Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-02-07
DAILY SHORT STORY
THE MAN WHO LAUGHED.


face had ever seen on the face of any
| man.
"Howdy, stranger" he said. I've
hearn you're goin' to settle in the town
I'm glad to know it. We want good
men, and were bound to treat 'em right
and help 'em along. I'm Cy Paddock
That's my shanty over thar Drop in
and see the folks. They'll be glad to
see you any time"
There was Il contrast between this
warm western welcome and what a
westerner would have received in the
| east. The words, the eyes and especial
| ~ the smile assured me that, though q
| stranger the man would stand by me
in trouble as long as he had a cent in
| his pocket or a gun To shoot with. l
| thanked him for his kindly interest and
| assured him that / would call at his
''shanty," tidy cottage hidden among
shrubbery and vines. He passed on.
| and ten minutes later heard Il musical
| laugh far down the street. 1t came up
through the quiet little town like the
song of q bird over n field.
'Who laughed?" l asked of one l was
talking with.
That's Cy Paddock. We all know
his laugh hare. It's the most valuable
thing we've got in the town. Cy keeps
up all in spirits. II it storms he laughs;
IF the sun shines he laughs. If any one
is down on his luck Cy laughs at him.
and the man of misery laughs too. He
laughs with the we'll and with the sick,
with the poor and the rich. You should
have seen him when Stokes store took
afire. with forty school children on the
third floor The teacher lost her head.
and the children were on the eve of
jumping to the ground. Just then Cy
walked up the stairs and, putting out
the fire at his coat tails, stood before
'em smiling. 1t quieted 'em at once,
and they waited patiently till ladders
We're brought for 'em to climb down
and blankets for 'em to jump into. No,
sir, we couldn't afford to lose Cy Pad
dock from this here town"
/, too, became used to Paddocks
laugh. 1 heard it in the morning as
was going to breakfast, l heard it in
the afternoon when the sun was flood
ing the town with that yellow light pc
culiar to the west, and when lying
awake at night il has come to me,
Often when depressed have gone to
paddock's house, where / was always
sure of welcome from his pretty
black eyed wife and rosy children.
The latter We're growing up merrily
under their fathers cheerfulness. l
wondered if any misfortune could spoil
that fathers laugh.
A time came when | saw Cy Paddock
under n terrible blight. In the great
secession struggle Missouri, being
border state, had divided people. 1t
was, besides, overrun by gangs of out
laws, who took advantage of the times
to massacre and piIlage. Paddock took
the Union side and became the leader
OF an independent band to hunt down
these guerrillas. | preferred this serv-
ice to enlistinG in the United States
army and was one of Captain Pad
docks lieutcnants. I was curious tc
see how his laugh would sound in q |
fight. But, while we chased many |
guerrillas. we were IL long while get |
ting a fight ont of any of them.
One day while we were scouting |
band of cutthroatS entered the town |
we had left unprotected and took pos
session of 1t for three hours. When |
they left the place was wreck, and |
every one in it who had not been able |
to get away was murdered. Among |
them were the wife and children of |
Captain Paddock.
When we returned to the scene of
lesolatiOn and our captain saw the
ruin of his home an indescribable ex-
preston came over his face. Turning
his horses head in the direction the
guerrillas had gone he dashed away,
by his troop. Like ''unmerci-
ful disaster he followed fast and fol-
owed faster picking up the trail, los
ng it, getting it again, till at last he
the retreating band, who had
thrown up some dirt and fence rails at |
he base of a hill
Scarcely stopping to form line of bat
lie, melted by the fury Of our leader,
We charged upon them. 1 had not
heard his laugh since our return to the
stricken town. Now. instead of crying
Come on!' he laughed. But such a
augh. May 1 never hear it again. 1t
vas the laugh of Satan as he cOnsigns
soul to hell. During the fight that
ollowed 1 heard it again and again.
Paddock, like the prince of darkness,
eemed to bear charmed life. Either
his or the laugh he gave as he Glove
skull or pierced heart paralyzed the
leXt man he attacked. i saw him kill
everal, and after that whenever his
laugh sounded knew that
ne of the murderers of his wife and
hildren had gone down before him.
When the remaining half a dozen
threw up their hands and
ried for mercy I wondered IL his bet
or nature would be touched He
lughed. The marrow seemed to freeze
n my bones. The guerrillas covered ,
heir faces with their hands and turned
heir backs. Paddock waved us all
ack, and as his saber sounded on the .
kull of each he laughed a laugh that ,
1ust have been worse than death to
he next man to receive his vengeance.
/ could not endure to remain where