1
00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:06,040
Speaker 1: A chaparral Christmas gift by O. Henry. The original cause

2
00:00:06,040 --> 00:00:09,800
of the trouble was about twenty years in growing. At

3
00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:14,000
the end of that time it was worth it. Had

4
00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:17,039
you lived anywhere within fifty miles of Sundown Ranch, you

5
00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:20,320
would have heard of it. It possessed a quantity of

6
00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:25,039
jet black hair, a pair of extremely frank, deep brown eyes,

7
00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:28,600
and a laugh that rippled across the prairie like the

8
00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:32,320
sound of a hidden brook. The name of it was

9
00:00:32,399 --> 00:00:36,359
Rosita mac mullen, and she was the daughter of old

10
00:00:36,359 --> 00:00:41,560
Man mac mullen of the Sundown Sheep Ranch. There came

11
00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:45,119
riding on red roan steeds, or or, to be more explicit,

12
00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:48,359
on a paint on a flea bitten sorrel, two wooers.

13
00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:53,000
One was Madison Lane, and the other was the Frio Kid.

14
00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:55,600
But at that time they did not call him the

15
00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:58,200
Frio Kid, for he had not earned the honors of

16
00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:04,840
special nomenclature. His name was simply Johnny McRoy. It must

17
00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:06,959
not be supposed that these two were the some of

18
00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:11,280
the agreeable Rosita's admirers. The broncos of a dozen others

19
00:01:11,439 --> 00:01:13,920
champed their bits at the long hitching rack of the

20
00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:17,959
Sundown Ranch. Many were the sheep's eyes that were cast

21
00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:20,840
in the savannahs that did not belong to the flocks

22
00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:26,120
of Dan McMullen. But of all the cavaliers, Madison Lane

23
00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:30,640
and Johnny McRoy galloped far ahead, wherefore they are to

24
00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:37,359
be chronicled. Madison Lane, a young cattleman from the Nuasis Country,

25
00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:46,159
won the race. He and Rosita were married on Christmas Day. Armed, hilarious, vociferous, magnanimous.

26
00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:50,519
The cowmen and the sheepmen, laying aside their hereditary hatred,

27
00:01:50,799 --> 00:01:56,239
joined forces to celebrate the occasion. Sundown Ranch was sonorous,

28
00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:59,239
with the cracking of jokes and six shooters, the shine

29
00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:03,400
of buckles and bright eyes, the outspoken congratulations of the

30
00:02:03,439 --> 00:02:07,359
herders of kind. But while the wedding feast was at

31
00:02:07,359 --> 00:02:11,599
its liveliest, there descended upon it Johnny mac roy, bitten

32
00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:17,000
by jealousy, like one possessed. I'll give you a Christmas present,

33
00:02:17,159 --> 00:02:19,520
he yelled shrilly at the door, with his forty five

34
00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:22,759
in his hand. Even then he had some reputation as

35
00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:26,759
an offan shot. His first bullet cut a neat underbit

36
00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:30,319
in Madison Lane's right ear. The barrel of his gun

37
00:02:30,439 --> 00:02:33,280
moved an inch. The next shot would have been the

38
00:02:33,319 --> 00:02:37,319
bride's had not Carson, a sheep man, possessed a mind

39
00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:40,960
with triggers somewhat well oiled and in repair. The guns

40
00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:42,879
of the wedding party had been hung in their belts

41
00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:45,240
upon nails in the wall when they sat at table

42
00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:49,560
as a concession to good taste. But Carson, with great promptness,

43
00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:52,599
hurled his plate of roast venison for Holly's at mac Roy,

44
00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:56,919
spoiling his aim. The second bullet then only shattered the

45
00:02:56,960 --> 00:03:00,520
white petals of a Spanish dagger flower suspended two above

46
00:03:00,599 --> 00:03:04,680
Rosita's head. The guests spurned their chairs and jumped for

47
00:03:04,759 --> 00:03:07,599
their weapons. It was considered an improper act to shoot

48
00:03:07,639 --> 00:03:10,800
the bride and groom at a wedding. In about six seconds,

49
00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:12,960
there were twenty or so bullets due to be whizzing

50
00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:17,000
in the direction of mister McRoy. I'll shoot better next time,

51
00:03:17,319 --> 00:03:20,159
yelled Johnny, and they'll be a next time. He backed

52
00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:25,520
rapidly out the door. Carson, the sheepman, spurred on to

53
00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:28,680
attempt further exploits by the success of his plate throwing,

54
00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:32,080
was first to reach the door. Mcroy's bullet from the

55
00:03:32,159 --> 00:03:36,840
darkness laid him low. The cattleman then swept out upon him,

56
00:03:36,919 --> 00:03:39,879
calling for vengeance. For while the slaughter of a sheep

57
00:03:39,919 --> 00:03:43,400
man has not always lacked condonement, it was a decided

58
00:03:43,439 --> 00:03:47,800
misdemeanor in this instance. Carson was innocent. He was no

59
00:03:47,879 --> 00:03:51,879
accomplice at the matrimonial proceedings, nor had anyone heard him

60
00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:54,599
quote the line Christmas comes but once a year to

61
00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:58,800
the guests. But the sort he failed in its vengeance.

62
00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:02,280
McRoy was on his horse and away, shouting back curses

63
00:04:02,319 --> 00:04:07,240
and threats as he galloped into the concealing chapparal. That

64
00:04:07,479 --> 00:04:11,800
night was the birthnight of the freeho kid. He became

65
00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:15,159
the bad man of that portion of the state. The

66
00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:18,120
rejection of his suit by Miss McMullen turned him into

67
00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:21,439
a dangerous man. When officers went after him for the

68
00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:24,720
shooting of Carson, he killed two of them and entered

69
00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:28,600
upon the life of an outlaw. He became a marvelous

70
00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:31,519
shot with either hand. He would turn up in towns

71
00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:35,360
and settlements, raise a quarrel at the slightest opportunity, pick

72
00:04:35,399 --> 00:04:38,800
off his man, and laugh at the officers of the law.

73
00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:44,600
He was so cool, so deadly, so rapid, so inhumanly bloodthirsty,

74
00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:47,759
that none but faint attempts were ever made to capture him.

75
00:04:48,879 --> 00:04:51,160
When he was at last shot and killed by a little,

76
00:04:51,199 --> 00:04:54,399
one armed Mexican who was nearly dead himself from fright,

77
00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:57,480
the Freeo Kid had the deaths of eighteen men on

78
00:04:57,519 --> 00:05:01,240
his head. About half of these were killed in fair duels,

79
00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:04,399
depending on the quickness of the draw. The other half

80
00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:09,120
were men whom he assassinated with absolute wantonness and cruelty.

81
00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:12,959
Many tales are told along the border of his impudent

82
00:05:13,199 --> 00:05:16,079
courage and daring. But he was not one of the

83
00:05:16,079 --> 00:05:19,120
breed of desperadoes who have seasons of generosity and even

84
00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:21,839
of softness. They say he never had mercy on the

85
00:05:21,879 --> 00:05:25,360
object of his anger. Yet it is at every Christmas

86
00:05:25,399 --> 00:05:28,120
time it is well to give each one credit if

87
00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:30,839
it can be done for whatever speck of good he

88
00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:34,040
may have possessed. If the Frio Kid ever did a

89
00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:37,600
kindly act or felt a throb of generosity in his heart,

90
00:05:38,279 --> 00:05:41,560
it was once at such a time and season, and

91
00:05:41,639 --> 00:05:45,800
this is the way it happened. One who has been

92
00:05:45,839 --> 00:05:48,600
crossed in love should never breathe the odor from the

93
00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:52,480
blossoms of the ritometree. It stirs the memory to a

94
00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:57,279
dangerous degree. One December in the Friho Country, there was

95
00:05:57,279 --> 00:06:00,439
a ritometree in full bloom, for the winter had been

96
00:06:00,519 --> 00:06:04,600
as warm as springtime. That way rode the Freeho Kid

97
00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:09,040
and his satellite and co murderer, Mexican Frank. The Kid

98
00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:12,199
reined in his Mustang and sat in his saddle, thoughtful

99
00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:17,000
and grim with dangerously narrowing eyes. The rich sweet smell

100
00:06:17,199 --> 00:06:22,120
touched him somewhere beneath his ice and iron. I don't

101
00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:25,160
know what I've been thinking about mechs, he remarked, in

102
00:06:25,199 --> 00:06:28,639
his usual mild drawl, to have forgotten all about a

103
00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:32,360
Christmas present I got to give. I'm going to ride

104
00:06:32,399 --> 00:06:36,120
over tomorrow night and shoot Madison Lane in his own house.

105
00:06:36,879 --> 00:06:40,000
He got my girl, Rosita would have had me if

106
00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:43,279
he hadn't cut into the game. I wonder why I

107
00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:49,199
happened to overlook it up to now. Ah shucks, Kid said, Mexican,

108
00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:52,120
don't talk foolishness. You know you can't get within a

109
00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:55,519
mile of mad Lane's house tomorrow night. I see old

110
00:06:55,519 --> 00:06:58,680
man allan day before yesterday, and he says mad is

111
00:06:58,720 --> 00:07:01,720
going to have Christmas doing at his house. You remember

112
00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:04,279
how you shot up the festivities when mad was married.

113
00:07:04,319 --> 00:07:07,399
And about the threats you made, don't you suppose mad

114
00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:10,079
Lane'll kind of keep his eyes open for a certain

115
00:07:10,079 --> 00:07:14,959
mister kidd. You plumb make me tired kid with such remarks.

116
00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:19,480
I'm going, repeated the Frio kid without heat, to go

117
00:07:19,519 --> 00:07:23,879
to Madison Lane's Christmas doings and kill him. I ought

118
00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:27,199
to have done it a long time ago. Why, mex

119
00:07:27,759 --> 00:07:30,839
Just two weeks ago, I dreamed me and Rosita was

120
00:07:30,879 --> 00:07:33,920
married instead of her and him, and we was living

121
00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:37,040
in a house and I could see her smiling at me,

122
00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:41,920
And oh, hell, mex he got her and I'll get him. Yes, sir,

123
00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:45,720
on Christmas Eve he gut her, and them's one. I'll

124
00:07:45,759 --> 00:07:52,120
get him. There's other ways of committing suicide, advised Mexican.

125
00:07:52,759 --> 00:07:54,920
Why don't you go out and surrender to the sheriff.

126
00:07:56,079 --> 00:08:00,839
I'll get him, said the kid. Christmas, you fell as

127
00:08:00,839 --> 00:08:04,079
bomby as April. Perhaps there was a hint of far

128
00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:07,759
away frostiness in the air, but it tingles like seltzer

129
00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:12,399
perfumed faintly with late prairie blossoms and the mesquite grass.

130
00:08:13,439 --> 00:08:15,600
When night came, the five or six rooms of the

131
00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:18,560
ranch house were brightly lit. In one room was a

132
00:08:18,639 --> 00:08:22,079
Christmas tree. For the Lanes had a boy of three,

133
00:08:22,199 --> 00:08:24,639
and a dozen or more guests were expected from the

134
00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:29,879
nearer ranches. At nightfall, Madison Lane called aside Jim Belcher

135
00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:35,320
and three other cowboys employed on his ranch. Now, boys said, Lane,

136
00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:38,039
keep your eyes open, walk around the house and watch

137
00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:41,039
the road. Well, all of you know the Frio kid

138
00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:43,399
as they call him now, and if you see him,

139
00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:47,000
open fire on him without asking any questions. I'm not

140
00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:50,559
afraid of his coming round, but Rosita is. She's been

141
00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:53,159
afraid he'd come in on us every Christmas since we

142
00:08:53,159 --> 00:08:58,480
were married. The guests had arrived in buckboards and on horseback,

143
00:08:58,519 --> 00:09:02,279
and were making themselves comfortable and sighed. The evening went

144
00:09:02,320 --> 00:09:06,840
along pleasantly. The guests enjoyed and praised Rosita's excellent supper,

145
00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:10,240
and afterward the men scattered in groups about the rooms

146
00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:15,159
or in the broad gallery, smoking and chatting. The Christmas tree,

147
00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:18,519
of course, delighted the youngsters, and above all were they

148
00:09:18,559 --> 00:09:22,639
pleased when Santa Claus himself in magnificent white beard and furs,

149
00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:26,919
appeared and began to distribute the toys. It's my Papa

150
00:09:27,600 --> 00:09:34,320
announced Billy Sampson, aged six. I've seen him wear them before. Berkeley,

151
00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:37,279
a sheep man, an old friend of Lane, stopped Rosita

152
00:09:37,279 --> 00:09:39,759
as she was passing by him on the gallery where

153
00:09:39,799 --> 00:09:44,320
he was sitting smoking well. Missus Lane said he. I

154
00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:46,879
suppose by this Christmas you've gotten over being afraid of

155
00:09:46,919 --> 00:09:49,879
that fellow mac Roy, haven't you. Madison and I have

156
00:09:49,919 --> 00:09:54,960
talked about it, you know, very nearly, said Rosita, smiling.

157
00:09:55,519 --> 00:09:59,360
But I am still nervous. Sometimes. I shall never forget

158
00:09:59,399 --> 00:10:03,240
that awful time when he came so near to killing us.

159
00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:07,080
He's the most cold hearted villain in the world, said Berkeley.

160
00:10:07,279 --> 00:10:09,720
The citizens all along the border ought to turn out

161
00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:13,720
and hunt him down like a wolf. He has committed

162
00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:20,000
awful crimes, said Rosita. But I don't know. I think

163
00:10:20,039 --> 00:10:24,039
there is a spot of good somewhere in everybody. He

164
00:10:24,159 --> 00:10:29,639
was not always bad, that I know. Rosita turned into

165
00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:33,879
the hallway between the rooms Santa Claus and muffling whiskers

166
00:10:33,879 --> 00:10:37,840
and furs was just coming through. I heard what you

167
00:10:37,879 --> 00:10:41,360
said through the window, Missus Lane. He said. I was

168
00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:44,080
just going down in my pocket for a Christmas present

169
00:10:44,159 --> 00:10:47,879
for your husband, but I've left one for you instead.

170
00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:52,559
It's in the room to your right. Oh, thank you,

171
00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:58,000
kind Santa Claus, said Rosita brightly. Rosita went into the

172
00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:00,720
room while Santa Claus stepped into the cooler air of

173
00:11:00,759 --> 00:11:04,559
the yard. She found no one in the room, but Madison,

174
00:11:05,759 --> 00:11:08,600
where's my present? That's Sata City left for me in here,

175
00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:12,200
she asked. I haven't seen anything in the way of

176
00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:16,159
a present, said her husband, laughing, unless he could have

177
00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:21,960
met me. The next day, Gabriel Radd, the foreman of

178
00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:24,679
the x O ranch, dropped into the post office at

179
00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:29,200
Loma Alta. Well, look, Frio Kid's got his dose of

180
00:11:29,279 --> 00:11:33,200
lead at last, he remarked of the postmaster. That's so,

181
00:11:33,759 --> 00:11:39,039
how did it happen? One of Sanchez's Mexican sheepherders? Did it?

182
00:11:39,519 --> 00:11:42,720
Think of it? The Frio kid killed by a sheepherder.

183
00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:46,279
The raezer saw him riding along past his camp about

184
00:11:46,279 --> 00:11:49,320
twelve o'clock last night, and was so skeered that he

185
00:11:49,480 --> 00:11:52,679
up with a winchester and let him have it. Funniest

186
00:11:52,679 --> 00:11:54,799
part of it was the kid was dressed up all

187
00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:58,679
with white angora skin whiskers and a regular Sandy Claus

188
00:11:58,799 --> 00:12:02,399
rig out from head to foot. Think of the Frio

189
00:12:02,639 --> 00:12:11,320
kid playing santy end of a chaparral Christmas Gift by O.

190
00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:11,879
Henry