Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-02-26
THE QUAKER
Continued from page 4

there was sort of dance hall in the rear and
bar in the front: but the man with him was
afraid to 60 inside. He looked through crack
of the door. The place was crowded, and at
the very middle of the bar stood the man
Sawyer who was wanted for attempted muir
der. He was a big, rough, swearing bully,
sort of leader in his own camp, and from
the way he talked it appeared he wanted
more trouble. Toms conductor pointed
him out and then advised Tom to postpone
the arrest until morning.
They'd kill you in there quicker than
wink, Mr.. Marshal" he said. "A hundred
men couldn't take Bill Sawyer out of there
tonight. Give it up. Slip away and go back
home. There's no use in your gettin' your
| topworks caved in"
Tom told him that if he was afraid to tear
out for the brush, and the man went like a
| jack rabbit. Tom waited till he was well
out of the way, then turned his horses with
| their heads toward town, and stopped them
| by the door.
Sawyer was just telling what he would do
| to anybody who tried to take him, when the
door opened, and in it stood lean man,
crouched, with pair of eyes that blazed,
and in his hand was big heavy gun held
close to his side in clenched fist with the
muzzle pointed at the crowd.
Sawyer said Brooks, in the stiffness
that seemed to settle over the place as if
| every man there was holding his breath in
aSton1Shment, you come out here, and
come quick! And don't any of you others
make a move, because I'll kill the first man .
that winks an eyelash!"
He appeared to cover the space interven-
ing between the big ruffian and the door in
about three steps, and with vicious me-
tallic click the trigger of the gun came to
full cock. He moved SO fast and so de-
terminedy that all in an instant he had
leaped behind Sawyer, caught him by the
coat collar, and was pressing the black steel
against the base of his brain.
"Move!" he commanded. "And if any of
your friends interfere, you die!"
Before Bill Sawyer could recover from his
establishment he was showed out to the buck
| board and into it, and at the last instant
after he climbed IN pair of steel handouts
caught over one wrist, and he was made to
hold the other be OK until it also was pinioned
| behind him. Tom grabbed the reins and
shouted at his horses, and they went away
on the jump Behind them the camp belched
out men, storming, raging, and cursing, and
the night was a pandemonium. Toms
horses raced that three miles in record time
They clattered across the Nodaway bridge,
and then pelted on, to halt before the Gala
bose door, and in all that time Bill SAWYER
was too surprised and coWed to say any,
| thing. He knew that man who would dare
to take him from the midst of his gang
would kill him if he resisted.
Tom took the handouts off and locked
him in. Then he drove his horses away to
put them out.
THE moon had come up, and everything
: was light as day, dim day. Torinda was
asleep, with the exception of Brother Will
lam, who, about an hour later, methodically
plodded homeward, after methodically MAX
| ing up trial balance of his methodical books
| The Quaker had the unbroken habit of
reading chapter from the Bible before he
went to bed. He had shut the Holy Book,
and removed his coat and vest shoes and
| stockings, when he heard dull, murmuring
rumble out in the night and leaned from the
window to look into the road 1t was filled
with dark figures which ran along heavily
and with an air of deadly menace They
paused almost in front of his house to gather
up big log that lay beside the road. At
least twenty OF them caught it up, and then
| they hurried on down the street toward that
bane of Brother Williams happiness, the
calaboose.
Brother William blew out his light and
ran out into the street and after them as fast
as his big weight would permit.