The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-01-20

onds the dust was cleared sufficiently TO
allow me dimly TO sight my opponent.
My finger had almost pressed the trigger
when somehow or another I seemed TO
feel that need not shoot. There was no
motion about my adversary. nor was his
face visible and even at that distance 1
could see that his rifle was not i'm position,
but was grasped in his right hand wide out
from his body. I kept my rifle on him
hesitating what TO DO. He still had two
shots 10 his magazine. and had right
20 Gre on him and make certain. but stil.
as / say. 1 hesitatei. As 7 did SO MOttram
waved me to hold my FIRE. and leaving
their position on the hill the two seconds
ran hastily 10 the silent figure I'm front OF
me. A wave OF the hand released me from
suspense and informed me that the duel
was over. on reaching CrOckfOrd l found
him insensible from pain and loss Of blood.
MY second shot had struck him fair on
the left shoulder shatteriug the bone at
the joint IN a terrible manner and flooding
the road with blood. Even then the man
had. before inseusibility set in. managed.
goodness knows how. TO send those four
bullets in rapid succession. any one of
which. had ii been three inches truer.
would have killed or badly wounded me.
We got him TO the store and Dalziel. who
possessed some surgical skill managed 10
staunch the flowing blood, and IN a day or
TWO he was pronounced out of any ahsO-
although it was three months before ne
could leave his berth. As the ranch had
passed into my hands during that time
saw that he was properly attended TO, but
when he was able TO travel directed that
he be paid up all wages and an extra nifty
dollars given him, but that he be dis
charged from the employ You see felt
very unsafe while he was within forty
miles. l heard that he ultimately recoV-
cred the use Of his arm, but il was long
time before it was anything like sound.
Little more remains to be told, except
that I gave Dalziel a hundred dollars Tor
that Winchester as a souvenir of the af-
fair"
But. Mr.. Compton" said I. how on
earth did YOU manage to make such
good shot at your man on your second at
tempt. when. as you pointed out, you shot
so badly at the box lid. Was 1t simply
fiuke?"
Compton looked at me rather curiously
and said:
Il notice that you sometimes play at
whist but I don't perceive that you let
the adversaries see your hand. II Is true
that l was never within five feet of the
box lid, but then you see l never shot at
that lid at all. I aimed at dozen ar
ferent parts of the shanty. knots, blotches
on the wood, etc, but never at the lid.
Knowing what / was shooting at, | was
satisfied because all my shots were within
six to ten inches of whore | aimed them
and. of course, the others thought l was
blazing away at the lid all the time.
though, mind, I never said so, and Crock
ford naturally got the impression that /
was a very bad shot from what the others
told him. / rather expected the result
would be that way, and II was unlucky
for CrockfOrd.
Suppose we have a drink now. 1 can
never think of those Internal bullets whiz-
zing past me without feeling certain dry
ness in the throat and mouth. Upon my
soul, the remembrance makes my flesh
creep more now than it did at the time
but you know l was fighting mad then
aud was shooting to kill.