The Arkansaw traveler., 1882-06-18
HE FINISHED HIS STORY.
Exchange


 His name was Iohn k B.. but everybody called him \. He vas known all over the territory. and. i"r that matter. there were few old settlers an the Paelhc slope. from U,ah north ,o the British iine. who had I'D, heard ot hlrn.
 The yigiantes looked upon him as one of thcir strong men. and the road agents summed him as they would pcstilenee. He had drawn the rope an more of their number than any ten men beside. and though often laid for had never been eaugh, mapping He seemed to them sort of averaging sngel~onc ever on their track, and one too. whom II was difficult to clude They hated. feared. and yet respected him.
 He was not an angel. however. not even in appearance. small of stature. { lust under five fee; m height. lame IF one hip from a butte, ~eundl. steel gray eyes which were scarcely mates. tone of them being possessed of continuing de- Sire to look across the bridge of his nose d, the other. guztly mnstache and close cropped hair. pientiiully spnnkled with gray. he presented more the appearance ot one of natures odd jobs. or the work of some Joumeyn..n in the employ of the Grea, Master.
 \ Scoteh-Wclshman born in pennsyl- .yania. he possessed the characteristics oi three natfonali,ies m about even propor- ,ion. He WAS shrewd. witty. discreet. honest and courageous. \ good friend and bitter enemy: he was ever lust. no matter in which relation he happened ,o be placed by circumstances.
 As already ,ntimaicd. \. was an oddtiv. He was never at rest unless ''on the go. During the spring. summer and autumn he was travelling from camp to camp: and so we'll was he known that letters bearing no inscription other than a rudely drawn skull and cross-bones would bc sure te reach him in due tune. but when winter came he usually laid up in some town to make himself miserable. as he frequently observed. .'to the extent of his ability
 He loved adventure. loved his friends. loved his 'pizcn." but. bes, of all. loved to spin long tales of his exploits and hair breadth escapes ,e seieo, party prepared to weigh out the dust for drinks.
 One cold, clustering night Tn the winter of iS6o O he was in town. and party. consisting of twelve or fifteen of the lead ing business men. with whom he was a great fa,orite. seduced him into a cosy saloon (which was no difficult; natter. and. after sitting down 10 round of hot toddy called for story.
 \. squared himself for business by sit ting down astride his chair. his arms rest ing upon its back. thus forming a con- vcnicnt prop for his chin. and began the narration of a t7p 10 British America, from whence he had recently returned after undergoing all manner of hardships and overcoming obstacles and meeting with dangers of the greatest magnitude He interpolated his remarks with occa- sional calls for throat wash. and lubri- cated his talk with frequent poiations of hot Scotch and other savoy compounds.
 The story was comparatively old 10 his listeners (he had repeated II on several differen, occasions ,o the same parties in- di,idually, if not collectively yet they listened with the most earnest et'cr.iou.
 In the course of an hour \. was taking his hearers over the border into the terri tory of the British Queen. and had become so interested himself that he failed ,o no- ticc the gradual withdrawal of the audi enee 10 whom he was addressing himself
 One by one they disappeared. and at length the last of them had gone.
 For ten minutes he rattled away, the bartender at the farther end of the room being his only listener for it was well on toward mevningl when. receiving no re sponse to an interrogatoy touching some matter. he turned and found himself alone.
 -Well.-I'l be d-d." he almos, gasped. That was all Getting up. he went to the bar.
 Did them fellers se,tleT' he inquired.
 Not bit of it. replied the mixer of fluids.
 x. went down into his picket. pulled out his buckskin pouch. and handing it over, said, weigh out which being done, he took ~night-cap- and departed Next day his entertainers were rather shy. but x appeared on the streets as usual and as cordial as ever.
 So unconscious did he seem of the events of the preceding evening. that some even doubted if he saw the joke.
 He remained in town until April, and everybody had forgotten the occurrence everybody but the victim.
 Toward the latter part of April he started out in parsnii of noted horse thief, whom he succeeded in capturing by osesl,ading his stomach with buckshot or course the thief could not recover fivm sach aose, and vas consequently hroughl