Cañon City record., 1902-08-07
WHEN THE
WORM TURNED


Dave. ar yo' gwine to beat me. same
as all the rest of the men around yere
beat their wininE"
Reckon So" lie replied.
But | want to tell yo' bef6' we cit
married that yo'-yo' hadn't better"
"Why?"
"Kase ! won't abide it."
Ssh o! Shoor'
"kasc II vo' ever wallop me I'll dun
have yo'r life fur shorer
Then mrbbe | won't" he said
The neH duv they were married. and
Linda went to the new shack" three
miles away. 20 live. 1t was little she
carried with her. and there were no
goodbys as she left the tumble down
old cabin in which she was born. They
were probably as happy as the average
squatter bride and groom, and had 1t
not been for one thing Dave might
have smiled oftener Linda had warn.
ed him before their marriage that he
must not beat her. Wife beating. at
least in that community, was n com
mon thing. and most OF the women
submitted to 1t without protest No
squatter felt his position as boss" Sc
cure unless he had applied the rod to
his wife's back. Dave had been ad.
vised by his father and grandfather to
fall into line. and when IA month had
gone by and he could not say that he
had yet beaten his bride he was In dan.
ger OF being looked down upon in con
tempt There had been no cause to
strike her, and yet II runkled that she
had warned and deied him He
thought the thing over until he finally
got to feel that he must either switch
her or give up any claim 10 being the
head Of the house. and he set the day
and hour of her humiliation. She was
sweeping the dirt door with II broom
made of twiSs when he entered the
cabin with a switch In his hand and
said:
Linda. I'm goin' to waIIop yo'."
what fur:" she asked.
Jest TO wHIlop. Come over yere."
"Dave. do yo' remember what | dun
told 20 Oefn' we was marriedy' she
asked as she stood before him.
Reckon do. but that don't count
shall wnlIop yo' mighty hard"
Better not"
"Shoo. Shgo"
And he seized her arm with his left
hand and held her In place while he
used the switch over her shoulders un-
til 1t was worn out. She did not strug.
gle or cry out. With pale face and set
teeth she took her punishment as II in
sensible TO pain. but there was look
in her eyes that made the young hus-
band uneasy. He tried TO make him
self believe that be had done his duty
and that the whipping would in some
way have great moral effect on the
freckle faced woman who had received
1t. but he came to almost wish he
hadn't done 81 Even when his IN.
ther prnlsed him for the stnnd he had
taken the words aroused no grntltca-
ton. and when bis mother added thai
Linda wouldn't feel nhoye her better-
now Dave WINGED al the thorght Of her
humiliation. AS for her threat he
scarcely gave II a thought. Linda was
Qriet. even spoken and appeared to be
without temper. He did not know hu-
man nature we'll enough TO know that
such people nre the most cruel and un- .
forgivIng. Three days passed. and
there had been no outbreak. The bus-
a nd actions whether she had been hum
bled or still defied bin. Then he woke
up one morning to lnd himself tied
hand and foot tc the bed. Linda had
prepared breakfast and sat down to II
alone.
whats this fussin' aboutl" de
manded Dave ~ he found himself
helpless
Tiled up" briefly replied Linda.
But what furT'
"Euse Im gwine to have vo'r life
fur walIopin' me | dun told yo'"
The mnn WAS no coward. even though
q wife beater. His cheek paled and
bis blood chilled Mt her words. She
spoke without passion. and there was
cause for fear.
And yo'r gwIne to kill me?" he ask
ed as she ate her food without the
slightest sign OF nervousness.
Fur shore. ! dun told yo'. but yo'
wailoped me.
But don't my pop wallopf Don't
yo'r pop waIIop? Don't Jim Renshnw
and Tom Carter and Joe Hazen wal
iop?"
makes no difference"
"TheD I'm sorry.
Makes no difference"
Dave saw that Linda was implncn.
bic. Even with the chill OF fear at his
heart he had to smile at her originality.
Here was a squatter's daughter with
independence here n slip Of a wife
who objected to the switch. here
woman seeking revenge for what sh"
called her humiliation. but which other
women locked upon as part OF the
routine. She was truly n novelty. 9th
er women would have stormed and
wept. Linda was calm and quiet He
had said he was sorry. and he really
was. but he decided as he lay there