The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1914-10-30
MY WOULD BE
ASSASSIN
BY M. QUAD
By M. QUAD
Copyright. 1914. by Associated Lit
erary Press.


was to 90 into the mountains Of wy
oming on II hunting trip with old Bill
Potts "A dozen men called to bid me q
last goodby. They looked their pity
and sorrow. and their hands fingered
lovingly in mine. vas rather skep-
tical. | didn't see why | should be
pulled down by Il mountain lion. claw
ed into mincemeat by a grizzly bear
or buried under a landslide. but they
smiled feebly and shook their heads
In a solemn way. Only n telegram
received out Of eight or ten threw any
light on the matter. and the light came
too late. 1t read:
IF you are going hunting with old
Bill Potts you'd better make your will
and leave things easy for the widowed
and fatherless."
l liked old Bill. He was hale and
hearty and good natured. and be could
pack a mule. cook a good meal and
shoot fairly straight. He was a smok-
er and a chewer, playing a good game
Of euchre. and I had every confidence
that the pair of us would get along
like brothers. We got away in good
style. and 1t was two full days before
anything happened to shake my con-
fidence in him. Then as l sat cleaning
my rife he picked up the Ak to cut
some wood. He hadn't made six
strokes before the ak few OF the han
die and almost shaved my hair as it
passed.
Excuse me. colonel" said old Bill
as he held up the handle. 1.-The Ak
has been loose for the last six months
and orter have bin fixed. I'll tend to
1t the first rainy day we have"
"But. man. that was a close call for
me-" I said as l felt my anger rising.
Yes. colonel. but as long as no dam
age was done it's all right. l kinder
thought 1t was going to cut yer head
off. but it riz a leetle and missed ye."
| figured that it was pure accident
and overlooked it. Next morning old
Bill found the trail Of a lion hear u
camp. and after breakfast we took it
up and started out. | had a Winches-
ter, and he had a double barreled shot
sun viii OuShSHoL- Lac Aoon
the lead. and we had trailed for half a
mile when l stumbled over a stone and
pitched forward. Potts was about
twenty feet ahead of me, gun on his
shoulder and passing over perfectly
open ground. AS l ven down both
barrels Of his gun were discharged.
and my hair curled rs the handful of
shot shrieked yer me and cut away
half the branches of a young pine.
What is it? What were you shoot.
ing at?" | shouted as l scrambled up.
half expecting the lion had got in our
rear and was stalking us.
I'VE see. colonel replied old Potts,
allus carry my gun On the full cock SOS
to save time. and guess | must have
bin fingerin' them hammers
you dolt. You idiot! You jackass!"
| yelled at him as l looked for a club.
IF l hadn't stumbled over that stone
you'd have blown a hole through me
as big as a barrel!"
Eyes. but We stumbled. and. bein' as
no harm was done. | hope We won't get
mad about it."
told Potts that if | ever caught him
carrying his gun in that shape again
Id pump lead into his legs and leave
him to the wolves. and for the rest Of
the day the relations between rs were
strained. Under the influence Of a
good supper and IA pipe we got closer
together. however. and by and by he
went into the tent for the cards. He
was fussing around for several min
utes and | had just opened my mouth
to ask him the cause Of his delay when
a bullet lifted the hat off my head and
sent it ten feet behind me. | made two
jumps for a bowlder and yelled to
Potts. thinking ! had been fired on by
a renegade Indian, but when the man
came out with my self cooking revolver
in his hand | knew what had hap
pened.
"You bIunder head! You fool of a
jackassr' | shouted as | made up to
him. But he backed off 'Ad protest
ingIy explained:
Don't get nervous colonel. | had
never seen one of these self cookers and
was just tryin' it. | might have pint
ed it the other way, but | didn't think"
mo. you didn't. and the ball went
through my hat! Potts. yon are a fool!
You don't know enough to chew
beans!!'
What a fuss to raise over a leetle
accident, and nobody hurt at that"
said Potts. "Waal. the fact of it is
I'm goin' to quit. The boys said ye
vas a crank and a kicker and that I'd
soon cut my job. but ye talked smooth
and give orders fur plenty Of grub. and
I was willin' to take chances. How
sumever''-
"Howsumever what? Howsumever-
squint eyed. dunderheaded ~pothunter!'
Next day we started the outfit for
home. Potts might have recOnsidered
his resignation. but l wouldn't give him
a chance. couldn't stay up there
alone. but it was death to stay with
him. We made the journey Of fifty
miles without a word. When we