The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-01-28

| man; never to show mercy to human be-
ing, brought most vivdly before him the
actually Of outlawry which he had
brought upon himself by the killing OF
| Henry Astrole. But he took the oath and
| was greeted rs q fellow bandit by the as \
| semblcd brethren.
That evening he was called into the
"home" Of the general and. after a few
| prellminaries. was told that he was now
| to begin genuine work" with the broth
erhood. His first labors were to be in con-
| nection with "hold-up' OF q train on
| the Union Pacific railway.
| The details had all been worked out ~
| completely as any military campaign;
| maps Of the route of approach and OF q
| dozen routes Of escape were as neatly and
| completely prepared AZ expert engineering
| talent could make them.
| Your duties. Murray. are az follows"
| said the general, with an air Of authority
| that left no room for question
you are locomotive engineer. You
! will leave your horse here at this NO. 2
| on the south side Of the track, and walk
| to the station. As the train pulls out,
you and Bill Delaney viii crawl over the
1 tender throw the engineer on the cab,
| cover the fireman with gun and make
| him FIRE for you. Pull up to this place
| NAKED mo. H. slack up and we will cut
| on the passenger cars and fire out the
| messenger and baggage man."
.At the call of All oar you will pull
| ahead again to NO. g. where you left
| your horses. There kill the fires under
| your boiler and tie UP the fireman. Then
| come back and help us II we need you.
| Then you and Delaney get away by
way Of this route marked M and D. rid
| ing nights and sleeping days till you
| reach the Hole. II you are nipped, burn
| or eat this map; 1t haint much of
| trace. but we want no evidence on paper.
You can spend your time in the saddle
l - ~-ptty
He's an old one and can teach you few
tricks. guess you know enough to
/ use your gun when needed
| After similar instructions to other MEM
| bers OF the clan, the company parted for
the night. with orders to be ready to de-
| part the next evening at dusk.
George Murray did not sleep that night.
He had come to this nest OF outlaws be-
! cause he was one of them.
| He had killed Henry Astrole In quar-
| rel over Eva McManus. He had picked
| the quarrel himself: had gone around for
| weeks expecting It: had not intended to
| use the gun excepting in self-defense.
but in the heat of the fray. when he
| found himself almost at his rivals mercy,
he had fired the one fatal shot that had
branded him murderer. He had seen
| his enemy fall; marked the blood ooxing
| from his breast; had turned and fed
| For weeks he had wandered over the
plains by night. half starved and wholly
| frightened. At Casper he had picked up
a Chicago paper, dated the day after his
! crime, and found the brief item an
nouncing the murder and that q posse
| was In pursuit Of the murderer. He had
stolen horse and found his way to the
Hole in the Wall, an outlaw whose life
must answer for his crime.
Sometimes during the night vigi's Of his
apprenticeship he had almost determined
to give himself up. He would feel that
ana M oh NJ - fam vov,1A ~
worth hanging for. Then he would pic
ture her weeping over Henry Astrole's
1 death, and all the bitter hatred with which
| he had sought the quarrel would come
back. He would be glad that Astrole was
dead. II can never have her, but neither
can he. She may have loved him best, and
am as happy here as I would have been
there with Eva as his WIFE,"
But on this last night before he took the
| final step which was to bind him irrevoca-
| bly, to the life Of brigandage which he had
chosen, Murray battled with inheritance.
| life, conscience, soul q a man can battle
but once.
| He lay in his 'dobe hut where he could
see the glimmer of a lone star which
shone through the fieeting clouds and
addressed his thoughts and semi dreams
to the star, as though it had lived his
whole life with him.
you remember the day when caught
the squirrel for her. and how she kept
| 1t for two years and named 1t George,
and how she used to call It Greedy
George when was around, just to tease
me? So she always teased men, didn't
she? But she was SO pretty and so cute
and she knew that she could wind me
around her fingers. and I guess that's
why she liked men who did not worship
her SO much, wasn't It?
And that day. down by the mill, when
I started to ask her once more to name
a day and get 1t settled for good. Do you
remember how she pretended to be slip
ping into the creek. and when grabbed
her. how she slapped me and ran away?
do you think she would ever have had
me II I'd waited? But that scoundrel
Astrole-no. he wasn't scoundrel either.
I guess. He had as much right to be in
love as had. But he knew I was there
! first and he told her 1 wouldn't fight any,
one.
Eyes. he did: she told me SO. Well.
I know she didn't say exactly that; but
| she did say that she wasn't afraid Of my
| fighting. because he wanted three dances
in one evening. You know she said
| that!
IT didn't mean to kill him. I don't
| know why carried the gun. wasn't
| going to let him get the drop on me.
| What did I pick the quarrel for at all?
| Well. do you think wanted her to be-
| lieve I wouldn't fight for her? Isn't she
| beautiful and good? don't know
J whether she is good or not. She oughtn't
| TO have firted so. had she? Oh, bosh!
| she is good! You know she is! She is
| perfect-so there"
| And after he had covered the ground Of
| his love for Eva McManus many times.
| his mind would come back to the new life
| before him.
| II am driven to It. I can't turn back
| now. I cannot live elsewhere. Justice
hunts me everywhere 1t is this or the
rope. And have taken the oath of blood
| and I will not break 1t. 1t will come cas-
| Ter after while. and 1t will end quickly
| some day. No lingering in jail for weeks.
! months, years. maybe-no death-watch
| and dark cells. No gaping crowds point
| ing out the murderer to children-just a
| stray bullet some day and II will end. IT
is all can do. 1t is all the world will let
| me do. You'd do 1t, too, IL you were in