St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1888-11-17

4 y e
DC ten miles away. I had just adde
the wealth of California, and reduces
the ten miles to five, when Old Die
pulled his gun and fired six shots aroun,
the store at various objects, at the sam
time tutoring six blood ,curdling war
whoops. Not man moved. He slow
~ reloaded the revolver, and singled
me out and came forward with extended
paw.
! "Howdy!" he growled.
| sim cribbins, thank YOU"
I'm Old Dick-had man"
"Yes."
'tBad, very bad"
yes
"Kin We fout?"
mo"
That's bad Bad kentry fur a Qua.
ker' III learn ye.''
Say, Dick' remarked one of the
men, "he'un hsin't one of us. He'un's
stranger from the No'th.n
Jim, you shetr' replied the bad
man. I'm going to learn he'un how to
TOUT de hain't no good if he can't
Three or four men winked at me ia
humor the old man, and when he asked
II was armed / showed him nv re-
| volves,
"Nuthin' but squib!' he grunted in
contempt THAT ere couldn't send a
Ball through my hide. Come out
doors"
All OF US went out. The bad man was
unsteady ofhand, leg and voice, but his
Drain was still fairly clear.
'Now, then," he said to me, "you 90
over by your shop, an I'll stop .yere by
the platform. When l opens fire you
must send it back as fast as We kin, but
Keep one shot in easel charge ye''
L looked at the crowd, and all nod
ded to me to 60, and two of them whis
pered for me to kill old Dick if | could.
went. l had the shelter of a corner
OF the shop, and the bad man had a
barrel OF salt on the platform as a
shield. He uttered a whoop and OPEN
ed fire, and every body scattered for
shelter
Now [ am going to frankly admit
that, as crossed the street l wanted to
take leg bail up or down the street.
I'd have given an arm to be out of it.
L didn't run because women and chill
dren were watching me, and because to
have "funked'' would have been to
cover myself with contempt forever
after. But l want to make another
statement even more strange. Ihad no
sooner reached shelter than | was seized
by ferocious desire to Kill old Dick. !,
1t was as If he had murdered my family |
and l had trailed him down. I didn't !
take cover at all, owing to this
feeling, but stood at the corner
and. blazed away and took his
bullets in return. But for the whis-
KY in him he would have dropped me.
AS it was he planted four bullets within
foot of my head, while I put four into
The salt barrel and the fifth into his
light shoulder. He went down and be-
gan to shout, and strange exultation
zane to me as l thought / had killed
him. The wound, aided by the whisky
n his stomach, made the bad old man
'aby and he actually cried. We sent
III for a doctor and got him fixed up,
md when he got his mind back he
hook hands with me in the heartiest
manner and laughingly said:
'Yank, wouldn't have belived it.
It's the first time in twenty years I've
in downed, an / feel shuckless about
~
But you drove nae to it."
"Reckon | did. Lor', but what nerve {
g hev got! Never saw Teller so
teady under fire. Shake agin, and I {
ant ye to come up and stay a week !
18th me-
/ did put in three days with him, and {
lring that time was the one who '
ressed his wound. Quite a number of
sople called to hear about it, and in q
lch case Mrs. Trasker introduced me Q
it'll: ]
Stranger from the Moth, an he'un v
the one who downed my old Dick in t.
fair fout. "-Detroit Free Press. v