The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1907-08-23

the name and her ear caught it at
once
your fathers name is Calkins"
"Yes-Im only an adopted SON"
UncnnsCiOusly she had been letting
her voice fall low, making their chat
more confidential She awOke to this
now and to the fact that he had done
the same, by noting that he raised his
voice at this time with casual glance
past her to where her father sat.
"Yes-yOu see my own father and
mother were killed when | was eight
years old, and the people that MUIR
dered them tried to kill me too, but l
was a spry little tike and give them
the slip. 1t was a bad country, and l
like to have died, only there was
band of Navajos out trading ponies,
and one morning, after Id been alone
all night, they picked me up and TOOK
care of me. | was pretty near gone,
what with being scared and every.
thing, but they nurSed me careful.
They took me away off to the south
and kept me about year. and then
one time they took me with them
when they worked up north on buf-
falo hunt. 1t was at Walnut creek on
the big bend of the Arkansas that they
met Ezra Calkins coming along with
one Of his trains and be bought me
of those Navajos. | remember he gave
50 silver dollars for me to the chief.
Well. when | told him all that | could
remember about myself-of course the
people that did the killing scared q
good deal of it out of me-he took me
to Kansas City where he lived, and
went to law and made me his son, be-
cause he'd lost a boy about my age.
And so that's how we have different
names, he telling me I'd ought to keep
mine instead of taking his"
She was excited by the tale, which
he had told almost in one breath, and
now she was eager to question, look.
ing over to see if her father would not
also be interested; but the latter gave
no sign.
You poor little boy, among those
wretched Indian! But why were your
father and mother killed? DID the In
dams do it?'
mo, not Indians that did it-and I
never did know why they killed them
they that did do it"
But how queer! Don't you know
who it was?"
Before answering, he paused to take
one of the long revOlyers from its
holster, laying it across his lap, his
right hand still grasping it.
1T was firing my leg where it was,"
he explained, I'll just rest myself by
holding it here I've practiced a good
smart bit with these pistols against
the time when I'd meet some Of them
that did it-that killed my father and
mother and lots of others, and little
children, too
How terrible! And it wasn't In.
dians?"
"No-I told you that already-it
wasn't Indians"
Don't you know who it was?"
"Oh, yes, | know all of them | want
to know. The fact is, up there at
Cedar City met some people that got
confidential with me one day, and told
me lot of their names. There was
Mr.. Barney Carter and Mr.. Sam
Woods, and they talked right freely
about some folks. | found out what I
was wanting to know, being that they
We're drinking men,"
He had moved slightly as he spoke
and she glanced at the revolver still
held along his knee
Isn't that dangerous-seems to me
it's pointed almost toward father"
"Oh, not bit dangerous, and It
rests me to hold it there. You see II
was hereabouts this thing happened.
In fact, l came down here looking for
a big man, and a little girl that re-
membered, whose father and mother
were killed at the same time mine
was. This little girl was about three
or four, reckon, and she was taken
by one of the murderers. He seemed
like an awful big man to me. BY the
way, that's mean whisky your Bishop
sells on the sly up at Cedar City.
Why, it's worse than Taos lightning.
Well, this Barney Carter and Mr.. Sam
Woods, they would drink it all right,
but they said one drink made a man
ugly and two made him so downright
bad that he'd just as lief tear his
Wife's best bonnet to pieces as not.
But they seemed to like me pretty
well, and they drank a lot of this
whisky that the Bishop sold me, and
then they got talking pretty freely
about old times. gathered that this
man that took the little girl is pretty
big man around here. Of course I
wasn't expecting anything like that; I
thought naturally he'd be a low-down
sort to have been mixed up In a thing
like that"
He spoke his next words very slow.
ly, with little pauses.
"But l found out what his name was
it was"