Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1903-05-16
A GAME TENDERFOOT.

through New Mexico one day in the latter
eighties when Jack Bradshaw, who was then
one Of the sure-enough terrors Of the south
west, climbed on board, said a travelling
agent Of the government. Jack was very
drunk and very glad OF it. He was whoop
ing ike ghost-dancer as he pumped him
self into the last seat next to the Hasct
cooler | knew that there was going To be
trouble and pien.y vi it vita Bradshaw
as carmate 10 thai condition, and so 60
up and went aft To the next car behind,
from the door OF watch / watched the Bio'
eeedlngs. Jack mac hardly sat down be-
fore be yanked or one Of lis guns ana free
a couple of shots out Of the open window,
and when the dozen ard odd peaceabie men
in the car jumped Up suddenly, thinking Of
train robbers, am faced the rear Of the ear +,
they saw Bradshaw, wiid-eyId frcm rum,
standing in the middle OF the aisle and
brandishing botn OF his guns.
That's about right, you juniper ON.
breys,' yelled Bradshaw, seeing them all
standing. That's what you ought to've
done when / first come in here. It's sure
case tn whole outfit a-standin' up wien
| show up. They amt no use a-hestatin'
or gnawin' on tn pommel about it--taey
just got to- and he let out a Navajo whocp
and sat down himself. The standing men
thinking that his seating himself was the
natural signal for them to resume their
seating postures, sat down, too, but Bead
shaw fired couple Of shots close to the ears
of pair Of men VITO ha1 been the first tc
take their seats, and all hands jumped to
their feet again mighty hurriedly, The bad
man toyed With TEN that way for about
half an hour after the train got under way,
and then he gave them formal consent tc
sit down. Some Of them began to buzz each
other in low tones.
Stop a-taikin',' howled the drunken
desperate when he noticed this. i never
could nachully abide hayin' people a-talkin
round where ! was. | kin do all o tn talk
in. Jes' think, an let it go at that
There wasn't any more conversation.
Shortly after the enforced silence fell upon
the car young chap who wore eyeglasses
and who was stoop-shouldered and frail
looking got up from his seat and started
down the aisle. A bullet from Bradshaw's
gun just barely nicked the youths left car
before he had taken six steps.
Son, demanded Bradshaw, Were are
you all agoin', dye Think
"'To get glass of water responded the
youth with the glasses, sulkily, feeling Of
his nieked ear
Fare, hey? inquired the bully Don't
you believe anythin' like that. You're
a-gon' t. drink what's left in this bottle
o mine--don't you bother, got another
an you're a-goin' to- drink it all without
battin' a eye, or you'll drink hot lead and
Bradshaw pulled from his pocket a pint
flask Of whisky that was ABOUT three parts
full. The youth looked sullen, but he wise
~ stretched forth his hand and accepted the
profered bottle and placed it to his lips.
lie shuddered a good deal over the job, but
be got it all down, and then Bradshaw per-
mitted him to t9ke drink Of water out
Of the cooler and to pass to the next car
behind, in the doorway of which | was
standing.
"Now, the thing that happened probably
never would have come off if that young
man with the glasses hadn't picked up
lot of Dutch courage from that huge drink
of red liquor that was forced upon him. II
took effect upon him almost Immediately,
and when he got back into the car behind
the smoker he was feeling his oats.
couldn't make out what he had in mind
when | saw him pull out penknife and de-
liherately cut the bellrope at both ends Of
the car and coil the rope around his arm,
and the other folks in the car put him down
as lunatic. The lad was almost stagger-
ing under his three-quarters of pint of
mesquite liquor when ne came out on the
platform with his cars length Of bell rope,
and there was a queer CLEAN in his eye for
a tenderfoot. ! asked him what the game
was, but he only stared at me in a booty
nd cd into fbac TO- hat
Bradshaw was doing Bradshaw was sitting
back in his rear seat, glowering and half
asleep. The tenderfoot sneaked into the
car like cat, making slip-loop in the rope
az he went. Bradshaw was looking out of
the window when the tenderfoot suddenly
sprang forward and threw the loop around
his neck and pulled it taut with jerk, and
the swift kick. that the desperate got in the
stomach Immediately afterward was so sud.
den that both of his guns, that had been
resting on his lap while he ruminated fur
Their deviltry, were Jared onto the floor of
the car
"'Come on and give me hand, you fel.
lows the tenderfoot yelled to the Others
in the car I've got him roped tight. He
can't get at his guns. Pick 'era up, one OF
you, and we'll tie him up
They all hesltated for half a minute,
but when they saw how thoroughly the lad
with the glasses had the bad man cinched
they rushed aft and threw themselves on
Bradshaw, and in jiffy they had him
triced up, with his arms firmly bound and
the loose ends of the rope neatly tied in
many knots to the seat. Then the tender.
foot turned the next seat over, deposited
himself there comfortably, right in front OF
the livid ruffian, gave preliminary 'aheml
and then began making an address to
Bradshaw, who was choking with wrath
as we'll as with the rope. You'd never have
thought tenderfoot could possess such a
vocabulary as that young man with the
eyeglasses let out on the bad man. He
just went ahead, easy like, and called Brad.
shaw all the things that mean sudden death
and burial down in the country through
which the train was passing and all hands
in the car cheered him to the echo and en-.
couraged him to keep on. He took glass
OF water to relieve his hoarseness, and then
be began all over again on Bradshaw. The
bad man foamed at the mouth, but he had
to stand for it. The tenderfoot was still
cussng Bradshaw out and back to the forty
seventh generation when the train reached