakin’. Now. Mr. Dole, you know how I come by this nugget, an’ ef you want to do your full duty you’ll ride over to Dalo nega au’ report it to the right parth's. 1 can’t afford the trip.” Abner laughed out at this and then forced a serious look on his face. “That’s what you railly ort to do, Brother Dole,” he said. “Them Caesars over thar ud appreciate It.” Then Mrs. Bishop came out to shake fit agin’ ’em. You cayn’t hardly beat lamin’ into a nigger’s head, an’ it ud be only common sehsVto spend money whar it ud do the most good. I ain’t trot nothin’ agin’ a nigger bein’ larnt to read an’ write, but I cayu’t stomach the’r bein' forced ahead o’ deservin’ ivliite folks sooner ’n the Lord counted on. Them kind o’ Yankees is the same sort that makes pets o’ dogs an’ pam pers ’em up xvhen pore xvhite children is in need of food an’ affection.” “Pole looks like lie had natural ca- | pacity,” said Dole, lie xxas fond of conversing with Abner on any topic ' except that of religious matters. “He'd make a bang up detective,” laughed Aimer. "One day 1 was at Fihnoro's store. Neil sometimes, when lie's rushed, gits Pole to clerk fer Mm, , beca’se he’s quick at figures. It hap pened that Pole bad the store to Mmse'f one day when Neil had gone off to cut tloxvn a bee tree with a passle o’ neigh i hors, an’ a triflin’ feller come in an’ Jiegun to nose about. An’ xvhen Pole's back xvas turned to xveigh up some ■ cotton in the seed lie stole a pocket- . hook out o’ the showcase. I reckon Pole didn’t like his looks much nohow, fer as soon as the skunk had gone he begun to look about to see ef he’d tuck anything. All at once he missed the | pocketliook an’ told Neil that niglil that lie xxas mighty nigh shore the fel lor lifted it, but he couldn’t raillj sxvear to it. About a week after that he seed the same feller coinin’ doxvn the road headed fer the store on hi.' gray mule. Me an’ Neil xvas both thar an’ Pole hustled us in the back room an’ toid us to stay thar. lie said In was a-goin' to find oyt ef the felloi stold Hu: book. Noil xvas ufeerd of a row au’ tried to prevent Mm, but lit jest shoved us back an’ shot the door ov us. Neil got Mm a crack in the par titiou. an’ [ found me a knothole. “’The feller hitched an’ come in an Mm. " 'Come heer to the slioxvcase,’ ses he. ‘I want to show you some’n’.’ The feller went, an’ I seed Pole yank out the box 'at had the rest o’ the pocket- books in it. ‘Look y’ heer,’ Pole said in a loud, steady voice—you could ’a’ heerd Mm clean to the creek—‘look y’ heer. The regular price o’ these books, is fifty cents; that's xvhat xve sell ’em fer; but you've got to run yore hand doxvn in yore pocket an' give me a dol lar for one quicker’n you ever made a trade in yore life.’ ’’ ‘What do you mean?’ the feller sa id. “ ‘I mean exactly what 1 said, an’ you are a-lowin’ time,’ said Pole, talkin’ louder an’ louder. ‘The price is fifty cents; but you got to gi’ me a dollar for one. Haul ’er out, my friend; haul ’er out! It’ll be the cheapest thing you ever bought in yore life.’ “M feller was as white as a sheet. He gulpi_u txvo or three times ’fore he spoke; then he said: ‘I knoxv what you think. You think I took one t’other day when I was lookin’ in the showcase, but you are mistaken.’ * “ ‘I never said a word about you takin’ one,’ Pole yelled, at Mm, ‘but you’d better yank out that dollar an’ buy one. You need it.’ * “The feller did it. I beerd the money clink as he laid it on the glass, an’ I knowed he was convicted. • “ ‘They are only wuth 50 cents,’ he said kinder faiutlike. “ ‘Yo’re a liar,’ Pole yelled at Mm, •fer you’ve Jest paid a dollar fer one on yore own account. Now I’ll jest give you txvo minutes to straddle that mule. Ef you don’t. I’ll take you to the sheriff myself, you thief.’ “’I’ve alxvays done my tradin’ beer,’ said the filler, tainkin’ that ’d sorter pacify Pole, hut he said: ‘Yes, an’ yore stoalin', too, 1 reckon, you black livened jailbird. Git ou^, git out!’ “^Ie Mi’ Neil come in when the fel ler ’d gone, but Pole was actually too mad to speak. ‘He got off too dun ted light,’ he said after awhile. ‘I could ’a’ sold Mm a big bill o’ goods at 100 per cent profit, fer he had plenty o’ money. Now he’s ridiu’ off laughiu’ at me.’ ’’ Dyspeptics are made every day by their oxen carelessness. 'Cure that tale ef Constipation and Indigestion before it becomes chronic. Take and Tonic Pellets, the only remedy that assists Nature and doea not get in her way. Strong purgative! f ripe, a&d make confirmed invalids.. Ramon’s act gently and leave the system independent of drugs. Sample end BooKlet Free. A Complete Treatment ^ as days 35 cts. g^For sale by Cherokee Drug Company. To Printer: s: ♦ We 'Manufacture thej[veryr Highest^ Grade of Brass Rules LEADsf andJSlugs Brass Leads i iL. S.JMetalJFurniture - Brass Leaders Brass Galleys [Metal Borders iMetalJLeaders 5 ~ 8^ I Spaces? andJQuads * m k tjMETALlQUOINS Send us a memo, of just whatjf you “require, and let us quote you prices. We are not in any trust ©recombination,land you will be agreeably surprised at whatjwe can save you over the regular prices. Old column rules refacedjfandjmadejgood as new, at a very small cost. Highest prices paid for old |type,|leads, elec tros, brass, etc. .Ll . PHILADELPHIA PRINTERS^ SUPPLY CO. Ir*liilada^]i>hia, JE^a. Tbi« storv wi'l be rest Fridav’a iam*-. continued in Commercial Printing Of ever^ description executed with neatness and dispatch at The Ledger office, Gaffney, S. C. New Type, New Presses, the finest quality of Ink and Paper, and Compe tent Workmen. Send us your orders. To Printers and Publishers 1 -t Please note that we are Authorized Agents l-Cor The National Compositype Co., Sole Mannfactnrers of The Antoinatic Type Casting Machine or Sort Caster With Jthis Machine a Printer can make all his own Type from 8 to 26pt., also Borders, Ornaments, Leaders, Spaces and Quads, etc., as perfect in every |respect and at the same low B ■x: Fotont nil l'A«*ai»ufe. The pills that are potent in their prices they now cost^the Type Foundry, action and pleasant In effect are De- Witt's Little Early Risers. W 8 ‘Dur- Philpot, of Albany, Ga., eavs, handVwith the "proacbw and“iDvfted '“*• bll, ° os * ,Uclt 1 ««* as it was it did me more good than him to go to bis room to waab bis face and hands. As the tall man followed his hostess away Abner xvinked slyly at I’cle and laughed under bis long, scruxvny hand. me more calomel, blue-mass or any other pills I ever took and at the same time It ffected me pleasantly. Little Early Risers are certainly an ideal pill." Sold by Cherokee Drug Co. Write for particulars and Catalogue. Tfie Pfiifadefnfiia Printers' SuoDfu 908 FILBERT STREET, PHILADELPHIA, PA, ■ t. / ’