St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-01-20
STAGE GUARD WHO NEATLY REAT
TWO ROBBERS AT THEIR
OWN GAME.
THRILLING WESTERN STORY.
INCIDENT OF THE DAYS wHEN
ROAD AGENTS GAVE SUR
PRISE PARTIES.
A MOMENT OF GREAT SUSPENSE
very Quick Use Made of a Pair Of
Good Thirty-Eight CALDER
RevOIvers.
n Francisco Examiner.


Its great thing, presence of mind
and L. always regret that somehow
don't think of the right thing until the
wrong time"
The speaker was man whose mus
tache ard hair showed the winter of
ne was near: His eye was piercing,
not shlfty, and his clothing and adorn-
ments betokened comfortable circum-
stances.
1 Stories of early days in mountains
and mines were being told, and one who
was reformed freighter had related
his wonderful escape from pursuing
robbers by sending his dozen mules
nying down mountain trail. The tip
was out that there was a band ready
to descend on the treasure wagons and
ne was given the bullion. Every
thing went well until from the top of
the mountain he saw in pursuit a half
dozen men on horseback. It took a sec
ond to decide and he started his team
in gnllop down the grade trusting
to good fortune, and it did not fail
him, for he dashed into the camp on
| the other side a short neck ahead of
his pursuers, who had hustling drive
to escape scratch posse which i'm
mediately after started in pursuit
My friend, whose chair was tipped
back against the post Of the porch, his
eyes fixed on the stars shining dimly
in the moonlight, continuing, said:
A SURPRISE FOR THE ROBBER.
Like all men who lived in Califor-
MIA in the early days, 1 have had some
tight fits He moved a little as if to
ease his right shoulder, and 1 remefn-
Der that he had used his arm with a
| little difficulty while at dinner II didn't
think 1T was ever my privilege again
| to hold as good a hand as I did one
night on an overland train in Nevada.
! The Pullman car was an old-timer, and
I had just stepped in to wash my
hands, when the opening to the toilet
room was closed by the throwing back
| OF the car door l saw the conductor,
with his hands up, step past me and
right behind him was a masked rob-
Der with a gun poked against the small
of the ticket takers back. 1 had
| dropped to the game and disappeared
! behind the curtain until the bandit had
passed, when l also fell into step be-
hind him, with my gun at his ear. He
handed his gun to the conductor very
| obediently and, after we tied him, he
made an excellent shield for me when
I pushed him out on the platform and
drove off his pals.
But the time l showed I was not up
! to close pinch; 1 have regretted 1t
ever since, too, for I have a bullet
in this shoulder land he eased it's po-
! sition as if from force of habit. I was
! guard on the Big Bend stage. L had
been gambler for twenty years.
l knew all the tricks and had played
every game in all sorts of ways and
with every kind of device. But L
| jumped it one day, turned down the
! box and swore I'd never touch card
again. Yes, there's few of US turns
! that trick, but L had a lesson. You
see, / was dealing in Deep Gulch when
an old man VINO had big interests in
the mines comes up from the bay with
| his boy, a likely lad of seventeen or
eighteen, who couldn't stand the temp
tations of the place, and when his
father was out in the mountains that
youngster was either around the dance
hall or the Bank saloon. One of the
! girls got stuck on his face and he
! spent lots of money on her, which didn't
! please an ugly-tempered outlaw who
hung around camp, and it was only by
my being on the lookout that 1 winged
Big Sam and saved the lad one night
Il was so touched by the old mans
gratitude that | concluded a mining
camp gambling saloon wasn't a good
place to die in either, as the old party
said, and l quit it. He got me the
place as guard on the stage. 1 wanted
it and refused to go to the bay. 1t
was a lonely ride out at best, and one
day we broke down on the road and
were delayed so we had to make the
lost twenty miles after night.
1T was just such night as this, the
| very gentlest of breeZes, the moon so
| bright one could read by it, and the
road through the woods was as a white
ribbon. We were bowling along quiet
! ly enough up a grade, when at little
turn we met two horsemen coming at
a slashing gallop. They threw their
| horses back on their launches and we
were held up.
SUSPECTED THE DRIVER
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 Sc threw me
! off my guard. / was put in a line
alongside the reinSman, and while 7
had both eyes on the guard and his
| partner, not a move of that rascally
driver escaped me.
"Of course we all had our minds in
the air, and right here let me explain
a little point. Did you ever see a poker
hold-out? It's an ingenious contriv-
ance which fits beneath your clothing
with an arm extending down the sleeve
| Of your coat on the inside, so regulat-
| ed that by pressure of the elbow
|
| grip a card or out of sight up in the
arms. 1t is a handy affair not to be
caught with, too, for it is prima facie
! evidence, and hangings too little for
a man who's known to be ready to
play with the contrivance. about him.
'When 1 quit the game / had a set of
'em; l took 'em from a fellow from the
bay who came up to earn an honest
| dollar. / wouldn't sell 'em or give EN-
| away: some one might think I used
such things myself. So I just quietly
worked a patent. I got a pair of single
shot derringers, which would lie in
! the crook of my arm, and not rest hard,
and I fastened 'em to either clip Of
them holdouts OF course, when my
hands was up, the derringers lay snug
against my forearm. I had practiced
with EN- lots, and knew just how to
cramp my elbows, drop my arms lit
tie, and have the little bankers in my
! hands.
ST was gradually letting my hands
down once-that is, I was testing the
| thing when the guard called me UP
sharp, fearing something, and made
me move away a mite from the line
where he could watch me particular
and keep the passengers covered as
we'll. He ordered everybody to keep
still, too, for there was a little bit of
sobbing by woman in the party, and
| sniveling drummer was bemoaning
his fate. Pete was not doing good bust
ness with the box, though, for he was
clubbing away with hammer, but not
making any Roadway at opening the
little safe.
ROBBER TURNED HIS HEAD.
Suddenly the opening came. The
| guard was getting impatient, and ours