A Sad Accident

Western judge - You are charged sir with being the leader of a party which liunted down and lyncbed a horse thief. The days have gone by when citizens of this great commouwealth can thus take the law into their own hands, henee your arrest. What have you to say ? Prominent citizen - I ain't guilty jedge. 111 teil you bow it was. We caught the feller, and tied his hands and feet. Nothin' wrong about that was there, jedge? "No; that was no doubt necessary." "Wal, judge, there was a storm comin, up, and we couldu't spare him an umberella very well, so we stood him under a tree. That was all right, wasu't it?" "Certainly." "Well, the clouds kept gatherin' an' the wind was blowin' pretty high, and we didn't want him blown away, so we tied a rope around his neck, and fastened the other end to the liinb above - not tight, jedge, jest so as to hold him - and we left him staudin' solid on his feet. Notliing wrong about that, was there?" "Nothing at all." "Then I kin be excused, can't I?" "But the the man wasi'ound suspended froin that tree, and stone dead the next morning." "None of us had anything to do with that jedge. You see we left him staudin' there in good health and spirits, for we give him all he could drink when we said 'good-Ly ;' but, you see, duriug the night rain carne up au' I s' pose the rope got purty wet and shrunk a couple o' feet. That's how the sad accident 1 1 - ■ T W r 1 V T 11 iiappeiieu, jeuge. -