When the West was youngBechdolt, Frederick R. (Frederick Ritchie)
History
When the West was young
Bechdolt, Frederick R. (Frederick Ritchie)
West (U.S.) -- History
"Well, sir, next mo'nin' I was sittin' in front of the hotel in the
shade of those big cottonwoods, sort of dozing, having been up kind of
late after the church-going; and the first thing I knew somebody was
saying--
"'Hanzup.'
"I opened my eyes and here was ol' Jim Burnett with that double-barrel
shotgun throwed down on me, I knew there was no use tryin' to get the
play away from him, either; only a day or two before that he'd stuck
up Johnny Harker and fined him a bunch of three-year-old steers for
shootin' up the town. So I obeyed orders and--
"'Curly Bill,' says he, 'yo' 're tried herewith and found guilty of
disturbin' the peace at the Baptis' Church last evenin'; and the
sentence of this co't is twenty-five dollars' fine.'
"I shelled out then and there and glad to do it, too. Them two muzzles
was lookin' me right between the eyes all the while."
Up in the San Simon country they ran short of grub and after going two
days on scanty rations--
"The' 's a canyon fifteen miles south of here," the outlaw said. "I
reckon some of the boys might be camping there now."
They rode hard that afternoon and reached the place some time before
sundown. The boys of whom Curly Bill had spoken were there all right,
ten of them, and none of the number but was known at the time over in
Tombstone either as a rustler or a stage-robber. His guide introduced
Breckenbridge with the usual terseness of such ceremonies among his
kind.
Whatever of constraint there was at the beginning wore away during the
progress of the evening, and on the next morning before they left the
gorge the young deputy worked his way into the good graces of his
hosts by winning twenty dollars from them shooting at a mark.
By this time they were nearing the end of their tour and it was only a
few days later, when they were crossing the Sulphur Springs valley
toward the frowning Dragoons, that Curly Bill bestowed a final
confidence upon his companion. They were nooning at the time and
somehow or other the usual question of revolver-handling had come up.
"I'm goin' to tell yo'-all something," said Curly Bill, "that mebbe it
will come in handy to remember. Now here."
He drew his forty-five and held it forth butt foremost in his right
hand.
"Don't ever go to take a man's gun that-a-way," he went on, "for when
yo' are figuring that yo' have the drop on him and he is makin' the
play to give it up--Jest reach out now to get it."
Breckenbridge reached forth with his right hand. The outlaw smiled.
His trigger-finger glided inside the guard; there was a sudden wrist
movement and the revolver whirled end for end. Its muzzle was pressing
against the deputy's waist-band.
"Did it slow so's you could see," said Curly Bill. "Now yo'
understand."
And Breckenbridge nodded, knowing now the manner in which Marshal
White had met his death on the day when his companion had fled from
the law.
In no-man's-land they shook hands at parting.
"So-long," said Curly Bill. "See you later."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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