Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1894-04-19

nearer. To and fro he trots, suspicious,
before me and behind, always drawing
nearer. Soon he becomes bolder-he is
close beneath me-he leaps up and
snaps at my foot, hanging just above
his head. 1 shuddered. and involun-
tarily jerked my feet up out of the
stirrups, just as Fry approached to at
tach the dangling rope to my neck
passing over the limb, not more
than four feet above my head, the
other end of the rope fell to the
ground, where it lay in one or two
coils. Fry picked it up and made it
fast to the nearest tree-trunk. In or
der to do this he had to draw it tight,
| taking up all the slack between my
neck and the limb. Thus it would hap
| pen that when the horse was started
from under me, my body having no
drop, 1 would merely hang there and
strangle slowly. l noted all this as
one in n nightmare, my mind, the
while, full to bursting with a thousand
| thoughts and memories So fercely
did they come teeming through my
| brain, that l am convinced that the
human mind, at its greatest tension. is
capa BILE of receiving and recording in
Vulnerable distinct impressions stimuli
taneously. From the knotting of the
| rope around my neck to the moment
when the other end was drawn tight
and fastened to the tree-trunk near by,
not more than three minutes could
have elapsed; yet it would be impossi-
BILE for me now, in two hours, to relate
to you one-half of my thoughts during
! that space of time.
Through it all, too, my senses were
keenlv alive to every action of the men,
and even the most insignificant occur
rences going on about me. Il remem-
Der how a raven croaked, as it Tapped
slowly by over the tree-tops, and how
my horse pricked up his ears at the
ominous sound. A long army Of black
ants was winding across a sandy space
in front of the horses feet, and l no.
ticed that one of them was transporting
| a dead grasshopper six times its own
bulk. 1t comes before me now as
though l were gazing at a picture of
the scene.
Suddenly / was filled with fierce,
passionate resentment and rage at the
cruelty of the fools who were about to
perpetrate such a terrible blunder.
Aloud and furiously l cursed them. /
tainted them as towards, who had tied
my hands to murder me, when not one
of them dared face me alone, armed or
unarmed. l dared them to set me free
and give me fair chance for my life.
1t is needless to repeat all the extrava-
gances l uttered; but in the midst Of
hiffo, oy,I 1-inlanf Iornnoi int
Fry remounted his horse and, silently,
they all ranged themselves alongside
of me. Fry himself grasping the RATA
attached to my horse. Then, stimuli
| taneously with wild cowb boy yell and
a clash of spurs, they dashed forward
at gallop. taking my horse with them.
II felt the body of the animal slide
from beneath me; then a violent wrench
at my neck, and 1 was dangling in mid
air, suffocating, and making super
human efforts to wrench my hands
loose, and tear the dreadful oppression
from my throat A frightful, roaring
din was in my ears; flashes and darts of
blood-red flame blasted my eyes; my
head was expanding cracl1ing-soon
it must burst Something-l knew not
what-was coming-coming- was
it SO long?-ages-ages- would it never
come?-Ah!-itw was over. Iknew was
lying on the ground, and oh, the delight
full sensation of ease-of freedom from
pain. With a mighty effort opened
my eyes
81 had not quite tainted. and sprang
to my feet with a confused notion of
fighting desperately for my life and
selling myself as dearly as possible.
For, in my dazed condition, 1 thought
my enemies were still there and ready
to torture me afresh AS my vision be-
came clear, l saw a man advancing to-
ward me whom l Knew. 1t was Sheriff
Tucker, of Grant county, New Mexico
an officer who bore the name on all
the border of a determined and fearless
man. and one who, like the lightning,
never struck twice in the same place.
Like lighln ing he did not have to, for
he never miss ed his aim. Tucker had
ridden into the lane just as my would
be murderers galloped off, and, recog-
nizing my dangling form, a ball from
his ready six shooter had cut me down,
severing the rope that had suspended
me at the point where it was drawn
tight against the limb above my head.
"'Some more of Bill Fry's deviltry,'
he said, grimly, after my story was
told. Bill had better be looking out
for his own hide. I'm down here now
with warrant for his arrest. He's
thought to know more than is good for
him about that killing over at Pinos
Altos last week. That was his horse
you had, though, sure enough. 1 saw
you ride out OF town this morning and
recognized the animal, but 1 did not
have time to hail you. 1t was stolen
the day before, of course, and the trail
that Fry aud his party were following
when they overlook you was a day old
and made by the thief when he rode
the horse into town. They're mighty
poor trailers, the lot OF 'en, to make
such mistake. Anyhow, Pm glad l
got here in time. You can't be too
careful buying horses from strangers
nowadays
Il accompanied Tucker to a ranch
near by, where he borrow horse for
me. Then, at my earnest request, he
gave me the warrant that he had come
down to serve on Fry. and deputized
me to make the arrest, offering me his
Winchester, which refused, though l
helped myself to one of his six-shooters-
Fry's ranch was less than a mile up the
river, and, as rode off to perform the
duty. my whole being dominated by
fierce desire for vengeance on the ruff
fan who had been SO eager for my
blood, Tucker called out: BE careful,