The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-09-15
GLAS S EYED BILL go

His shrewd tanned face was bright
with an interest not untouched with
shame. Had Helen needed any reas-
surance as to his concern in Bill, the
expression of his face would have been
sufficient
We knew he was in very low wa
ter" he said. we knew he had part
ed from nearly all the associations
the refnements of Had lost
caste and sunk lower and lower in the
Western AvernUs-but we never
dreamed he had been reduced to
THE chicken of charity" said the
girl. filling in the gap.
Il would call it rather the husks of
the prOdigal son. said the captain sol
EMMY.
Are you the elder brother?" she
asked
No, no." returned the captain; only
what you might call-.a-friend, "a
bill didn't have any friends" she
said bitterly. "Oniy an aunt, that's
all. Except for her, he said. there
wasn't a soul in England who would
have walked around the block to help
him.
Captain Anstruther looked depressed.
He was wrong" ne said. He was
wrong"
"Of course the trouble with Bill was
that he drank" she said.
'Oh, he did everything" assented the
captain Complementary.
Hes on the water wagon now" she
remarked. Been there fora year and
a half. Is going to stay, too"
Water wagOn?' inquired the cap
tain; lis that the vernacular for-for?''
4 mean 1 have reformed him." she
explained. 81 guess you wouldn't know
Bill now. He has money in the bank
and drinks coffee with his meals"
The captain looked more depressed
than ever.
q suppose we ought all to thank
you" he said. Yes, indeed, we are
very grateful to you
81 don't want you to think I am Just
a little angel" she went on, cor that
go around radiating reform like a
lawn sprinkler sprinkling. I'm quite a
believer in letting people mind their
own business. But you see, IN this
case Bill brought it on his own head"
That's where he usually brought
things" said the captain. often pref
ty hard, too"
He never was a nipping kind of
man, thank goodness" she said, but
he used to go off on what pa called a
biennial bust. He had been here five
months, and a perfect pattern, before
we got on to it. Pa at last made him
the Dago foreman, you know, and we
were really beginning to think we had
found our toughest child. He was al
ways so polite, you know, and hard
working and reliable: and he just
Struggled into the place like a dog
that's followed you home. Pa said it
was all too good to be true, and 1
guess pa was right, for one hot Sun
day afternoon a man came running in
to say that Bill was fighting drunk and
was Waiting around the yard with a
pistol to shoot Mr.. Jackson with-our
chemist, you know, 2;ld expert wine
maker-and that he was drawing
beads on anybody that tried - stop
him. Even while he was talking we
heard bang. bang, bang out there and
Mr.. Jackson came peltlg In like a
jack-rabbit-not a bit hurt. you know
but like a person on sinking snip
wanting to catch the last boat. l
started upstairs to get under the bed,
but I hadn't got up a step before I
saw pa reaching for his Winchester
and pinning his deputy sheriff badge
on the lapel of his coat. 1 knew that
was the end of Bill, and it came over
me I couldn't bear to have him killed
he was too big and splendid to be
shot down like dog, and, anyhow, 1
had never liked Jackson since he had
tried to kiss me once at a dance-and
so / Just ran out to see If something
couldn't be done. l tell you, Bill
looked eight feet high, and his eyes
were bloodshot and crazy, and he kind
of sobbed when he breathed-and If
you ever looked down the wrong end
of a frontier Colt, you can imagine
my feelings for myself. But 1 went
straight Up to him and wrested his
gun away and stood in front of him so
pa couldn't shoot him from the house.
Fine? / should say it was-nobody
was more surprised than me, I'm sure,
and I'm surprised now! But / guess l
knew pretty we'll Bill wouldn't have
hurt me for the world; though, look
ing back at it, 1 can't see how didn't
choose underneath the bed.
"Well, l led him back to the bunk