Sam Crable
Sam Crable killed Beaver McClintock.
Sam used a .44-caliber Colt revolver.
He told Beaver McClintock three different times to quit fooling around Mrs. Crable.
Beaver owned the McClintock Hotel. He was standing in front of the hotel at 7 P. M. picking his teeth, after having enjoyed a nice dinner.
Sam Crable came along on the other side of the street, and hollered. Oh, Beaver, and when Beaver looked up, Sam shot him between the eyes.
It was just coming on dusk, and everybody thought that was pretty good shooting, considering.
Beaver fell down and died right in front of his hotel. The incident gave the hotel a bad name for years. Sam kept on walking until he met a policeman, and said, I just killed Beaver McClintock, and the policeman said, That is against the law, and I will have to lock you up.
He liked Sam Crable.
Nonetheless, he locked him up in the city jail, and Mrs. Crable went to see Sam right away and bawled him out for shooting Beaver McClintock. She said Beaver was nothing to her but a friend.
The shooting of Beaver McClintock caused talk.
Some said Sam Crable ought to be lynched.
Book Anderson, who ran the Globe cigar store, and was very religious, said no, it was better to let Sam live, because his conscience would be his own punishment.
Book Anderson said that everybody knows that a man who kills another man never afterwards closes his eyes, even in sleep. Book said that a man who kills another is haunted by his conscience all the rest of his days, so his eyes are always open and staring.
This led to quite an argument.
Some agreed with Book, but others said it would be impossible for a man to go on for years with his eyes open, so finally somebody suggested that a good way to settle the argument would be to go around to the city jail and find out if Sam Crable’s eyes were open or closed while he was sleeping.
Quite a party went.
Book Anderson led the way, telling about cases he knew of men who had done a little killing never again closing their eyes.
Just outside the city jail they ran into Officer Carter and Sam Crable, just getting into an automobile. Officer Carter had the come-alongs on Sam Crable, and Sam looked somewhat embarrassed at seeing his old friends.
Officer Carter explained that he was transferring Sam Crable from the city jail to the county jail. He said Sam slept so sound and snored so loud in the city jail that the other prisoners complained.
Book Anderson did not bother to ask Officer Carter if Sam slept with his eyes open or closed.