Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1873-09-18

der Texans frequently do. lie drank
champagne. He rode about Town III
hack He leased for himself ana ms
friends a whole house, including It's fix
lures, and the rental was exorbltant ms
was view unseemly behavior in man OF
his age. Then he toyed with the tiger,
and that playful animal bereaved him OF
many dollar. This spree lasted two
weeks, closing up with protracted ana
desperate encounter with faro bank, ana
old Mats little fortune of nineteen thou
sand dollars was gone where all the other
little fortunes he had made had preced-
ed it.
Matt had bet his last white chip ana
got up and walked away from the table
He went over and sat down on the win
dow sill, folded his arms and bent his
head forward on his breast. But he dld
not murmur 4 gentlemanly "capper" APP
preached him and asked him 10 take IA
drink. They went up to the size poard,
and while they stood there The latter sald
"You are in bad luck
Yes" said Matt.
Glow much are you loser?
"Flat broke" said Matt.
! But the fellow seemed TO know all about
MATHS affairs. "The dickens you arc, he
said; chow can man be fiat broke when
he has twenty thousand to his credit in
the bank?"
"Spose it b'long to somebody elsen'
queried old Matt, cycling the fellow curl
ously.
"Well, what's to hinder you taking a
couple of thousand out Of it and paying
losses back again?"
''Thar's a big sight to bender"
"What? you might keep it all for that
matter and nobody'd be wiser for it..
You reckin?"
"Why, of course; why nOt?'
Matt slowly Strengthened up to his full
height, rested his two hands on his hips
and looked the fellow square in the eye,
while his own glittered with ugly
sparkles
'I'll tell you why not" he answered
huskily; that money b'longs to an old
wilder over in Illinois,; leastways the boy
that it belonged to Belonged to her. and |
reckon she needs it powerfully, now he's
gone
what of that?'
Look here mister, reckin you don't
know me, do you? You advise me to rob
IA poor old wilder and couple oflittle gals
jist because things is so sitiwated tibet |
kin do it and not get hauled up? Doyou
take me for that sort Of man? Now ct
you do, why all I've got to say is, jist pull
your iron and step your steps, for nobody
ever called me thief before! And III
be hanged eff you shell do it and git
away!N
Old Mats Indignation fairly blazed
The fellow skunk away apologizlng and
laughing, bu. glad to change the subject
| and the customer.
Then Matt walked out and went away
| to his hotel. The next morning he got up
and the first thing he did was to go and
send nineteen thousand dollars, by ex-
| press, to George Adams old mother, in
| Illinois Then he sat down and wrote in
his cramped, rough scrawl, a letter, telling
| Mrs. Adams how her boy slept in his
| shroudess sepulchre by the cattle trail
and that he had sent her what had be
| IOnged to him, with the charges paid
This is all can do" he wrote at the
| close; 81 wish | could send your boy
| along with it but | can't. But if it's any
satisfaction TO you to know it, my dear
| madam, he died as game as ever was"
When he had mailed that letter, he
thought of his own mother, lingering
| through her last years in old Kentucky
I" can't go to her now" he said TO him
self, " cause I'm broke! I'll go back to
the range and see eff | can't make another
raise Mebbe God IL spare the old lady
a few years longer, and I'll git to see her
once more after all" Then he drew the
sleeve of his coat across his eyes and
turned away to go down to the stock
| yards, and see if he couldn't strike some
thing in the way of a job. He sold his
new watch to pay his hotel bill and then
started back to the old cattle trail again
and that was the end of five years hard
| patient work.
With nineteen thousand dollars of d
widows money in his hands, old Matt
| Grigsbv had been flat broke.
But then, he was only Texas cattle
man.-hd,asas Nag0ztpe.