Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-05-30

AN AMBIGUOUS TELEGRAM.
fOriginal.l

ScTlHluldgeS Ia tueSe yeFc uillleS, Sulu
the stOrekeeper. weighing out Il bill of
goods for customer, who asked If he
knew anything of the scrap" the day
| before between Sam Hills and Dave
Millet, but for cussed stupidness this
| one beats 'em all. 1t was this way.
Hills and Millet as soon as they struck
these mines, which they did about the
same time. got To be the closest
friends. Hills had KEEP a store in the
| east and had some eddication. Millet
didn't know nothin about business.
but he was honest / don't believe he's
lyin' about not understanding the tele-
gram at all
what telegram?' asked the custom
er.
why, the telegram Hills sent him,
Of course. and that made all the trou-
BILE. AS l was sayin', them two was
bussom friends. They prospected to-
gether and mined together and fought
together-I mean they fought back to
back ag'in claim jumpers-and there's
nothin' ii draw men together so sure
as hayin' the same enemies. If Hills
drawed CD Il man he was sure his
pardner was coverin' any foul play.
and vicey versy. But there wasn't
nothin' low down about neither of EN-.
If they was goin' in for fight with Il
decent gent they would tell him 70
draw, not wishin TO shoot him down
in cold blood, and when either of 'em
sent word to an enemy 70 draw on
sight, the next time they met the firm
begun. And that's how the mistake
come about in this yere case"
what mistaken"
''Ain't tellin' y? About a year ago
they quit havin' any dealin's with each
other. Hills owed Millet $500, but that
didn't make no difference to the feel
ms there was between 'em. Millet
tole him to take his own time about
payin', and there wasn't u mite o bad
blood between 'em till the gal come out
and started Il feedin' place for min
ers. There isn't so much call for men
to shoot about women where there's
a-plenty o that persuasion. but out
here there's never a gal comes along
but most o the guns is emptied. Any
way. both Hills and Millet was dead
stuck on the Squres gal, but she would
not put one ahead of the other.
Miss SQuires, she was a mighty like
~ gal and smart as a whip. Some
times she seemed to cotton to Hills. |
and then agin she'd appear to cotton
TO Aiillet. Nobody didn't know wheth- |
er she was dom it for fun or whether
she was waitin' TO find out which of |
'em had the most dust. Anyway, the |
two men that was courtin' her grad |
ually drawed away from each other. |
and 1t was easy to see that 1t was all |
on account O. Miss Squires.
'AIillet wasn't as much of gent as
Hills, or he wouldn't have made Hills |
the offer he did Hills wouldn't have |
made no SIGH offer to him. Millet |
wrote him that If he'd shy off and
leave him a wide field with the gal !
he'd let him off from payin' the $500 |
he owed him. OF course the PROPOSE
ton made Hills mad. He was flush
at the time and went right to the sta
ton and sent the telegram. Did y
say to put in pound O. salt cod?"
Yes. What telegram"
'Why, the one as caused the shootin,
Y see, Millet was workin' a claim
over the divide, and Hills was yere in
the same place with Miss SQuires.
Mebbe that was the reason Millet felt
uneasy and concluded to try to buy
his ole pard off. The two men bein'
apart, nothin' particular happened for
some time. Hills was havin' his own
way with the gal, and Millet was off
attendin' to his mine. Hills didn't
hear nothin' from Millet, and he sup
posed he had put stopper on any more
SIGH offers for the future.
1T was about week after the send
In o the telegram that Millet come
back. He got back at 10 o'clock in the
and saw Hills comm down the
street about IL o'clock sharp. When
they got within shootin' distance Millet
1rawed and began firm at his old pard.
Everybody knowed they was both aft
er Miss Squires and supposed Hills
lad the inside track, but Hills hadn't
said nothin' about anything happenin'
when Millet 'ud come back, and they
vas all surprised, especially as Hills
hadn't his gun with him. His old pard
uk off his right ear and the tip of his
lose. Then the crowd supposed he was
y
run agin him. Some I'm in
erfered and asked Millet what he
meant by shootin' at an unarmed man.
'1illet said the affair had been arrang-
d by Hills himself, and he'd ought to
,een armed. He walked over to where
Hills was standin'
whats all this mean, Dave?" ask
d Hills. You wrote me an insultin'
etter offerin' to let me off my debt for
consideration I won't mention In
ublic'
." And you telegraphed me that we'd
ettle the dispute with our guns when
re met
g Il didn't do no SIGH thing :
Yes. you did" :
81 telegraphed you to draw on me
{ sight
We'll, drawed.'
''NIiIlet offered his ole nard his hand