Arizona republican., 1902-05-18
Willie Jones, Trooper
 By WALTER T.. GREGORY.


 happened the outraged cowboy had him by the throat and emphasized his re- marks against cooks in general and this one in particular. by shaking his victim in no gentle manner. The cook struggled and squirmed in vain. but could not release himself from the grip of the maddened cowboy. who after speaking his mind threw the mon arch of the kitchen away from him and the latter fell gasping and exhausted with his struggles against a table con- taining tinware. which toppled over with the force of the contact. The din speedily attracted a crowd of soldiers, who encouraged the cowboy to make a clean sweep of the kitchen, for the ar bitrary manners of the cock made him cordially disliked in the troop. Will [ lie, however. respected a fallen foe, and waited until the latter should rise to his feet to renew the contest, but the cook was satisfied with the punish ment he had received and contented himself with saying that he would re- port the circumstance to the troop commander
 The crowd jeered the cook and con- graduated Willie upon his victory. One individual in particular, called Stutter- : ing BHnkie. from the fact that he had a habit of blinking his eyes and stam- mering outrag geously when excited. moved that the crowd pass resolutions thanking Willie for doing a deserved and noble deed.
 i ''F-f-fellow s-s-soldiers." said Blin- l kie, ''I m-moVe t-that our f-f-friend 1 W-William Jones be ex-t-tended vote | of th-thanks for l-I-licking the c-cook and t-t-that-
 The motion was interrupted by an ! officer who had approached unseen and listened to what had been said by Blinkie, and who broke in on his speech ] by demanding to know why the crowd had gathered. Every one stood to at tentiOn but no one spoke, until the cook, Wiping the blood from his face, . which had been cut by his contact with ] the table, related that he had been violently assaulted by Private Jones' for no other reason than that he had ! ordered him to peel potatoes. The of ] fcer singled out Willie and sternly , asked if what the cook had said was i true.
 ! Willies choler rose again at the per- emptory tone, and replied with some 1 spirit that the cook was a liar and that t before him were liars. and that if the cook would step outside he would un- dertake to prove to the satisfaction of i all concerned that the cook had pro- 1 voked the trouble; that he was not in the habit of being ordered around like a dog, and would maintain his inde- pendence at all hazards.
 "B-bully flor you" chimed in Blinkie. who in his admiration for Will 1 lies brave stand. forgot or ignored the presence of the officer. Further speech was denied Blinkie, for the officer { called to a sergeant standing close by mad said:
 ! Sergeant Davis. confne Private ! Jones in the guard house. and also con- 1 fine that man. who seems to be an in l terested party" He pointed out Will 1 lies champion. and the sergeant placed 1 him under arrest, not without much stammering protest on the part of | BIinkie. The officer ordered him to fol- ! low the sergeant peaceably or he would ! be taken by force. As for Willie, he ! knew that any remonstrance on his part would make matters worse. so he accompanied Blinkie and the sergeant 1 to the guard house. where they were ] locked up to await the time when they i would be summoned before a summary court.
 i Willie cursed his i'll fortune and stCrmed and fumed that he would settle /, matters with the cook, who was the cause of his misfortune. but his new friend, BIinkie, was more philosophical and consOled his cell mate as well as the impediment in his speech would permit.
 As Blinkie is destined to figure a good deal in this story it is necessary that he be properly introduced. James How ] ard was the name to which he an- swered on the troop muster rolls. but only at roll call was the name heard.
 for his companions speedily took ad- vantage of his propensity to blink his
 eyes and stammer, to rechristen him
 ''Stuttering Blinkie''-corrupted into
 Blinkie for short. BIinllic was a noted
 character throughout the west. and was q member of that peripatctic class
 known as the itineraut cumpn=ftor,
 HOW speedily passing away as the re-
 suit of the evolution in th, art of print
 ing.
 Blinkie was holding a situation in
 the office of country newspaper when
 the call for volunteers was made. He
 promptly laid aside his stick and rule
 and offered himself to his country. The
 life of a soldier in the field promised
 the adventure and excitement that he
 could not find in the mOnOtonOUs rou-
 tine of a weekly newspaper office. He
 joined the regiment of cavalry known
 as the Rough Riders and though he never was astridc of a horse in his life
 he unblushngly told the recruiting of
 ficer that he was d Dare Devil Dick
 on a broncho and as ihcre were n,
 means present of putting his eques-
 trian accomplishments to the test, he