Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1913-07-18

onOuluerB certaln Work Tor Wnlcn ne
had not been educated. On the whole,
was It not better for him to risk Civ.
ing himself away to me and secure my
help than to risk giving himself away
to a number OF persons7
II shall be happy for your assistance,
Brother Ridgeway." he said. you. hnv-
ing lived In India. will be able to in
terest these people In a way that would
be impossible for me and thus induce
them to give freely to the building Of
a church, which, as you say, Is the
first step for them to take. A meet
ing has been called for this evening
In the town hall of such as are favor
ably disposed to the work. I had In
tended to address them at length. but
after a few preliminary remarks I
will step aside for you"
at will give me great pleasure to
do whit I can" I replied. "Mean.
while ! Will leave with you some leaf
let's showing what we have done In
India and what we hope to do hereaft-
or. You may be able to scatter them
80 that they will bear fruit"
Grasping his hand cordlnlly-it was
cold as n stone-I departed, breathing
freely again when / got away from
him, for / realized that should a knowl-
edge of my game come to him he
would send a bullet crashing into my
%brain-that is, II one Of the Derringers
in my slcove could not be drawn
quicker than the weapons he doubtless
carried under his coat
l resolved to keep my own counsel
and continue to do my work unassisted.
During the day I found a swift horse
and hired a boy TO have him at the hall
ready for me before the meeting was
over. That Is the only preparation l
made. At 8 o'clock, attended by my
host. / sailed forth to give a lecture
On missionary work in India, for q part
Of which would draw on the material
I Ind brought with me, and for the rest
| would draw on my Imagination. Ny
colleague called the meeting to order,
said that he had come among them In
order to induce them to build q church,
and l was surprised to hear him state
bis case remarkably well.
When ne had finished he introduced
me as a missionary just returned from
India, and began my lecture. Fortu-
nately I have always had n faculty for
making persons believe ! know a sub.
ject on which 1 am ignorant and they
helped me out, though seeing hundreds
of faces turned toward me in sympa-
thy for the poor heather / could not ban
lsh a guilty feeling ut the lmposture.
After l had closed my lecture my
colleague spoke a few words as to the
duty of giving literally that those pres
ent might have a place for worship
and called upon several prominent citi
zens present to pass the hat. The col
lection vas then poured on a table be-
fore the originator of the movement,
who gathered 1t, tied it up in his hand
kerchief and put it in his pocket. l was
watching him as he did so and was
probably the only one present who de-
tected the cunning. covetous look he
could not entirely conceal.
While the meeting was breaking up
l grasped The Eel's hand and told him
that l would see him the next morn
ing. He assured me that he would be
happy to meet me, thanked me for my
valuable assistance In the good work
and hoped he might have an oppOr-
tunity to reciproc0te. l went down
before he did by a back staircase into
an alley, took of my clerlcals and ap-
peared in plain clothes. My horse was
waiting for me, and when The Eel up
peared l followed him as he walked to
the house OF his host.
Owing to his %unblushing %effrontery,
l presumed that he would get out of
town with the plumber Immediately
after the meeting, and for this reason
/ had procured the horse. When he
went into the house where he had been
staying ] knew he would either slip out
during the night or remain in town
longer for additional swag. Tying my
horse to n post near by, l resolved on a
night watch.
The last light in the house went out
at IL o'clock. Soon after II the front
door opened softly and q man emerged.
He made no sound in his steps, and /
judged he wore rubbers. Growing from
the sidewalk was a tree large enough
for concealment, and l stood behind It.
Whiche or way the man went he must
turn his back to me. I suffered him
to pass only a few feet when / gave
a quick sharp command:
Hands up!"
/ saw him start. He dare not dis
obey. He put his hands above his
head. advanced. gripped his coat col
lar with one hand, my fingers pressed
on his neck, and with the other l held
the muzzle of my pistol against the
back Of his head.
Having him completely in my power,
l called out to his host, who raised a
window, and l asked him to come
down. When he did so 1 told him what
had happened and asked him to relieve
his reverend guest of what he could
find on his person. He drew forth the
collection wrapped in a handkerchief,
two small pistols, a "A caliber revolver
and a knife a foot ~long-strange be-
nA-aNa-- /