Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1897-08-19

were conversin' about. but Potts was
talkin' as sensible as any man could
when suddenly his eyes opened wide,
and a sort O. scared expression came
on his face and he lifted his hand and
pointed to the sky.
! Look at the ships!' he says. Look
at the pretty ships sailin' in the sky!
Don't yo' see 'em? Ships! Ships!'
Il looked where he pointed and I
couldn't see even a yaller hammer or
bIuejay.
al don't see no Ships says.
Don't see emil says Potts. Why
Dune We, whar's yer eyes? Can't yo'
see 'em? Why thar's thousands and
thousands of 'em!'
He stood looking at the sky for
awhile, and then he got sane again and
went right along with what we were
sayin'. You bet cut the conversation
short and got away from there amt
got no use for crazy people"
| Clark, of the Oregon house, paused
again and seemed to gather his
thoughts.
But the old man was crazy enough
! this mornin', he continued. LAS l said,
he's had one of his girls Twin with him
and last night he tried to give her 4
whaling, and she ran away and came
down to where the boys were worllin'
at the Point. The old man came down
| this mornin' Ioollin' for the girl and
MIN and the boys had fight. The girl
skipped out while they was scrappin',
and then the old man chased her two or
/ three miles with an AK, tryin' to ketch
/ her. But he didn't ketch her, and when
he came back he was just a ravin'
maniac. He passed by the shop, going
down river, and he was the widest
! lookin' mortal you ever see. He had the
AK in his hand yet, and he was swingin'
it and taIkin' and yellin' to the sky,
and L reckon he'd have killed anybody
that got in his way. l know I'd "a shot
him if he'd "a came at me; and George.
my boy, he was about scared plumb to
death. l tell you, that's why he pulled
out so early, l reckon. l shouldn't be
surprised if some OF his half-breed boys
| lays him cold one of these days; for Il
they don't he'll surely kill some of
them. He"
The narrative was cut short by the
sudden appearance of man. He
scrambled up from the trail that led
from the river, and ran out to the mid
die of the platform in front OF the shop.
The horses, peacefully engaged in pick
ing up the few remaining straws of
their morning feed scented him, and
then saw him, and snorted. No won
der, for the man was a Strengthening
being.
A tall man, broad-shouldered and well
made. On his head, a woman's ragged
straw hat, beneath which long black
hair hung down to his shoulders. A
rough shirt, villainously dirty, partly
covered the upper portion of his body
partly, L say, because it was torn open
ut his throat, showing his hairy breast,
and had no sleeves, which left his long,
sun-burned, muscular arms bare. From
his waist down he was covered by a
pair of old pants which came only to
his ankles, and his feet were shoeless.
In his right hand he held an ak, and on
his gaunt, grizzlcd, haggard face, in
which burned two fierce hollow eyes,
were the shadow of insanity.
For a moment he stood still, his great
| chest rising and falling with the tides
of excitement that surged within him.
Then his fierce eyes, wandering and
ever restless, caught sight of the two
men under the shed of the old shop, and
were at once fixed upon them with an
| intensity not pleasant. For yet an
| other moment he stood thus, and then,
with quick, catlike steps, he started
| towards them.
The man at the plum box turned
1
| pulled down to a huddled heap. Then
Clark's hand went to his back pocket
and pulled out an old Colts revolver.
He had drawn his knees up close to his
chin, and now he laid the barrel of his
| pistol upon his knees, the muzzle of
| it pointing downhill towards the slow
ly-advancing lunatic.
With his finger resting lightly upon
the trigger; with his thin lips parted
so they showed the tobacco-stained
teeth, between which his pipestem was
held so tightly that it was crushed
fiat; with his gray eyes filed with that
cold, steely light that tells of an I'M
swerving, Implying determination,
Clark waited.
Behind the man upon which the gun
was trained the great canyon of Yuba
lay-a strange. impressive background
for the tragedy the man at the plum
box felt was about to take place.
But there was no tragedy. When the
man came within few yards of him
Clark called out:
Don't come any nearer, Potts, or
I'll shoot"
Potts stopped, looked at Clark
steadily for a moment, then whirled
and went down the trail on the other
side of the platform-the trail that led
towards the Chinamen's camp up the
river. As he disappeared down the steep
bank Clark let down the hammer of his
gun and said:
How'd you like Mr.. Potts?"
Then he became aware of the fact than
be had ruined his pipestem. and with
half serious, half humorous smile on
his face he remarked:
"Wel hang OF Potts! If I'd knowed
] was goin' to bust my pipe I'd "a shot
him anyway"
I'm glad you didn't know it. then"
replied the man at the plum box. with a
faint smile, which died away as a wild,
hoarse cry came up from the river.
They went out to look, and saw Potts
standing on a rocky point, waving his
arms and gesticulating to the calm,
blue sky.
"H'ph!" said Clark cit was him,
then, that was yellin' down the river
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