Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1896-06-20
HAD HIS PRESENCE or MI
MIND
Served Him Pretty Wei, but Might
Have Done Better.

time"
The speaker, says the San Francisco Ex-
aminer, was man whose mustache and
hair showed the winter OF life was near
His eye was piercing, not shifty, and his
clothing and adornmcnts betokencd com
Portable circumstances
Il was a guard on the Big Bend stage.
l had been Il gambler for 20 years. /
knew all the tricks, and had played every
game in all sorts of ways and with every
kind of device.
ut was just such a night as this, the
very gentest of breezes, the moon So
bright one could read by it, and the road
| through the woods was as a white rib
bon. We were bowling along quietly
enough up a grade, when at Turn We
met two horsemen coming 4 a slashinS
gallop. They threw their horses back on
their launches and we were held up.
Passengers, driver and all were stood
up in a row, and one of the bandits
guarded us, while his partner Pete he
called him, was soon at work on the box.
| suspected the driver Of conniVanCe, for
when we heard the horses he said it was
a courier coming; he knew Of the trip.
and so threw me off my guard. 1 was put
in a line alongside the rensman, and
while | had both eyes on the guard and
his partner, not move of that rasCally
driver escaped me.
J
air, and right here let me explain a h,tle
! point. Did you ever see a poker hold
! out? It's an ingenious cOntriVanCe which
| fits beneath your clothing, with an arm
! extending down the sleeve Of your coat
| on the inside. SO regulated that by a pres
! sure of the elbow the clip at the end is at
| the wrist to grip a card or out Of sight
| up in the arms. 1t is handy affair not
| to be caught with, too. for it is prima
! facie evidence, and hanging's too little
| for man who's known to be ready to
! play with the COntriVanCC about him
| When [ quit the game | had a set of 'em
! / took 'em from a fellow from the bay
| who came up to earn an honest dollar.
l wouldn't sell EN- or give 'em away;
! some one might think | used such things
myself. So | just quietly worked pat
ent. | got a pair of singleshot derrin-
gers, which would lie in the crook of my
arm and not rest hard, and | fastened
em to either clip of the hold-outs. or
course when my hands was up the der
ringers lay snug against my forearm. /
had practiced with 'em lots. and knew
just how to cramp my elbows, drop my
arms little and have the little bankers
| in my hands.
Il was gradually letting my hands down
once, that is, / was testing the thing,
when the guard called me up sharp, fear
ing something, and made me move away
! a mite from the line, whore he could
watch me particular and keep the pas
sengers covered as we'll. He ordered
| everybody to keep still, 100. for there
was a little bit Of sobbing by a woman
! in the party and sniveling drummer was
| bemOaning his fate. Pete was not doing
| good business with the box, though, for
| he was clubbing away with a hammer,
| but not making any Roadway at opening
the little safe.
Suddenly the opening came. The
! guard was getting impatient and cursin8
Pete when with smash the hinges
broke. Pete gave an exclamation, and
| the guard turned his head, only for
| second, though, but that was enough,
for I had been watching him, and it was
no great thing to take advantage of the
| chance.
Like a fash my arms had dropped and
those little 38-calber pops We're in my
| hands. With my right | dropped the
! guard. the bullet going through his head,
| shot the fellow at the box with my
| left hand. | never was as good a shot
| with my left as with my right, and, in
addition, he three times far away.
| So, instead Of hitting him in the head,
as | tried, / only got him in the body.
| AS he turned and drew his gun l cried to,
| the people to drop, for | knew there
would be some lively shoOting l didn't
take time to reach for my own gun. but
! threw myself on the dead robber, catch
! ing his bullet as | went down.
! Il had the gun of the dead one up in
| a moment, and was able to kill Pete be-
| fore any of the passengers were hit j
| have kicked myself a hundred times
! when | remember my absolute lack Of
| self possession. 1t would have been just
as easy for a man with presence Of mind
! to have turned the trick with two shots.
| using the left the close party and
saved the wound, but ] couldn't think
! fast enough"