Shiner gazette. [volume] (Shiner, Tex.) 1893-current, 1899-09-27
-Mhat said Won. nndre z

W nat hhlu you, pHuIe
Proceed.
"You will absolve me, fatherH"
"Not now, my soB. You have done
great evil You must do great penance.
You are above oil men, most sinful"
"What must / do. fatherY"
"You know the place Of the scat
fold2'
Hueco shuddered and turned cold to
the backs of his hands.
You would not betray me, fatheIF"
~ betray you under the seal of con-
fession No. 1t is the penance which l
am about to impose upon you. Tonight
you must 20 to the scaffold. kneel down
beneath it and pray seven times for the
soul of each man that you have muir.
dered. Then until the day breaks pray
that your own soul may be kept from
the torments Of hell.
Twill nothing else subject" said
Hueco with chattering teeth.
AIS it your place to dictate the terms
Of your pennncet" replied Padre Miguel
sternly do As command you OF suf-
fer full punishment for your sins"
al BOt Eulh 11uGNOs
Padre Miguel was, above all things,
practical man. He believed in the
power of penitence and prayer, and he
was also firmly convinced of the bene-
fits of applied means. ~
That night he FASTENED to the gaupt
gallows, which doomed up far out over
the sandy plain. He reached his desti
nation just as the heavy darkness set
| tied down over the surrounding coun-
Try. Up one side of the scatfold ran a
rough ladder, and up this ladder the
padre toiled with his weight Of flesh
| After reaching the cross lean at the top
the good nun sat down and cautiously
moved himself out to point about
midway between the uprights. Then
he waited. The seat was narrow ana
perilous. Padre Miguel grew impatient
"Dios" he groaned as the moment.
dragged along. ~ am cut in halves
The dog Why has he not comet
From beneath his robe the padre drew
strong rawhide lariat One end wes
tied about his ample wrist, the othei
formed Il running moose
"Ah, shall give him fright =
chuckled the padre between twinges Of
pain The saints be praised Their
lie is now"
A dim figure moved slowly to poin
directly beneath the cross beam of tn
gallows and knelt down.
The padre had intended to wait unit
the prescribed prayers were said bu
e grew impatient and determined up
n immediate action. Inch by inch b.
)wered the noosed end of the lariat
'inally it hung even with the penitent r
leck. A deft twist, and it was over
3uecos head. A sharp jerk. and il
was biting his neck
"Nlother of Godr" shrieked Hueco
struggling madly to tear off the Moose
"Helpl must not Gle yeti The5pray
ers are not saidl' 3lN
Padre Miguel threw his eieii
against the lariat and managedlto holo
the frenzied man in check n, tta
Hueco screamed and prayed anc
cursed and cried D
In the excitement of the momeD
the padre leaned back farther and far
ther, forgetting the narrowness of the
beam on which he was seated. There
was a sudden slackening of the lariat
the padre whirled backward and shot
down to the ground 30 feet below
"Merciful heaven' groaned Padre
Miguel as soon as he regained con
sciousness This lariat is cutting me
in two, but what of the poor devil OIL
the other endY''
By great effort he turned himself
over on his back and looked up. Direct
ly above him Hueco was dangling by
the neck from the cross beam.
"God have mercy on his sinful soul /
cried the padre. II have become his
hangman by the direction Of Provi
dence.
AS quickly as possible Padre Miguel
unfastened the laIiat from his own
waist and lowered the body of Hueco
to the ground. Then he fled to the Sc
clusion of his little chapel.
All that night and the following day
he tasted and prayed, interspersing thu
ritual with many pertinent ejacula'
tions.
The body of Hueco was found and
discussed. The execution was unhesi
tatingly attributed to some supernatur
al agency; hence the inhabitants Of
Las Cruces now have tale that's
worth the telling.
GENERAL NEWS.