The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1917-03-29
A SHERIFF'S
STORY
The Only Life He Took
That Troubled Him.
By WILLARD BLAKEMAN

ed more desperadoes alive and dead
than any other sheriff. but it must be
admitted that by far the larger mum.
Der We're dead when captured. for very
| few of them could be taken alive BE
i 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 IL Ire had
any shrinking at killing one of them
or any qualms afterward. lie replied
that If he had been built that Why they
would have landed him instead of his
landing them.
But there was one KILN" lie said
that has troubled me ever since.
wake up nights some time anu get to
thinkin' about it and always feel the
same sinkin' about the heart. 1t was
this way:
Before ! was made sheriff I was
workin' on ranch owned by a gen
tleman as had come out from the east.
He had been banker or somep'n like
that but had given up the business to
bring his daughter. little gal about
nineteen, who was threatened with
consumption, out here, hopin the air
would do her good TIayin' plenty of
money. the natural thing fer him to
do was to buy ranch aud stock 1t.
But he didn't care nothin' about that,
except to give him somepn to do. He
was bound up i'm his daughter Susie,
just as everybody else was. 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 1t that wouldn't
swaller dose O. lead fer her.
II never could tell list what 1t was
about her that had this effec', but
allowed the principal part of 1t was
that her heart went out to every
body. When they was hankerin' to
do sumpin fer her she was worryin'
out'n their way on her account. Be
sides, delicate people allus attract
strong ones. Susie was SO frail she
looked as II 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 on.
II got ahead of every one else with
her this way: owned blooded mare
that was as easy managed as "A kitten
and could git along like the wind.
Nothin' Susie liked better'n to ride 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 so under the
care o. any one else. ] was only about
ten years older than Susie and un-
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 70
to ranchln that Susie had met and
tumbed 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
1t. In fac | was the only pusson as
knowed it except the little gal herself.
This young mans. Dick Waleotts.
ranch was n matter O. fifty miles from
ourn, which was known as the Court
| ney ranch from Susie's father, who
| owned II. 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. .Iist think O. this angel
confidin' this to rough Teller like me
when nobody else knowed it.
There was one o the herders in MIR,
Courtney's employ that was bad egg.
He TUX some sort o malice agin young
! Walcott. didn't know the reason at
first jist reckoned that Walcott had
treated him like the galoot he was.
This herder. Jim Stiggs. was not only
powerful man. but was one o the
quickest and straightest shots | ever
seen. allus allowed that IL ! had a
dispute with him | 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 than revolvers. Mind
you. | wasn't thinkin' OF Walcott.
was fearful for Susie. KNOWN mighty
well that IL anything happened to hin
II 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-fiutter ant
a-wringin' of her hands and said:
Jim Stiggs has left here to go Il
the walcott ranch to kill Dick. Stigg'