Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1905-04-20
"A DELLNEATOR
OF HEROES
(Original.

path. The terror l inspire does not
come from my bravery. my skill with
the revolver or my strength. am
rather timid. I couldn't hit q barn
door with a bullet, and l am but FIVE
foot three.
Now, how do l strike terror into the
citizens of this region? l will tell you.
When l came out to this benighted
country, with my delicately cut cameo
face, my six and u half lady's kid
hand n my ga shoe, l was consid-
cred too insignificant to be noticed by
the more manly inhabitants, but was
subjected to continued annoyances by
those who were mean enough to take
advantage Of my diminutive size. But
n man really threatened Inc, and l
have always excused him, for 1 fell
In love with his daughter, and the
worst Of it was she preferred me and
my intellectual tastes to the muscular
bullet perforating mel Of the frontier.
When Bill Stanhope, Lucy's father,
learned how the land lay he informed
me In the ~extravagant language of
New Mexico that If he ever caught me
with Lucy he would "let enough sun
shine through me to light a church,"
l was riding one day through a lone
" valley and on emerging from a wood
saw in an open space just below me
two men approaching each other on
horseback. At first 1 supposed they
were riding up to have a talk, but
suddenly one of them raised a Win
chester and fired at the other. Then
I saw that they were Zeb Gallagher,
the most dreaded desperate in New
Mexico, and Bill Stanhope. l saw
Stanhope's hat fall to the ground and
concluded the bullet had knocked it
off. He took it mighty coolly, 1
thought didn't know that he hap
pened to be short of cartridges-rode
on slowly without firing till he got
within better range, then raised his
rifle, took a sure aim and fired. There
was a rapid exchange Of shots after
this for a few seconds, neither man
doing much damage.
1t looked as if 1 had one chance in
ten to be relieved of the man who
stood between me and happiness, but
somehow l thought Of Lucy and how
her fathers death would break her
heart and wondered what I had better
do. Stanhope had come to within a
hundred yards Of me; Gallagher was
still 500 yards away The first thing l
knew Gallagher threw away his rifle
and came on the gallop for Stanhope
with his revolver. l knew by this that
he was out of ammunition and looked
for Stanhope to kill him with a rifle
bullet before he came up. But Stan
hope was evidently in the same fix,
for he, too, dropped his rifle and be-
gan firing with his revolver. l counted
eleven shots between the two, then l
saw Stanhope toss his revolver to the
ground, fold bis arms and sit quietly
in the saddle. evidently waiting for
Gallagher to finish him. Gallagher de-
liberately examined his revolver, and,
taking five cartridges from his pocket,
added them to the one left there.
While he was doing so l dismounted,
and, scurrying along on foot behind
low bushes, darted up to Stanhope and
handed him my revolver. AS Gallagher
was putting in the last cartridge Stan
hope shot him dead.
never shall forget the expression
on Stanhope's face as he turned his
eyes from his falling enemy and rest
ed them on me, without whose timely
interference he would by this time
have been a dead man. He looked me
all over from the crown of my head to
the soles of my feet. apparently strug-
Cling up to a realization Of the fact
that he was indebted for his life to
such an intinitesimal specimen of a
man.
sonny" lie said presently. what
did you do it for"
"Well, to tell you the truth, Mr..
Stanhope, at first I hoped he'd down
you; then I'd be free to marry Lucy.
But when 1 came to consider how she
would feel about it I wanted you to
win"
81 didn't suppose you could talk so
near like il man. You w me. since il
It hadn't been for you I'd have been a
dead man this minute. You can have
Lucy. but what are you going to do
with her? You can never live in peace
among people who don't fear you. III
tell YOU what we can do. III inform
the community that it was you who
killed Gallagher"
sThat's an idea. l replied.
"What do you want to make OF your
self?" he asked after Il pause.
81 want to run my little ranch and
scribble."
"Scribble what?
"Stories, articles, anything in the lit
erary line"
"Well, you go home, and hereafter
you'll be known as the man who killed
Gallagher. I reckon you won't be pes
tered much after that job. And so far
as Lucy is concerned. why, II b
willing to take a man who has more re-
spect for n pen than u revolver sup
nose under the altered circumstances
she'll have to have her W way
The next day when appeared at
rho n~ostotfice All opening was made Tor