Tombstone epitaph., 1916-11-05
T h e K ill e r
 by Wright Walker
by Wright Walker

quenched his thirst. Food he had not-nor desired
 On the third day. well along to- wards evening. his mind cleared Too weak to move be lay like a dumb, suf. fering brute awaiting death. He neither feared nor welcomed it. It was as if his body had already died and only his mind still lived
 A party of miners from an adjacent claim came 10 the water tank to catch the train that would stop there and which would carry them into the mining camp below where they could glorious de bauch.
 After the sun sinks, the high alti- tudes of the west chills rapidly and some of the men sighting the old lum- Der of the lean-to decided on a fire.
 Thus was Tights discovered and taken 10 Hot Dog. one of the many flourishing mining camps of Arizona in the middle sos.
 Under the care of young physician who had come to the camp (and had never accumulated enough 10 get away from ip. Tights gradually came back to earth.
 wish I could state right here that his experiences had changed him and he soon became a many man-but this is a true story and so the truth must be told. One thing had happened, however, he cou.d no longer drink. His system refused to asslmilate liquor and the slightest taste of Il made him death,y i'll.
 Tights regained his strength. and. as soon as the doctor informed him it was time for even a man who had been an invalid 10 get out and earn his own living. Tights left the doc tors shack with never mention of payment nor a word of thanks.
 He took possession Of hovel that had once been a stable for a burro and in this he liyed-soon becoming as filthy and dirty as he had been the day he was brought into the camp.
 One change had come to him. He was no longer the supine thing he had been. Fear was constantly on him that some one would again drive him on and on and make hIm experience again the sufferings he had undergone.
 He did odd jobs of all kinds. even to helping the chinaman who did the camps laundry and IL was this as- sociation that caused the camp the greatest excitement ii had ever known
 Some miner in the past had thought more of cleanliness than he did of de- fense and had given the Cbinaman a short, cheap, large calibred pistol known as British Bulldog. 10 guaran- tee payment Of wash blIl.
 Tights accepted this gun in lieu of two days labor and kept II continually in the front of hIs dirIy shirt
 The idea of enforced migration had become an obsesslon. lie walked with a stoop-dartIng little, rat-like giances to right and left and hIs right hand always lay within the shirt opening and on the butt of his pistol.
 It was Sunday afternoon The min CTS were down from their claims and the saloons doing rushing business when word slipped from door 10 door that "Bardon was in town"
 Bardon was a desperado. Driven from the Indian Territory he had made his way through Texas-urged on by rangers, had crossed the border of New Mexico under guard, and had taken up a semi-residence in Hot Dog.
 in the first week of his stay he had killed four men who had questioned him as 10 his former place of abode and one man ~ho had refused 10 drink with him. Two citizens who had tarked of -neck-tie party" were discovered with their throats cut the morning af- ter and, since then, Bardon had been a fungus growth on the camp.
 He ran charge accounts at all the saloons. He also owed the general store a generous account.
 After an absence of possibly fort night he would come back with plenty of money and make Hot Dog as close to an imitation of Hell as an earthly town could be and then would settle down to a months idleness once more.
 On the particular Sunday of which we speak Tights had been down 10 the Chinamans to beg tobacco and the Mongolian had insisted he bring in some washing that was hanging on the line.
 Tights did as he was bid and was observed by Bardon performing the task. When Tights was returning to his sty-he was stopped before the general store by Bardon. What hap receS came :s lightning s.c.. clear sky.
 Bardcn stood before Tights and after a preliminary cursing finished with. ''and no white man who works for damn heather stays here. III run you out"
 Then those watching heard a re- port, saw Bardon fall back and lay quiet, while Tights, his head wreathed by a halo of blue smoke. shrilled to the watchers, T won't go. No one scan make me go. Better let me alone. And trembling like leaf-turned his back and went blubbering- on to his hovel.
 If some one had appeared and told the onlookers the Little Katie mine was giving strawberry ice cream there would not have been more disbelief exhibited than the men now showed.
 Clancy-owner of the Gold Nugget, voiced the surprise sof the entire crowd as he exhaled his breath in the sharp exclamation "Well-Fm damned"
 Gilson, the storekeeper. usually tao turn to a degree g. loquacious.
 T knew a feller once," he began, "wot cum frum Mexico and he told us cs had man down there who moved to another place and tried to reforrs- Because he had been such onery cuss, killin' men just to see which way they'd fall. this hombre, when he tried to be good just let everybody walk on him and treat him as low down as they wanted to. At last. one day, some one said somethin' about his sister and he bruk out and killed
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