Daily Republican., 1883-11-28
THE ONE-ErED RAssENGER.
1lts FellOW.Tr0velovs ThOoxhS
Him Chlck on Heavted.

Him Chlcken-1 eagted.
The Detroit Free Press tells how
, number Of passengers travelling in
Western stage-coach were mistaken n
one Of their number, and how theJ
found out their mistake. The passen
gers v ere discussing the probabilities O
being attacked by "road agents" By
and.bye an army officer mentioned
something about road agents, and
directly the conversation became inter
esting. Coaches had been stopped al
various points on the line within q
week, and it was pretty generally be-
lieved that bad gang had descenied ON
the route and were still ripe for bust
ness. The man with one eye had moth.
ing to say. Once or twice he raised his
head and that single eye blazed in the
darkness like lone star, but not word
escaped his mouth. The captain had
said what he would do in case the coach
was halted, and this brought out the
Others. 1t was firmly d cided to fight.
The passengers had money to fght for
and weapons to fight with.
| The man with one eye said nothing.
AT such time and under such circum.
stances there could be but one inter-
pretation OF such conduct.
A coward has no business travelling
this route, said the captain in voice
which every man could hear.
The stranger started up, and that eye
Of his seemed to shower sparks of fire,
but, after moment, he fell back again
without hav ng replied.
III he wasn't chicken hearted, why
didn't he show his colors? II no in.
tended to fight where were his weapons?
He had no Winchester, and 30 far az
any one had seen az he entered the coach |
he was without revOlvers. Everybody
felt contempt for man who calculated |
10 hold up his hands at the order, and |
permit himself to be quietly despoiled.
:" Pop pop! halt |"
The passengers were doing as the "a.
lutte OF The road agents reached their
ears. The coacn was halted in a way to
tumble ryboly together, and legs
and bodies were still tangled up when a
voice at the door Of the coach called
out:
"No nonsense now! You gentlemen
climb right down here and up with
your hands The first man who kicks
on M, will get bullet through his
head :"
We had agreed to Sight. The captain
bad agreed ~ lead lis. We were listen
ing for his yell of defiance and the click
Of his revolver when he stepped down
and out az humbly as you please. The
sutler had been aching to chew up a
iuaen road agents, and now he was the
second mah out The surveyor had in 2
.in,aaed that be never passed over the
QUITE without killing at least three high
~aymen, but this occasion was to be All
In three minutes the FIVE of | 1
Is were down and in line and hands up, 7
lnd the road agent had said:
Straight matter of business First
me who drops his hands won't ever A
ltow what hurt him -
Where was the man with one eye?|
'he iohber appeared to believe that we ~
we're all out, and he was just asproach-
ny the head OF the line to begin his
york when dark form dropped out of
he coach, and arevolver began to crack.
he robber went down at the first pop,
lis partner was just coming around the
ear OF the coach. He was game man.
lie knew what had happened, but he
'Hs coming W Tile TtScue. fOp pop -
op went the revolvers, their flashes
ghting up TIE night until we could zee 1
s- driver in his seat.
1t didn't take twenty seconds. OReof =
he robbers lay dead In front of us-the 4
her nnder the coach, while the man
nth ono eye had lock cut from his
cad and the graz, of bullet across his
neck. Not one Of us had moved fin "a
Or. We were ii We fools in = row. There ~
as ~ painful lull after the last shot, II
al IL lasted full minute before the st.
ranger turned to us and remarked in
quiet, cutting manner: o,
" Gentlemen, ye can drop yer hands,.
We dropped. We undert 1ok to thank
III, and We wanted TO shake hands. st
III somebody suggested shake purse ae
r his benefit, but he notoned Us into or
q coach, banged the door aftur us, and "
imbed up to a seat beside the driver.
is contempt for such crowd could HI
1t BIZ measured. pi