Mexico weekly ledger., 1877-11-22
HI SCARLET DAGGER.

"Where did you leave the head?"
tsIn the basket" le
..An bloody?" @"'ii d
stYes."
'sIt was a clean piece of business,
but I think you killed her too soon."
tsNonsense! She was struggling to
get away and / stabbed her and cut
her head off," ,a,s Il
"a Igive the conversation just as /
heard it ON that moonlight night more
than ten years ago.
= It was in western Texas, and the
place a little frontier hotel, where /
had been compelled to stop for the
night.
1t was late when / got there, and
later when l retired, and the moon
was streaming in at the windows
when, from an adjoining room, came
the voices of two men talking as
above.
1 think 1 was never so frightened
before in Ill my life; my hair fairly.
stood on end; / was weak and my
breath came thick and fest.
What could these men mean by
such horrible talk? 4
Surely they we're two Of the grest-
est Williams that ever went Unhungs
/ listened, still trembling, nd
hardly daring to breathe.
Finally / managed to get up sniff
Gent courage TO cut a hole through
the canvas partition and take a look
lat the scoundrels.
They were sitting nea a small Ia
BILE, and each had a pipe in hispeuth
smoking !
They did not look like very dan
gerous fellows, but appearances are
often deceptive, as the world ,kpows.
One of them was.a short, thick-set,
freckled-face fellow, with tzed hair.
the other was tall and thin, and wore
a black moustache.
$50 you think / didn't do THEY'LL
ing properly?" said the small han.
throwing a cloud Of tobacco smoke
upward. e
:. "You are 9 man of nerve" wgs thu
reply. "And strength"
ssYes." ss.
sin fact, I'm a slasher. To-mor
row night III do better. I'd driy'
the weapon home just at the RICH
) moment g -
{ i waited to hear no more, but qui
city slipped from the room and sodgh
out the keeper of the inn. "
"Get up my horse" I said.
y The horse was brought To, the doc
q in fifteen minutes. 5sl. arr
"My bill" 'atl u
9 He charged me q double price,. an
1 paid it without murmnr. -
Then I mounted, and just as / wa
about toinde away I spoke /: 10
n ''It is not your house,p I replied
s'but the people in it," ~. g.gr
III / did not wish to talk to the maj
as j regarded him with suspicion. S
0 / put spars to my horse and gallope
away. AndI did not draw rein vi
til I reached. the itnext settlement
e which was a town of fifteen hundre
inhabitants, principally stock-raiser
o tr''What for you ride so like d,
le dival ~ asked the honest Germs
landlord, at whose houe 1 stopped.
d alto get out of the way of a ban
5. of cut-throats." / replied. 81
le And told this story, with smbe
l. ~lishments, all over town, and the PEI
ple thought my escape miraculous.
E. The day passed, and at night
n went to q show that was advertised
r appear in town. - II .ga,C
le The play IA called the "Scarl
ID Dagger" and the performers nur
r bered something like dozen.
The first scene was not very excl
J; ing, but when the curtain went Il
IN thesseeond time l fairly yelled tha oue
mingled fear and surprise. ista
f. There on the stage stood two pc
y sons, q young girl and a man, ar
a they were talking angrily, when SUI
y denly the man drew a dagger fro
his belt and stabbed she girl to Il
d heart then he cut off her head an
n threw it in a basket near by.
= OF course, this was not literally s,
but it seemed perfectly real /; b.
what gave me the greatest .surpri,
was to recognize in the man who d
8 the killing n the young fellow
y whose conversation the night befol
had frightened me most to. dealt
Yes, there he stood, the short, thicl
e set freckled-face Innatic who ha
been the cause Of all my terror.
It was plain enough now. Th
! two young men I had overhead tall
| ing IN the next to my own wer
. roving actors, and they were discuss
1 ine the very scene / had just witness
Cd.
Is Il l. useless e SAY that i felt aner,