Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1892-02-14
THE SUDDEN WIDOWS

1t was very quiet in Adamsville that aft
ernoon. 1t had been quiet for some time
past. Nobody had been shot or knitted,
and no lynching bee had occurred for a
good many weeks Nobody had even been
drunk Adamsville was becoming degen-
Grated, and you could see "ennui" written
on the countenance Of every male citizen,
in one form or another. There were no fe-
male citizens-that is, of the sort subject
TO ailments of that nature. Those who
were there always had a lively time of it.
There was Spanish Dick across the street
now quarrelng with one of her male
friends" in front of the Diamond saloon.
Dick was one Of the leading citizens Of
Adamsville-or rather one Of the most
prominent ones. She had another name,
but it was too long for every day use, so
they called her Dick for short.
Dick was a beauty-alsoa devil in skirts.
That she was bad goes without saying.
She was not only bad but she was the most
vicious, quick tempered, ready TO stab Of
her Kind and calling that ever infested
mining camp. Everybody was afraid of
her; half the town knuckled to her, and
she did as she pleased. ! think very few
people would have been sorry to see her
leave, because she had habit Of shooting
in a very impartial way when in one of her
tempers, and Of course nobody could shoot
back or defend himself
On this particular afternoon she was
quite calm, and we loafers in front of the
hotel only heard a word or two from the
pair across the street, but we could see and
guess, and our guess was that Dick was in
white heat and that something unpleas-
ant would result TO the gentleman with
s0s.1..
Frank Beasley the "gentlemanly and
obliging barkeep" at the Diamond. We
guessed very closely to the truth, but it
was worse than we expected.
After the discussion had proceeded for
some time Frank turned on his heel to re
enter the saloon, but here an interruption
occurred. Phil Holmes, the gambler, came
out Of the barber shop next door and said
something which caused Beasley TO halt
suddenly and wheel around
It was all done in a moment We saw
Dick point her finger at Beasley tragically
and heard her voice screeching in Spanish.
We saw Holmes lips move in saying some
thing to Frank-the latter's hand flew
back TO his gun pocket-there was a report,
sharp and quick. We rubbed our eyes and
rushed over On the steps lay Beasley
shot through the heart-the gambler had
nhu MS gun lu nhuU DtlllnN ullnt All ItiiQyi
and had been too quick for the other. 1t
was coldblooded murder, but there was no
proof that Holmes had been ready, as the
first reach seen was that made by Frank
and so there was nothing to be done.
However. Holmes evidently deemed that
his presence in Adamsville for awhil,
could be easily dispensed with; so in les.
than an hour he and the woman were OF
their way to Woodruff. a town about TWEEN
ty-fve miles distant.
There was good deal Of serious talk il
Adamsvlle that night. Beasley, the dead
man, had been very popular. there was mo-
man in the camp who did not feel his los
as that Of personal friend, and the purs,
raised for his funeral was the largest thing
in the subscription line the oldest inhabi
tant could call to mind
On the other hand, the murderer wa
heartily disliked by nearly every one. III
was one Of those cold blooded, heartless
pale eyed. taciturn fellows, for whose Of
displayed nerve there were plenty Of ad
mirers, but whose real friends might b
counted on ones fingers. lie had been a
the camp two years, but never, TO any one
knowledge. done q kind act to man, won
an OF beast. Although he had been uni
formly careful to keep out Of trouble o
any kind, and there was no specific act eX
cept the shooting Of Beasley for which L
condemn him, there were rumors, an
plenty Of them, concerning past record o
sufficient malodorousness to make il yer
disagreeable for him il said rumors ha'
found verifcation. The fact was, however
that nobody heretofore had cared particu
larry about his record, especially as Adams
vile owned quite a number Of citizen
whose escutcheons needed renovatDg an
coat Of whitewash
Tonight, however, all these rumors ant
various other matters concerning Holme
were dragged in for discussion and reds
cussion, and II Mr. Holmes had happene,
to be about his usual haunts he woul,
have found the social atmosphere dow
near the black ice point. As ] said, Their
was good deal or talk. but that was abou
all Talk is not an expensive commodity
end have observed that there are quite
number Of people in the world who TAX
advantage OF its cheapness and we, o
Evansville, were using the American
most cherished prerogative to the fulles
extent-and that was ALL
There was only one plan Of action sug
rested; this was offered by Tootsy McFad
den, young man recently arrived from
the East which term, applied a
Adamsville, comprehended Kansas. Ne
braska. Missouri and other oriental com
munities more or less distant toward tn.
rising sun
Tootsy's idea was an original one. u
had not. it Is safe TO say, entered the mine
~ any other citizen. II was too brilliant
4. otherwise markable-altogether 50
a was expressed about as follows;
---,--,ara tAToofSy If ''s