The patriot. [volume] (Indiana, Pa.) 1914-1955, 1915-01-23
ABLIND MANS
FIGHT
By NJ. QUAD
BY NJ. QUAD
Copyright. 1914. by the McClpre
Newspaper S.nd.-s.e

Z HAft AEN VIZ III tN. at y
many years ago. t Ok u.reI >pIeraf
,ears previous To The ll.st i,aclnc IA.
road and while Yet eyely poUuu @.
goods going - the far west had Ia o..
hauled across lie great pains -
freight Wagons or sent arouHd Cuit
Horn By s."
Two men in & Rogers X B.air omit
fell in love with the same .i.l n s.dan
Fee. One was in ..M,.IC II i...IIcd Ia %,
Hines. AMI the other W.IS Il fu.l mood
ed AleXi.a who WaS simply KNOWN a<
Don. The girl was Il Ealf reed. and
none Of Us outside the two riyuis
thought her worth Lighting over
The affair had gone ON for seven or
eight months before the outb-nai
came. We were in Santa re. nlaa.u-
ready for Il start east. when he XXI
can one evening approached ii',. be-
side which Hines sat alone and threw
a package of powder OH thp h.Le.
With leap aside he escaped cou>;tA-
Quences, but Jack Hines Was blinded
for life. 1t was Il cOntempIibie thing
tc do, and but for the civil authorities
the Mexican would have been lynch
ed. AS it was. he was kicked ana
beaten and bounced out of camp.
day or two later. as the girl had gone
back on him. he tried to carry her off
by force, but had to let her go when
she stabbed him. Hines depended on
her pity in his misfortune. but she
ca 'mly told him that blind husband
would be Of no use to he- and laughed
his tears to Scorn. He had relative
in the city and was taken in and cared
for, while the Mexican crossed the Rio
Grande for time it was Il year later,
and Jacks old outfit and all his friends
happened to be in Santa Fe again
when Don returned. He had grown
uglier and meaner in the twelve
months. We would have picked fuss
with him and shot him down. hut Jack
Hines had no sooner heard of his pres
ence than he said:
"Boys. you must arrange for duel
I shall never rest content until l have
killed that MeXican!"
"But you are blind" we protested.
"Never mind that. must fight him
and kill him. blind or not. and the
whole OF Santa Fe shall look Onw
When we found that he would have
1t so we carried challenge to Don and
also asked the authorities to let us
have a public duel Some weak OBJ.
jections were made. but they yielded
the point. A fight Of some sort was
an hourly incident. and duels came Off
two or three times week
"Yes. l will meet the Americana" he
said. land / will slice and cut and
prick for one hour by the watch before
give him the grand finish. The crowd
that looks on will see some Of the finest
knife play ever shown on this side of
the river. Tomorrow at noon, eh? /
will be as prompt as the sun"
You may believe that when the re-
port spread about there was q great
excitement. 1t was generally believed
that the blind man would fall an easy
victim. but even his best friends said
that he had better die with knife III
his hand than to live in a helpless
state the rest Of his life. To three or
four Jack confided his belief that he
would triumph. His hearing had be-
come as acute as a foX's, and he
would make his ears see for him. He
was in perfect health, had the nerve
and courage of lion and he believed
he had chance.
At high noon of an August day over
en-. assembled on the smooth turf to
witness the strange combat. A ring of
ropes was formed, and the spectators
formed another. 1t was to be a duei
with knives. and seconds and referee
were appointed. After each five min
utes there was to be a rest. Foremost
among the spectators was the girl who
had caused it all. and she was free to
say she didn't care who triumphed.
Each man was allowed to wrap his left
arm in q serape or cloak, ans alI cheer
ing or advising was forbidden. The
blind man was pale faced and nervous
rs the fight began. but his hard shut
teeth told Of the determination in his
heart The Mexican was all bows and
smiles and confidence. and as he was
known to be an adept with the knife a
groan went about the circle as the two
stepped forward to open the fight.
That duel was something to be re-
nembered for all time. From the blind
mans movements no one could have
told that he was sightless. For four
i've minute rounds they fought with
only a few trifing scratches on either
side. but if there was any advantage
It was on the side Of the American,
who had the full sympathy of the
crowd, MexicanS and all When they
came out for the fifth round Don wink
ed and chuckled and said it was time
he began slicing ears off. Hines had
located his man in a hairs breadth,
and as they faced each other the Amer
lean leaped forward like flash. caught
the knife on his and threw it to the
left and the next instant his own blade