The Columbus courier. [volume] (Columbus, Luna County, N.M.) 1911-1920, 1915-03-26

TlaUo&
When l fight you, I'll fight for myself,
not for a bunch Of damned murderers.
Just now, I've got other business.
That man framed this upl" He pointed
a lean finger across the table into the
startled c%ountenanoe OF Mr.. Farbish.
He knewl He has been working on
this job for a month. I'm going to
attend to his case now"
As Samson started toward Earbish,
the oonspirator rose, and. with an ex-
cellent counterfeit OF insulted virtue.
pushed back his chair.
by God" he Indignantly exclaimed,
you mustn't try to embroil me in your
quarrels. You must apologize. You
are talking wildly. South"
Am II" questioned the Kentuckian,
quietly; I'm going to act wildly in a
minute"
He halted a short distance from Far.
biBh. and drew from his pocket a
crumpled scrap of the offending maya
zine page: the item that had offended
Horton.
81 may not have good
Mister Farbish, but where / come from
We know how to handle varmlnts." He
dropped his voice and added for the
plotter's a only: Here's a little
matter on the side that concerns only
us. II wouldn't interest these other
gentlemen" He opened his hand, and
added: Here, eat that"
Farbish with a frightened glance
at the set face Of the man who was ad.
vancing upon him. leaped back, and
drew from his pocket a plstol-it was
an exact counterpart Of the one with
which he had supplied Samson.
With a p~antheriike swiftness, the
Kentuckian leaped forward. and struck
up the weapon, which spat one in
effective bullet into the rafters. There
was a m%omontary soufile OF swaying
bodies and a crash under which the
table groaned amid the shattering
Of glass and china. Then. slowly, the
conspirator's body bent back at the
waist, until its shoulders we're
stretched on the disarranged cloth,
and the white face, with purple veins
swelling on the forehead, stared up
between two brown hands that gripped
It's throat.
Swallow that" ordered tie moun
%talneer.
For just an instant. the company
stood dumfounded. then a strained.
unnatural voice broke the silence.
stop him, he's going to kill the
mani"
The odds we're four TO two. and
with a sudden rally to the support OF
their chief plotter. the other ~conspira-
tors rushed the figure that stood throt-
thing his victim. But Samson South
was In HIS element. The dammed.up
wrath that had been smoldering dur
ing these last days was having a tenn
pestuous outlet. He had found men
who, in a ~gentlemen's club 10 which
he had come rs a guest. sought to
use hia AZ a catspaw and murderer.
As they assaulted him. en- maBss,
he seized a chair, and swung It fail.
like about his head. For a few mo-
menta, there wss a crashing OF glass
AAN AAtaer anu . IAANAAA VI AAAMAAAA9
and a chaos OF struggle.
Samson South stood for a moment
painting in a scene OF wreckage aud
disorder. The table was Uttered with
shivered glasses and decantera and
chlnaware, The furniture was scat
tered and overturned. Farbish was
weakly leaning 20 one side in the seat
to which he had made his way. The
men who had gone down under the
heavy blows Of the chair lay quietly
where they had fallen.
Wilfred Horton stood waiting. The
whole AFFAIR had transplred with such
celebrity and speed that ne had hardly
understood Il. and had taken no part.
But, as he met the gaze Of the dis.
ordered figure across the wreckage Of
q dlnner-tablo- be realized that nov,