The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1906-07-19

be was the one man Of ali who'd soon
cast q slur on the name OF old wyo
ming SO deep and broad and long that
It viii take hundred years to wash Il
out II / speak with emotion and with
tears In my eyes wait and see if I'm
not justified.
"Yes, Steve Taylor rode away like q
cavalier Of old, and nobody looked
around to see whether Bin Whiting
was among us or not. He wasn't. how
ever. He was sloshin' around up the
Antelope trail and waltin' to do busi-
ness with Steve. Rimeby Steve gets up
to him., His hoss was amblin' and his
guns was a-showin' them 'leven
notches Bin has stick In his. hands,
Steve says it looked like gun to him,
Mebbe II did. but It wouldn't have
looked that way to a man with grain
OF sand In his glxxard. Bill gets up as
Steve comes along and sings out:
"'Hello, Steve, but l want We to do
me little favor
"'And what might that beT asks
Steve.
"'Git otf'n yer critter and hold up yer
hands,
"sYer can't mean itY
"'But do. I'll give ye Jest five sec
onds.'
with that Bill p'ints his stick and
Steve climbs down. Oh, my soul, but
think Of 1t, A critter with 'leven notch.
es in the butts OF his guns climbin
down and maxim a fool of hlsself be-
cause a dry stick is p'inted at himl
Bill takes them guns away, robs him
Of $40 In cash and then mounts the
broncho and rides OF. Steve gives him
good start and then follers along,
and Jest as night Is settin' In he over.
hauls the robber. Does be jump In and
try to capture himi Does he, even
when he knows Bill Is asleep, creep up
and try TO get hold Of the guns2
''I'll tell you what he does. He waits
till 10 o'clock and then creeps up and
begs OF Bill to give him back some Of
his property. Bill invites him into the
tent to eat cold bite and talk 1t over,
and though the guns are lyin' scattered
around Steve don't pick one up and
turn the tables. He Jest sits thar and
begs and whines and coaxes until he Is
booted forth. Excuse these tears. Ex-
cuse this sweat on my marble brow.
Excuse me that I'm alive instead of a
victim of suicide.
Steve Taylor travels the rest Of the
night on foot, headed for Sandy Bend.
He arrives here at s o'clock yesterday
mornin' and calls at the Red Dog sa-
loon to wake me up and to say,
ledge Hoke. want jestice.'
"'What sort o. jesticer says I. won
derin' IL I'd heard Alright.
The reg'lar sort. I've bean held up
by Bill Whiting and robbed OF my all,
and l want him punished by the law
think Of 1t! Think Of itv' groaned
the judge as he looked around the
courtroom. "A man as has been held
up by man with a stick. as has had
chance after chance Of getting hold Of
his guns again, as knowed Bill Whit
Ing for chump, to come to me and
holler for jestice! If 10000 Of We leave
this territory tomorrer with shame and
humiliation In your faces l shan't
blame ye. / struggled with Steve for
an hour. made him understand what
was at stake, but 1t was no use. He
wanted jestice and nuthin' else. and |
issued warrant for Bill, and the con-
stable brung him in last night. He's
sittin' here before us as peart as a
jackass rabbit on a June mornin', and
from that grin on his face I'm judgin'
that he means to plead guilty. How Is
1t, Bill%
Il held him up and went through
him right 'nuff."
"Just listen to that! Was ever sich
thing heard of on the face of this airth
beforeT
"He pleads guilty, your honor" mum
bled the victim.
Eyes, durn his hide, he does, but he
knows my feelin's In the matter.
could try, convict and send him to
prison for five years, but am 1 goin'
to do It? No; thousand times, no!
Pm goin' to throw the case out Of
court and him on top Of 1t, and If he
don't know 'nuff to get hundred miles
away In the next three days then well
set him down for a fool. AS for you,
Steve Taylor; as for the man who has
shamed and humiliated every squar'
man west of the Mississippi and stab
bed jestice herself to the heart, you
will be took outdoors, given the boot
by every man in Sandy Bend wearin'
boots and then headed up the trail and
started on the run. 1t hain't law, but
It's what you hankered for-jestice.
Constable, adjourn the court and re-
move the condemned" NJ. QUAD.
What He Thought.