Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-02
BY BAILEY WILLARD

and would be safely celed and guarded for over
half of years. matter how well he be-
haved or what credits he received. To be sure
Pearl Bassett, the comely sister of the superin
tendent of the Bar X kept the Sheriff at arms
length and farther. But Pearl would @come around"
in time He would marry her and go back to his
old home in the Oregon woods, for which he had
hankered at times 1t would be better for them
there For he had made some bad breaks as
Sheriff among them the Shorty Regain Public
sympathy with Shorty, and than
miner and cowpuncher suspected he truth as to
what Steve Mcfarland had encompassed in that
Indeed Jake Stewart, firm friend of Shortys had
determined tc have him pardoned and had worked hard
to that end Failing in this, he had gone to Yuma and
quietly seeing what could be done to help Shorty
escape from prison. He visited him several times in his
cell and sneaked in small but it was found
under the prisoners mattress by turnkey and Shorty
lost so MANY credits that he might have his full
term
STILL he liked by the warden and by all the guards.
A certain fastidousness, uncommon in cowboys, that
had made them call him Tidy Regain sometimes on the
ranch, still manifested itself with him, because it
Unborn. His cell the neatest in the whole prison.
His cot nicely made up and his rough prison garb
well cared for He kept himself as clean as the
prison facilities would permit and though his thick dark
hair kept at the regulation shortness he managed
to part it in the middle by careful combng which made
the other convcts eer and gibe at him.
Fastidious are likely to be of imagination.
Shorty had much of the latter trait than the
age cowpuncher. He had what might be called pre-
cipitative mind Night after night he sat his cot
with his head resting his hands, the gray blank wall
before him alive with pictures. Suddenly there
would leap forth from it, with all the intensity of cal
cium projected film, the sharp outlines of the big Sher
M easygoing figure passing over to Mundas bar at the
invitation of that odious satellite, Soapy Shaw Munda
would grin, wait expectantly, and then take down
bottle. The Sheriff would pour the red liquor into his
glass and raise it to his lips Of sudden he would turn,
white faced and altering. The man who watched the
picture could feel the trigger click back under his finger
and the acrd blue smoke sting his nostrs the bulky
form before him threw up his hand and dropped his
glass while he sprawled back upon the sanded floor.
Again the dull wall would blaze with the picture of
the main street of Gonzalesthe dusty dilapidated,
fakefront stores and saloons. Here Mcfarland
on his mare, smiling urbane, of himself. The
Sheriff lifted his hand to stroke his beard.
"Ths is the time git you'll" rang the Wild exultant
cry.
Again the pallor the quick scared look in the eye,
again the quick pull at the trigger the topping and
crlmpng up of the big FORM and the headlong plunge
from the saddle into the dust.
Another picture this the most intensely umi-
of all. 1t was out in wild, rocky canon The
Sheriff was camping the trail of an outlaw. He
living asleep in his blankets, his horse tehered nearby
The moon playing down his red-bearded face.
Of sudden there a cry, @Wake up there' Mac
Farland sprang up quickly and clutched his gun.
"Ive got you! yelled the avenger-the bullet sped,
and the Sheriff fell back into sounder sleep than that
from which he had been rudely awakened
Shorty Regain loved to dwell upon these pictures.
Over and over they would appear upon the wall, and