Bluefield evening leader. [volume] (Bluefield, W. Va.) 1906-1911, 1910-12-10
THE ONLY
KILLING
That Troubled the Sheriff

Copyright. 1910. by American Press
Association.

than any other sheriff. but Il must be
admitted that by far the larger num-
Der were dead when captured. for very
few of them could be taken alive. Be
sides Rodman didn't take any chances,
Tor an officer Of the law was no more
immune from these people than any
one else. once asked him II he had
any shrinking at killing one of them
or any qualms afterward. He replied
that IL he had been built that way
they would have landed him instead
OF his landing them
But there was one KILN" he said,
that has troubled me ever since.
wake up nights some time and get
to fhinkin' about It and always feel
the same sinkin' about the heart. 1t
was this way:
Before / was made sheriff | was
workin' OH ranch owned by gen
Qeman us had come out from the east.
He had been n banker or somep'n like
that. but had given up the business
to bring his daughter. little gal
about nineteen. who was threatened
With consumption. out here. hopin' the
dry air would do her good. Havin'
plenty OF money the natural thing fer
him to do was to buy ranch and
stock IL. But he didn't care nothin'
about that. except TO give him somep'n
to do. He was bound up in his daugh-
ter Susie. Just as everybody else was.
Talk about heart winners. Susie could
slaughter more people that way than
any one l ever seen. There wasn't
any one on the ranch or oft'n it that
wouldn't swaller dose o. lead fer
her.
- never could tell jist what It was
about her that had this effec', but
allowed the principal part OF it was
that her heart went out to every
body. When they was hankcrin' to
DO somep'n fer her she was worryin'
because they was putin themselves
outn their way on her account Be
sides, delicate people allus attract
strong ones. Susie was so frail she
looked as IL the fust good wind that
blew would carry her away But be-
sides all this thur was somep'n win
min about her that no one could reck-
on Oh.
Il got ahead Of every one else with
her this way: ] owned blooded mare
that was as easy managed as q kitten
and could git along like the wind.
Nothin' Susie liked better'n to ride on
horseback, but she wouldn't ride any
other horse than my Kate. used to
go with her lots o times. fer her IA
ther wouldn't let her go alone and
didn't like TO have her go under the
ctle o. any one else. was only
about ten years older thaG Susie and
unmarried; but. laws, I'd as soon cal
culated on maxim love "a some GAL as
come down from heaven. But this
didn't matter no how. fer there was a
young gent as had left college TO go
to ranchin' that Susie had met and
tumbled to. In our rides together she
got confidential with me and tole me
all about IT.; tole me when the Teller
bisself didn't know nothin' at all
about 1t. In fac, was the only
puSson as knowed 1t except the little
gal herself.
This young mans Dick Walcott)
ranch was matter o. fifty miles from
ourn. which was known as the
Courtney ranch from Susle's father.
who owned it, But Walcott used TO
come over quite frequent, maxim ex-
cuses all the time, to see Susie.
Gosh. how the young Teller was
wrapt up I'm her! He would any time
have crawled on the ground before
her. She tole me she didn't let on
she cared any more fer him than any
one else. because she wasn't strong
and healthy and wasn't willn' to pull
any man down by Margin him. Jist
think o this angel cofidin' this to
rough Teller like me when nobody elsa
knowed II.
There was one o. the herders i'm Mr..
COurtney's employ that was a bad egg.
He TUX some sort o. malice agin young
Walcott I didn't know the reason at
first; ] fist reckoned that Walcott had
treated him like the galoot he was.
This hcrder. Jim Stiggs. was not only
n powerful man. but was one o. the
quickest and straightest shots I ever
seen. I alIus allowed that II I had r
dispute with him wouldn't do much
sleepin'. but would keep my right eve
on him continually till the fracas was
settled. / was sorry he'd turned agin
Walcott. for Walcott was no match
for him whateyer-more Of Teller to
handle books than revolvers Mind
you, / wasn't thinbin' Of walcott: 7
was fearful for Susie, KNOWN mighty
well that II anything happened to him
It would knock her into smithereens.
"Well, one day the secret Of stiggs'
dislike came out with a vengeance.
Susie came to me all OF Hutter and
a-wringin' Of her hands and said
Jim Stiggs has left here 10 go to
tho Walcott ranch to kill Dick. stiggs
has made love to me-
What! That galoot made love to
your
Yes; and OF course wouldn't Ifs.
ton TO It. lie has inferred how I feel
toward Dick. and he went away say
ing he would kill Dick this very night.
H. 80. a