The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1907-08-10

my plain duty to speak i Few words &c
you in behalf Of this young lady. and
her probable future. I trust not to be
extensive. yet eannet shirk the require
ment Of my sacred ofiee-"
The speaker paused somewhat dis
concerted perhaps by the hardening of
b lines IN Hampton's face.
"0e ~eeammanded Hampton,
tersely, only let The preacher part
slide, and say just what you have to
say a man to nam"
II prefer 10 Do So" he continued.
TT win render my u~np1easant task
much easier, and yield us both a mora
direct cad 10 travel. 1 have been
hboring ON this field tor nearly three
years. When I Hrst came here you
were pointed out 70 ne as \ meet dan
gerous man, and ever since then 1
have constantly been RECALLED by the
stories of our exploits. / "a known
you merely through such unfriendly
reports, and came1ere strongly preju-
diced against you as q representative
Of every evil I war against. We have
never met before, because there
seemed to he nothing In common be-
tween us; because 1 had beer led to
suppose yeu to be an entirely different
man from what I now believe you
are
Hampton stirred ~uneasily in his
chair.
"ShaH 1 paint In exceedingly plain
words the pAotNre given me of you?"
There was ne response. but the
speaker moistened his lips and pro-
eeded firmly. TT was that of q pro-
fessional gambler, utterly devoid OF
mercy toward his Victims; q reckless
AShter, who SHOT to kfn upon the least
Fovocadon: a man without moral
character, and IRON whom Any sood
action was impossible. That was what
was "a; about you 4 the tale true~
Hampton laughed unpleasantly, his
yes grown hard and ugly.
Il presume 1t must be-" he admitted.
with a quick side glance toward the
closed door, for the girl out yonder
thought about the same. A most ex-
oeilent reDutattoR TO establish with
only ten years Of strict attendance to
business"
Wynkoop's grave face expressed his
disapproval.
Well, n my present judgment that
report was not altogether true" he
vent On clearly and with greater con-
hdeRce. Il did suppose you exactly
hat sort OF n MAN when I FIRST came
into this I ave not believed
SO, however, for a single moment
since. Nevertheless, the naked truth
Is certainly bad enough, without any
necessity for our resorting to romance.
You may deceive others by an assump-
dor Of recklessness, but l fee con-
WINGED your true nature In not evil. 1t
has been warped through some cause
which is meme of my business. Let us
deal alone with facts. You are d gam
bier, a professional gambler, with all
that that implies; your life is, Of neces-
sity, passed among the most vicious
and degrading elements of mining
camps, and you do not hesitate even
to take human life her in YOU judg-
ment it seems necessary to preserve
you own Under this veneer of law
l~essness you may, indeed, possess a
warm heart, Mr.. Hampton; you may
be a good fellow, but you are certain
~ not a model character, even accord
ing to the liberal code of the border"
Extremely kind of you to enter my
roor1s unlimited, and furnish me with
this list of moral deficiencies" ac-
knew1edged the other with affected
carelessness. "But thus far you have
nailed to toll me anything strikingly
new. Am 1 to understand you have
some particular object in this e1-
change of amenities?"
Hos assV1ediy. It Is to ask II such
n person as you practically confess
yourself to bs-homeIess, associating
only with the most despicable and
vicious characters, and leading 70 Wn-
certain and disreputable a life-c@m be
ut to assume charge Of a girl, AlR00e
n woman. and mould her futures"
For q hag, breathIess Ronent
Hampton stared ncredulousiy u hts
questionSr. crushing his cigar between
his teetA- Ywies he started to sDsAA
but literally CHECKED back the hitter
words burning his lips, while an UNI
comfortable admiration for b otAer's
holiness began to overcome his frst
fierce anger.
BY Gedi" he exclaimed at last. Ms
ing to his feet and pointing toward the
door. 81 have shot men for less. Co
before 1 forget your cloth. Yeu little
impudent fo0ii See here| saved
that girl fram death. or worse; I
pfaekad her from the very mou<A Of
hell; I like her; she's got sand; no far
a. 1 know there 10 not . single soui
for her to tura 10 fer hsip In AL this
wide world. INC you. you miserable.
sniveiling hypocrfte, you little creep
Ing Presbyterian parson, you want me
to shake her! What sort of q Wild
beast DO you suppose I nj"
Wynkoop had taken one hasty step
backward, impelbed to 1t by the feroe
age blazing from those stern, gray
eyes. But nov he paused. ana for
the emily time On record, discovered
thu Conversational language 81 poNts 20.
eAsAW inadequate 10 express HIS needs
q tAink," - said. scarcely Tsalizinx
his own words, you are \ damned
fool"
Intc Hanpton's eyes there lsaped .
Night upon which other men had booked
before they died,-the strange mad
CLEAN n sometimes sees in 1gAAGAg
animals, or amid the fierce charges @&
war. His hand swept iA~stinotv eiy
backward. closing upon the butt of =
revolver beneath his coat, and Tor one
second he who had dared such utter
ance looked on death Then tia hard