Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-07-06
WITHOUT MERCY.
How . eusrriIla Met ths Fate That he De.
served


day bite between Forts Terrct and Mckay
EFT and was sitting with his back 20 q tire
on tho banks Of fork OF tho san saba
river when his horsc. which was graxing
not over so feet away, suddenly sank
down In n heap as dead rs n stone lie
was head on, and the corporal saw the
blood fy from the center Of his forehead
before he heard the IMPORT OF n gun As
he Ep-ang up and looked to the north hc
saw n horsc and rider bearing down upon
him They were on the opposite bank, on
perfectly level ground. and the stranger
winchester still smoked in his hands His
dress and outfit and tho lonely locality
proved him to be one Of those ruving after
tho war gucrriIlas who infested southern
Texas for several years and rObbcd friend
and foe alike There was some little delay
before the corporal got hold Of his carhinc,
and when rcady to open fire from behind
his trcc he dtsruvcrCSl that something had
halted his enemy The outlaw was look.
ing down and around him in an excited
way, and presently he flung his rifle far
from him, dug in the spurs and shouted
encouragingly to the hOrSG Tho strug
giles of the poor animal soon gave the sol
dicr an inkling OF the situation In dash
ing at him the guerrilla had pushed over &
piece of ground which r.scmbled driCS
mud Under the trcachcrUus crust wa:
prairie quicESand, and the fcct Of his hors'
broke through at about the Thru jump.
Horse and rider were not over zoo fec
from the stream As the soldier wltchCx
them the man flung away his two pistol.
/ and cartridge bclt and 10 seconds later hi.
saddle. He was seeking TO Tighten hi.
horse The corporal stepped from his shell
ter, crossed the cpCk and then saw the nc
tual situation Of affairs HOrsc and ride
werc in the center Of what looked like !
mudholc. From this center it was alOOu
40 feet in every dircctinn to solid ground
| Tho hard baked crust over the dcadl,
| quicksand was thin and brittle and sOOl
broke up and dissolved rs the horse flouu
dcrcd about The animal was down tO hi
belly rs the soldier came opposite and halt
/ ell, and n dozen hOrSrs pulling nj the cn
of n lariat could not have drawn him CICsll
His rider drew up his feet and knclt dow
on the hack of the hOrsc and held on b
the manc. Looking the corporal dctlantl
in the eyes, lac impudcntly qucriCSl;
We'll, Is it your turn to laugh
Serves you right rCplicSl the corporal
Likely il does, though l didn't mcA
to shoot your horse fircd to frightc
him of n Bit
And then you were going TO hold III
up'''
"of course. Iwantcd your outfit for
friend of mine"
And you'd have killed me to get it,
"Of course You can chalk this dow
as your lucky day"
And youE'
"Oh. / may come out all right yet
The corporal went hack and sHddlcl h
horse and led him up Thcn he pickC
up the weapons the outlaw had throw
away and made them fast to the sslddl
While tho soldier was absent the quicl
sands pulled the poor beast down At lea
foot TrOOpcr Fraync sat down On Il
turf opposite. lighted his pipC, and after
few whiffs he inquirgSl:
Aren't you the chap who calls hiEnsr
COnchO Joc.''
"YOu bct.''
You murylcrvtl two soldiers up at Can
Johnson
Yes killed a couple { bluccuais l
there who triad To- walk ON ls'r' -
You murICrCJ the mail carrier hrtwC-
Fort McKavUtt and Junction City"
Il wanted his hursz,, and he wOuld-
give IL up
You murvlcryyI and rol'lrri a tcams'
Just outside OF Fort TCrrCJt''
Yes cxpcCt they laid that to me
Il have heard it said IS continual 4
Corporal, ''thnt you have killsL fNum Is
- mon sInCc the war. and that every Isl
ing was n murder
We won't quarr,l about that l1uE
cSl the outlaw, When the nuI'1lp-r r'r.aslt
In, you may n we'll call il ~.
Ills hursc was rsnw down till thu ''u.
had to stand un its tlrE- II" sur.
the situation from every T,oing. and ''s,
was grim smile avn his fnCv, a. hC ma 4
his awful TrcrlL
You'll jump n tie last. quietly ,
served the soldiCr. but ilulhing can s.
4 you The instant yuUr feet touch 4
mud you'n In sucked down
''YOu'rc right, l rrcS"n," p'Plicyl !
outlaw. No usc askins; You for thu a
Of that lariat, chs''
Not n bit
"Iscc. How would You like to sl,o,u'
n mani
d Il shan't do any shooting at you-''
MOP Well. old man. to IL honest aba
it, don't think I'D show You any fay'
II our Positions wCrc rcvcrssl nv
'' did gu much ON sentiment. About 80 {,
to solid ground, isn't it'''
About that
That means four Jumps. and I cal
make en- I've sCCn the time I want
wings, but never so had as now Any a
in sights"
Not n human being" answered. I
corporal after a look arDund-
] Thanks I'm going to try for So
ground- One, two. thUC'-
He lcapcd straight out for distanc"
nine or ten f,,rt, and a he struck the IN
he settled to his KNEES in an instant
The corporal looked at him for n II
mcnt and then mounted his hOrsc-
Going. curporal1'' qucricsi the Outla
YES, of course. No U.s. wasting a
more time here. i have company a
shan't b. Lonesome. As the corporal n
:. away he heard the rustic of wings. Ia,
ing up. hc saw a SCUM Of VultupeS ilyi
in n circle above the deadly sands
, an instant hc hCSitaGCi and ssNnlCNl alb
: to turn hack Then n iicrcc light came
his eyes, ana he grOwlCCl As he dug in
spurs:
!. 1T Is the vengeance of heaven
hiI:i die like a dog NJ QUAD
When = rascal i loved 10y an honest y
man, she either bs-comes criminal or he
honest man -RllZac