ach
the fruit. At this inopportune moment Simon gave way to his oars, and
left the poor deputy hanging in the air.

[Illustration: _At this inopportune moment Simon gave way to his oars,
and left the poor deputy hanging in the air._--Page 40.]

"Hold on! hold on!" yelled the deputy; "don't you know you are
interfering with an officer of the law?"

"My advice ter you is to hold on yourself," was all the consolation he
got from Simon, while the widow was convulsed with laughter.

Leaving the deputy to extricate himself from his awkward position as
best he could, Simon rowed rapidly to the house, sent a negro to bring
the deputy's horse, and after eating an enormous lunch, mounted and
started for home.

The deputy hung to the limb and yelled for assistance, but no one came,
and he found he could hold on no longer. He could not swim, and he felt
that in dropping from the limb he would certainly meet a watery grave.
All his life he had had a horror of water, and now to be drowned in the
hated liquid was too hard. He made desperate efforts to climb up, on the
limb, but could not do it. His arms were so strained that he thought
they would be pulled from their sockets. He had strung many a negro up
by the thumbs to thrash him, but he little thought he should have been
strung up himself. His strength rapidly failed him, and he found he
could maintain his hold no longer. Closing his eyes, he strove to pray,
but could not. Finding the effort useless, he let go his hold, while a
cold shudder ran through his body--what a moment of supreme agony!--and
dropped into the river. Over such harrowing scenes it were better to
throw a veil of silence, but I must go on. He dropped into the river,
and as the water was only knee deep, he waded to the bank.

His combined emotions overcame him, and on reaching the bank he threw
himself down under the shade of some trees and, completely exhausted,
sunk into a deep sleep. How long he slept he could not tell, but on
awaking he sprang up and hurried to the place where he had left his
horse. Finding it gone, he walked into Montgomery and reported to the
Sheriff, not daring to face the widow after the ridiculous tableau in
which he had been the principal performer.

The Sheriff procured the services of McGibony, and the next day went
with him to Simon's home, and arrested him without difficulty.

In the North, Simon would have been kept a close prisoner; but the
fun-loving inhabitants of Montg