Los Angeles herald., 1891-08-06

man was a veritable Robin Hood! Could
he trust him?
The other spoke again.
'Such assistance from an official is
what | need, and | can pay for it. If
you will get free pardon for me will
give you five thousand"-
II cannot do it."
Aliens face paled, and his hand crept
toward his hip; then restraining himself,
with scoffing laugh, he said:
"Be it SO. Then we are senemies.
to you and the law; you to me. Re
member my fifteen minutes, and beware
when next we meet"
He threw his cloak about him, buckled
his pistols at his waist and disappeared,
but as he left the room a little piece of
metal fell from his person and rolled un-
noticed upon the floor. A minute later
the ring of his horses hoofs sounded
through the night as he rode toward the
mountains.
The morning following, as NuttiVg
entered his Office, his aged servant bowed
low before him, extended his brown and
wrinkled hand, and said, in an awe
stricken voice:
"Foun' dis on de floor, massa. S'pose
him your'n; bad ting, massa, bad, ef ye
low old nigger to say so."
The marshal leaned forward in sur
prise. Lying in the outstretched palm
of the black was silver pistol bullet.
"Why, uncle" said he, taking it, "this
is not miner
mot your'n, NASSAU Tank de Lord!
Pse pleased, is, massa. Foun' it yer,
dough. Dat ar's sweyside bullet,
massa," he continued, lowering his voice
to a whisper, while his eyes rolled like
ships in the midst of white and seething
pillows. II know 'em. My ole massa
he had one cast an carried it many
years. Dey neber kill no one but de
fellers dey's made for. Massa John,
dough, he didn't get chance for to use
his'n,' and the old man chuckled.
"A suicide bullet" said Nutting, with
a smile, as he examined the silver
sphere. "Thats new idea to me. Why
make special bullet, uncle? I should
think one Of those deadly enough" )"
And he pointed toward some of the
heavy cartridges belonging to his own
pistols which lay on the table near.
'Dey mought miss, massa. You know
de debil cares for his own, an dis bullet
is made by his help, at night, in de
grade yard, an can't miss knows 'em
massa. Pse seen 'em afore." Then,
drawing near, he whispered, ''Pse made
'em!"
"And did they do their work?' said
Nutting, laughing lightly.
"Dey did massa."
The officer now opened drawer in his
desk and took from it an old fashioned
dueling pistol, which he had picked up
somewhere, and fitted the bullet into its
rusty muzzle
cts just the thing, uncle. Bring me
my flask, and I'll load it with the suicide
bullet. It's best to have it handy by if
get the blues" He laughed again.
The servant obeyed.
mo use to fix i'm massa. 'Twon't
only kill de one who it's made for, shuah,
an ye couldn't shoot yourself wild it, no
how"
"Well, uncle, I'll load the smoothbore,
anyway" said the marshal, suiting the
action to the word, land this afternoon
we'll try it at a mark. If miss half
dollar at a dozen PAGES I'll give up that
your right. If hit, your suicide bullet
is no better or worse than leaden one."
"All right, massa, but you won't hit,"
replied the old darky.
T,,c+ oo oov,,,o1o+o1 A., ~, ~.
ing of the weapon a visitor called, and it
was thrust hurriedly into a pigeonhole
in the desk. His visitors business de-
tained him from the Office until night,
and the plan of the morning was forgot
ten. The dueling pistol with its silver
missile lay unnoticed for months in the
desk.
The days and weeks passed, summer
came and went, and fall ripened the
year. A dozen times had the marshal
organized expeditions and secured the
country, seeking the notorious Allen,
but each time he had returned unsuc-
cessful. One final effort, however, was
to be made. Certain information which
he knew to be reliable had at last, he felt
sure, put the outlaw in his hand, and he
looked to his horses shoes and loaded his
pistols with unusual care.
At his orders mounted guards-men
on whom he could depend-patrolled all
the roads. Upon the morrow at dawn,
with a posse of seven fearless mount
aineers, he was to storm the very
stronghold of the moonshiners, and to-
morrow night would find vacancy
either in the government Office or in the
ranks of the illicit distillers. The expe-
dition had thus far, Nutting believed,
been kept secret. Because Of this he
looked forward with strong hopes Of
success.
The officer sat at his desk writing.
He had but a few pages to complete, a
letter or two to prepare fol- the mail.
and some memoranda to destroy. He
might never sit at that desk again.
AS his eyes wandered over the mass of
papers, documents and duplicate reports
fled neatly away before him, he sud-
denly noticed the butt end of his old
dueling pistol, half hidden in one Of the
compartments, and as the remembrance
of how it came there flashed over him he
was about to draw it from its hiding
place when a shuffiing step at the door
arrested him, and an instant later an
aged and bent woman entered the door.
The hour was late, and Nutting re-