The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-10-16

Noble did in ridding Butte of desperate
characters that induced the orderly
men of the town to urge him to take
the job of night marshal.
When Noble made his announce
ment, upon assuming the office, that he
intended to run the town by fist per-
suasion entirely. unless he found him
self in holes too deep to climb out of
without the aid of guns. they all
thought he was only foolng But it
was discovered that Noble meant what
he said three nights after he took the
night marshals beat. On that night he
dropped into Tim Logans dance tent to
have look around There was moth
ing in particular going on there, only a
dozen couples or SO gyrating around on
the hard packed clay floor to the mus.c
of an accordion. Noble stood in cor
ner talking to Logan for a while, and
then started to go out of the door of
the tent. AS he did so he almost bump
ed into another man just coming in.
The other man was a big freighter
named Lou Prindle, not a bad man
when sober, but very evil when drunk.
He happened to be drunk on this oc-
casion. and he also had both of his guns
in his hands. He essayed to pass around
Noble to get into the door of the tent,
but Noble blocked the way and per-
mitted a distance of just about one foot
to separate him from Prindle.
What you got on hand, Lou?' he
asked the big freghter.
'Prindle glared at the night marshal
drunkenly.
Well, said he, while don't mind
admit that that's any O. your business,
l don't mind sayin' that I'm goin' in
mere to shoot up that gal with the blue
skirt whole lot for gvin' me the dou-
BILE cross and
~ wouldn't go in, Prindle.' put in
Noble, mildly still standing only foot
away from the man with the guns.
Who's runnin this yere joint?
yelled Prlndle. Git out O. my way or
I'll
We'll, Noble always did have great
way of breaking in on men before they
had a chance to finish saying what
| they were going to do to him. He saw
| that Prindle's hands were Tightening
| on his guns as he spoke, and his left
hand shot out like catapult and land
| ed like a piston rod on the dangerous
mans wind. This doubled Prindle UP
| so that his head was brought forward
and when that happened Noble got him
clean on the point of the jaw with his
right Prindle was down and out he-
fore he had time to think what was
happening to him and his guns wer'
lying on the ground Noble picked the
guns up and stuffed them into his
men out OF the dance tent and they
packed Prindle to the jigger.
After this happened the Butte push
came to the conclusion that there
might be something in Mobiles queer
policy Of fist persuasion, after all, but
it was not until he had turned the trick
repeatedly and put out number of The
most savage and thoroughly-heeled bad
men that ever announced on Butte's
main streets that they dined daily on
| picked coyotes feet that he succeade
| in convincing the whole camp that a
| man who has complete understanding
| of the way to handle his hands has
| just as good an end Of most arguments
| as the man with the gun or The knife
| And Noble knew how to Use his hands
| if any man in that country did. He'd
| never let on to any one where he had
| picked up his science as a boxer and q
rough tumbler but l guess we
We're not far wrong in figuring it that
he had been in the ring few times
| when he was a young man. He was a
short man, not above five feet six II
| height, but he was extraordinarily
| broad across the shoulders, with ar
| arm-reach that was almost baboonish
| sinewy as Brule Sioux and quick as
cat, and his huge chest and arm.
were SO knotted that, stripped, he look