usually heal all feuds, and bring the belligerents to their senses. Law was not wanted at Showlwater bay, but new they had it they must use it. Nobody thought of "oino; to court until the court came to them.
Champ was a tall, muscular Vermont er of sixty-five, whose inner qualities as microscoped by rye whisky were craggy; Big Charley, as Denter was called, was dropped on Showlwater Beach by a Maine whaler as too lazy for the service. Two better men for their respective positions could not have been found by searching diligently with a candle; it is a peculiarity of our political system that certain offices are better filled by manikins than men. The first case was Public Opinion against Bowman. Bowman was a waif; how he lost himself no one knew. The Beach did not want him. Give him things to v,atch, and more of them would be missing than if left exposed. Mr Russell lost a small sum of money by him in that way. Before the establishment of a court the man would have been hunted hence, and that would have been the end of it, but law was master now. Besides, the justice wished to try the new machine.
Against Bowman there was neither prosecutor nor proof; but these slight impediments were easily surmounted by Champ, who was not hampered by legal knowledge.
The unitea wisdom of the Beach produced a paper which seemed to touch the evil remedially, which was made to take the place of what in more experienced courts would be a warrant for the arrest of Bowman. This was placed in the hands of the constable, whose wholesome fear of the obnoxious straggler, together with his constitutional aversion to either mental or muscular exertion, rendered the servino; of the warrant, as it was supposed to be, a serious matter. By one idea alone his mind was filled as he dragged his slow limbs through the sand. How should he get the man before the judge ? Assuming an indifference
