The Snowflake herald., 1916-11-03
T h e K i'll e r
by Wright Walker
by Wright Walker

flowing beneath his shelter he
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 he lay like dumb, suf.
S fering brute awaiting death. He
neither feared nor welcomed it. 1t
was as if his body had already died
and only his mind still lived
A party of miners from an adjacent
claim came to the water tank to
catch the train that would stop there
and which would carry them into the
mining camp below where they could
spend their monthly salary in one
glorious debauch
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 to Hot Dog, one of the many
flourishing mining camps of Arizona
in the middle '90's.
Under the care of young physician
who had come to the camp (and had
never accumulated enough to get awav
from it, Tights gradually came back
to earth
l wish l could state right here that
his experiences had changed him and
he soon became a manly man-but
this is true story and so the truth
must be told. One thing had happened,
however, he could no longer drink. His
system refused to assimilate liquor
and the slightest taste of it made him
deathly 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 to get out and earn
his own living, Tights left the doc
tors shack with never a mention of
payment nor word of thanks.
He took possession of a hovel that
had once been a stable for a burro and
In this he lived-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 it was this as
sociation that caused the camp the
greatest excitement it had ever known.
Some miner in the past had thought
more of cleanliness than he did of de-
Tense and had given the Chlnaman
a Short cheap, large calibred pistol
known as British Bulldog, to guaran-
tee payment of wash bill.
Tights accepted this gun in lieu of
two days labor and kept it continually
in the front of his dirty shirt.
The idea CT enforced migration had
become an obsession. He walked with
a stoop-darting little, rat-like glances
to right and left and his right hand
always lay within the shirt opening
and on the butt of his pistol
1t was Sunday afternoon. The min
ers were down from their claims and
the saloons doing rushing business
when word slipped from door to door
that "Bardon was in town"
Bardon was desperate. 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 to his former place of abode
and one man who had refused to drink
with him. Two citizens who had talked
of a "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 a fort
night he would come back with plenty
of money and make Hot Dog as close
to an imitation of He'll as an
earthly town could be and then would
settle down to months idleness once
more
On the particular Sunday of which
we speak Tights had been down to
the Chinaman's 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
pened came as lightning from a clear
sky.
Garden stood before tights and after
a preliminary cursing finished with,
"and no white man who works for
damn heather stays here. I'll run you
out"
Then those watching heard a re-
port saw Bardon fall back and lay
quiet, while Tights, his head wreathed
by halo of blue smoke, shrilled to
the watchers, Il won't 60 No one can
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 of the entire
crowd as he exhaled his breath in
the sharp exclamation "Well-Im
damned"