Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1877-09-22

He came into the store with q fact
full Of misery, and sat down upon q DO,
beside the stove and began to cry. Il
was q queer thing for man like that t.
dO-a great, rough labOrer, so years Of
age or more. Some dreadful trouble
must have come upon him to make him
show his sorrow in that way without
disguise. The strangers stared sympa-
thetically. After awhile the proprietor
of the store went up to him and said:
"Well, neighbor, You seem to be in
trouble; can we help you any?"
The man did not look up; he shook
his head and said:
81 No, no, no! It's very kind of you.
but nobody can help me. 1 suppose
you think I'm an old fool; but she was
all the family l had, and she's dead -
and a great tear splashed down upon
the floor.
"She's dead. You can't do me any
good now; but if you'd come around to
my little shanty there about 9 O'Clock
last night you might have done some
good-I dunno. When q man is de-
termined to make q brute of himself
he'll do it, perhaps; but if there'd been
some one there to say: 'Dodd, what on
airth are you about? why, mebbe-l
dunno, thO'-I was mad. When q
mans mad and has had glass too
much, what's the use of talking to him?
It's fixed things for nae. Anyway
Lord, forgive me!-she's dead"
The tears splashed down again,
but the people looked at him with
faces that had lost little of their SYM
pathy.
you didn't-didn't do any thing to
bring it On-whatever it was?" said an
old lady with large basket on her arm.
81 shouldn't have thought it of you"
Yes, did, did, "sObbed the man.
Z" If it hadn't been for me it never would
have happened. / loved her too. Yes,
1 did love her. Nobody could say she'd
ever had hard word from me before
in all the days we'd live togther; but
last night I'd had glass too much, and
l stopped at the butchers down in the
village and bought q bit of steaks man
wants change from pork once in way
and she was fond of steak, she was
and 1 Jest fetched it in and said to her,
Wen have a supper tonight, eh?' and
she sort of nodded and winked at me
Jest as jolly, and then went out to the
well to draw water, and as body does
sometimes when any body is in a hurry,
lost the bucket off, and I was a terrible
time finding it, and when / went in
well, you see, 1 went in with an appetite
and there she sat, and-well, ain t
dainty, but couldn't have touched that
steak to save me; and got mad. Well,
got madden than l ever was before,
and 1 just around and l gave her a
kick. Yes, did. If 1 was to be hung
for it tomorrow, I'd have to own up. l
kicked her."
"You brute!" said the woman with
the basket; "kicked her because your
steak didn't suit you! Well may you
cry"
Yes'm," said the man. "You can't
speak harder to me than 1 feel to my
self. kicked her in the side, and what
is more, l opened the door and kicked
her out of it, and then l jest sat down
alongside my fire and talked the worst
kind to myself did, indeed-Lord,
forgive me! and / said I'd never, let
her in again. Yes'm, you can look as
you like at me; 1 deserve it; and tEen 1
went to bed"
"Went to bed and left her out in the
cold?" said the old lady. "Never see
ing whether she was dead or not?''
"Yes, did," said the poor man, sob
bling hard, "and more than that, went
to sleep-I slept sound, too; and what
do you suppose walked me? Why, her
VOICE. knew it from a thousand. 1t
was the awfullest shrek, and then an
other, and then another, and it came all
over me what I'd done. I'd turned her
that had slept alongside of me winter
NIGHTS more wears than I cOu1d remeu