Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-02-16
A SHERIFF'S
STORY
The Only Life He Took
That Troubled Him.
By WILLARD

e1hc NCoihsNh was a ohCAAh Al IA
then territory Of Dakota. He had land
ed more desperadoes alive and dead
than any other sheriff, but 1t must be
admitted that by far the larger num-
Der were ead when captured. for very
few of them could be taken alive. Be-
sides, Rodman didn't take any chances.
for an officer of the law was no more
Immune from these people than any
one else. | once asked him If he had
any shrinking at killing one of them
or any qualms afterward. He replied
that if be had been built that way they
would have landed him instead Of his
landing them.
but there was one killin'." he said,
shat has troubled me ever since. l
wake up nights some time and get to
thinkin' about it and always feel the
same sinkin' about the heart. 1t was
this way:
Before I was made sheriff l was
tleman as had come out from the east.
He had been q banker or somep'n like
that, but had given up the business to
bring his daughter. a little gal about
nineteen, who was threatened with
consumption, out here. hopin' the air
would do her good. Havin' plenty of
money, the natural thing fer him to
do was to buy a ranch and stock it.
But he didn't care nothin' about that.
except to give him somep'n to do. He
was bound up in his daughter Susie.
Dust as everybody else a Talk about
heart winners, Susie could slaughter
more people that way than any one
ever seen. There wasn't any one on
the ranch or off'n it that wouldn't
swaller a dose o. lead fer her.
81 never could tell jist what it was
about her that had this %effec', but l
ALLOWED the principal part of 1t was
that her heart went out to every
Ebody. When they was hankerin' to
do sumpin fer her she was worryin'
because they was putin themselves
out'n their way on her account. Be
sides, delicate people allus attract
strong ones. Susie was so frail she
looked as If the fust good wind that
blew would carry her away. But be-
sides all this thur was somep'n win
min about her that no one could reck-
on 1.
81 got ahead of evezy one else with
her this way: l Owned a blooded mare
that was as easy damaged as a kitten
andGGuld evalong like the wind.
yothin Sdsle HGke1 hetter,p-<e on
horseback, but she wouldn't ride any
other horse than my Kate. used to
go with her lots o. times, fer her ia
Their wouldn't let her go alone and
didn't like to have her go under the
care O. any one else. i was only about
ten years older than Susie and I'M
married: but, laws. I'd as soon cal
culated on maxim love to some gal as
come down from heaven! But this
didn't matter nohow, fer there was a
young gent as he'd left college to go
to ranchir' that Susie had met n
tumbled to. In our rides together she
got confidential with me and tole me
all about It; tole me when the Teller
hisself didn't know nothin' at all about
It. In fac l was the only pusson as
knowed it except the little gal herself.
'sThis young mans, Dick Walcott's.
ranch was a matter o fifty miles from
ourn. which was known as b Court
ney ranch from Susie's father, who
owned it, But Walcott used to come
over quite frequent, maxim excuses
all the time, to see Susie. Gosh, how
the young Teller was wrapt up in her!
He would any time have crawled on
the ground before her. She tole me
she didn't let on she cared any more
fer him than any one else, because she
wasn't strong and healthy and wasn't
willin' to pull any man down by mar
ryin' him. Jist think O. this angel
confidin' this to a rough Teller K me
when nobody else knowed 1t!
'sThere was one O. the herders In Mr.
Courtney's employ that was a bad egg.
He TUX some sort O malice agin young
Walcott. ! didn't know the reason at
first. | list reckoned that Walcott had
treated him like the galoot he was.
This herder. Jim Stiggs, was not only
q powerful man, but was n o the
quickest and s~traightest shots / ever
seen. 1 mus dliOneu ii A~"
dispute with him l wouldn't do much
sleepin'. but would keep my right eye
on him continually till the fracas was
settled. / was sorry he'd turned agin
Walcott, for Walcott was no match
fer him whatever-more of a Teller to
handle books thar revolvers. Mind
you. / wasn't thinkin' of Walcott- !
was fearful for Susie, KNOWN mighty
well that if anything happened to him
it would knock her into smithereens.
"Well, one day the secret of Stiggs'
dislike came out with a vengeance.
Susie came to me all of a-futter and
a-wringin' of her hands and said:
"tJim Stiggs has left here to go to
the Walcott ranch to kill Dick. Sdggs
has made love to me-