Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1892-02-26
A HALF TOLD TALE,


healthy. This chunk of wisdom is not out
Of the doctors books. 1t is not likely
therefore, to be accepted as authoritative
stu know of a case that proves its truth
Monty Clark hated Jed Saddlehorn with
the kind Of hate that spoils the hater's di-
gestion. 1t always boiled within him like
water in a geyser. The overflow was in
frequent, which was as bad for him as for
the man he hated For it scalded MONTHS
internal organs and was likely to prove
the death of Jed when it should finally
burst forth in the always threatened grand
eruption. 1t was spiteful, mean, low
down sort of enmity
In short, it was the hatred of a coward
Now, Jed detested Monty. He loathed
him, in fact He would not speak to him
if he could well avoid it, But his hatred
was of the healthy sort, and he thrived ON
it. He did not 20 about calling his enemy
hair curling names behind his back. He
simply swore a little into the air and held
his peace. He knew that Monty had vowed
to kill him, and he was always prepared to
meet him half way when he should make
the attempt Both were cowboys. and both
rough and tough
The trouble arose over cattle. Jed had
Monty was intending to steal himself
Neither man had a shadow of right to the
beasts, for they strayed away from a neigh
boring ranch. When the owner came after
them Monty was as quick to tell him what
had been done with them as he would have
been to keep the matter shady had the
brand on the steers been his own. From
that time on there was war between the
fKup ltnt IL xsrau "a ruiaf hatfla nd
attracted little attention from the other
men with whom they worked
Monty planned all sorts Of means for
staying his enemy-that is, all except those
in which he might be given "A chance for
his life. Once he pointed his pistol at his
back when they were alone on the desert,
but he lacked the pluck to press the trig,
ger. Another time he had good oppor-
tunity for sticking knife between his ribs
while he lay asleep, but he faltered He
was not squeamish a. to the deed but he
feared the consequences. Jed's friends
handled their riatas with dexterity, and it
might be his fate TO dangle at the end of
one Of them if he did not do his staying
very neatly and shadily.
1t was after the rodeo. The cowboys
were at the lone groggery on the desert
near the railroad station. They had been
enjoying such innocent pleasures as gulp-
ing down raw whisky, shooting at the
lamps and mirrors and making the pro
prietor of the place dance on his own bar.
Jed was a little more under the influence"
than any Of the others, and when Monty
came in as sober as draft horse, it pleased
the convivial Saddlehorn to make him give
the assembly a lively jig on the top Of a
billiard table. There was fire in Monty's
eyes when he had finished the jig-per-
formed, as it was, at the point Of Jed's six
shOoter-and he took anew the oath to kill
him. He would like to see him burned
alive, or tortured by Indians. There was
no death too good for the man, so he
thought.
He went down in the dry arroyo near
the big corral TO think over some scheme
Of vengeance, swift, terrible and sure. He
saw three Indians up the arroyo, and,
thinking they might help aim in his plan
of murder, he went up to them. They
were lying on the gray earth mumbling
among themselves. He talked with them
awhile and soon made up his mind that
they were of too peaceable nature to at
tempt any such job as he had on hand. He
was about to turn away when his eye
caught sight of something so hideously re
pulsive that it made him gasp and vince.
Securely pinioned in lsather thongs was
one of those horrible reptiles of the desert,
sometimes called the ella monster. He
had seen these animals before, but had
never seen one half the size of this, which
the Indians had captured with a view to
selling to a scientifically inclined white
man who lived over at the next station,
and to whom they had already sold several
ugly creatures, though none approaching
this for ugliness.
The reptile was about four feet long and
was marked differently from the others of
the same family that Monty had tickled
with his blacksnake while scouting the
wilds on horseback This animal did not
look as If he would stand much tickling.
Although Monty did not know it, he saw
before him true specimen Of the heio-
derma horridum a creature that has the
most violent dislike for man and whose
bite is deadly, no antidote yet known being
powerful enough to overcome the poison
when once in the human system BY the
Indians he is called the terazula. He diff
fers from the common heloderma suspec
tenn in the markings Of his body, his size
and also in the fact that there is no doubt
as TO the headlines Of his poison. His full.
long form is covered by a shining and
ainty armor Of jet black and copper green.
He has none Of the orange patches which
distinguish the suspectem.
The head Of the ter3lzula was seen to be
quite long, and the eyes. narrow and some
what bullying. were Ike two Jets OF blue
fame. The four legs were Of the length Of
a mans forearm, and the claws. with THEN
spiky projections. were Of finger length.
A stumpy tail. the only ptr Of the body
now free to move. was lnshing the ground.
As soon as the revengeful mans eyes fell
upon the ter,zula be- began TO form plan
in which this horrible creature took part.
II he could turn this venomous reptile
lose upon Jed his life would not be worth
a bunch Of cactus lie told the Indians 70
remain. that he would buy the terazula
and pay a better price than they could get
from che collector They should keep the
creature there until the morrow and he
would then tell them what disposition 70
mako of IT, For hours durinu the night he