His old rubber boots wuz all wore offen him, his clothes hangin' in rags and tatters where he had rushed through the woods and swamps, his feet and hands all froze. Half starved, and almost idiotic with fear and remorse and the effects of the poisoned licker and doctored cider he had drinked, he wuz the most pitiful and wretched-lookin' object I ever see in my hull life.
And it happened he wux took a little over a mile from us, and he wuz brung right by our door.
There wuz some officers in the party, so they interfered and kep the mob from hangin' him right up by the neck.
They said they had to hold that saloon-keeper to keep his hands offen him, and they said that in spite of all he did git the rope round him.
But the officers interfered, and after that they had to hold the saloon-keeper to keep him from the prisoner.
And I sez, when Josiah was a-praisin' up the saloon-keeper's zeal, and how the officers had to hold him—
I sez, "It is a pity the officers didn't hold him in the first place, and then all the horrer and tragedy might have been saved."
But my pardner wouldn't even notice a thing I said. He felt, I could see, that my remarks wuz indeed beneath his notice.
Wall, I stood and see this poor, weak, despairin' victim of rum dragged off to a felon's doom, dragged off to the scaffold, and one of his chief draggers wuz the one that caused his crime—caused it accordin' to law. And the rest of his draggers wuz the ones who had voted to have the trade of murderer makin' and child killin' and villian breedin' perpetuated and kep up.
And the Goverment of the United States hung him, the same Goverment that wuz in partnership with that saloon up in Zoar, and took part of the pay for makin' this man murder that innocent little girl.