Page:Saga of Billy the Kid.djvu/323

remained valid, all his years of honest effort and good citizenship might be swallowed up at any time in the shadows of prison tragedy.

When Wilson heard of Garrett's presence in Uvalde, he supposed the sword that had hung above his life by a thread was about to fall and sent a friend to plead his cause. This friend, a former merchant of White Oaks, laid the facts before Garrett and asked that Wilson be left unmolested to pursue his career as a good citizen.

"Go back," said Garrett, "and tell Wilson to rest his mind in peace. I wouldn't for money put a stumbling block in his way. I believe I know a way to make his future safe. I'll see what I can do."

Months afterward, Wilson received a letter from Garrett. It read: "Would like to see you at my office in Mesilla." That was all. What the message meant Wilson did not know, but he had faith in Garrett and answered the summons.

"Hello, Billy," said Garrett as Wilson walked into the sheriff's office in Mesilla. "I've got a little something for you."

Garrett stepped over to his safe, drew out a paper, and laid it in Wilson's hand. It was a pardon signed by President Grover Cleveland. Wilson read it through a haze of tears. For a moment, he stood white-faced and silent.

"Pat," he said at length brokenly, "I don't know how to thank you. You can have anything I've got any time—my last dollar, the shirt off my back. You've made no mistake. I'll live up to this piece of paper the rest of my life. You can gamble on that."

He reached out a hand that trembled as if he had the ague, and Garrett gripped it.