The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1874-07-30

.
the wagon halted at the place called
Packers ROost, on the Yuba.
Here we rest, (" sighed Armstrong;
the stream. "No you don't,n an
swered the head of the firm. "You
buck your money away at monte, and
talk about resting? Now Armstrong
go right down the bank, sir, into that
river" AS the command was per-
emPtory, and a spirit Of obedience
was thought the safest, he obeyed
without parley; and down he went,
over head and ears, store clothes and
all, into the cold mountain stream. Il
was long time that he remained in
the water and under the water. He
would come to the surface every little
while To talk, yOu understand. 1t was
! impossible for Armstrong to forbear
talking. "Oh, yes" he would say, as
he came up and snuffed the water from
his nose, "you'n buck your money
away at three-card monte, will you ?
How do you like water-cure?" His
words were OF course duly punctuated
by irregular pluBges and eatchings OF
the breath.
1t so happened that the man who
kept the shanty hotel at the Packers
RoOst had a woman for q wife. She,
being a kind-hearted creature, be-
sought her lord to go down and ''help
the poor crazy man out of the water.p
"Pshaw ~ said the Ox-driYer, "he
amt a crazy man; he's q fool. He
walked behind my wagon and talked
to himself all the way from Scrabble
town."
Thereupon arose q lengthy discus
sion about the difference between a
crazy man and q fool. But, after
while, the landlord and the oXdriver
went down to the bank and agreed to
go Armstrong; security against buck
Ing at monte In the future, II he would
come out Of the water. So he came
out and went up to the house.
"Will you have cup Of tea or cof-
fee ?n said the woman kindly.
"Yes, madam" said Armstrong, 81
will take them both"
'He is crazy, sure as can be-" said
the woman. But she brought the two
cups as ordered. "Milk and sugar ?"
she inquired kindly as before.
No, madam, mustard and red pep
per-" answered Armstrong. = T.Tr
'lI do believe he is a fool - said the
woman, as she went for the pepper
and mustard.
Armstrong, with deliberate GOODNESS
put spoonful of red pepper into the
tea and 3 spoonful OF mustard into the
coffee. Then he poured the two to-
gether into large tin cup. Then the
old conflict ragged again, and high
above the din OF rattling tin cups and
pewter spoons sounded the stern COM
mand, "Armstrong, drink it, sir
drink it down." A momentary hesi-
tation aud q few desperate gulps and
it was down. ''Oh, yes" said our he
ro, as his throat burned and the tears
ran from his eyes, "you buck your
money at three-card monte, do you ?"
Now, the Thomsoniau dose above
described very nearly ended the battle
with poor Armstrong. He was silent
for quite a time, and everybody else
was silent. After while the landlord
to suggest that bed could
be provided ii it was desired. "NO,"
said Armstrong, "I'll sleep on the
floor. You see, stranger, p said he eye
ing the landlord with peculiar ex-
preston, ''this fool has been squander- |
ing gold dust at monte-three-card |
does not deserve to sleep |
in a bed.n r.r
So Armstrong ended the days bat
tie by going to bed on the floor. Then |
came the dreams. He first dreamed |
that he was sleeping with his feet on |
the North Pole and his head in the |
tropics, while all the miners Of Yuba |
were ground-sluieing in his stomach. |
Next he dreamed that he had sWal-
lowed Mount Shasta for supper, and |
that the old mountain had suddenly |
become an active volcano, and was |
acres of hot lava.
Then the scenes shifted, and he |
seemed to have found his final abode |
in q place of vile smells and fierce
flames, politically called the antipodes |
Of Heaven. And while he writhed and |
groaned Ia sleepiess agony, fOrktail-
ad imp with his thumb at his nose was |
saying to him in q mocking voice:
''You buck your money away on three
card monte do yOu-hey?" But even
mis- troubled sleep had an end at last,
and Armstrong arose When he look
* O. tthaE hiEHfsl5 hs l1 1I tea af he aa6dgHr
his face bore traces of wisdom that
Lau D6NGT U6Cu IllcAC OClOACs OO nc II
said: az think you have learned les
son, Armstrong. You can go back to
your mining now, sir, and leave monte
alone" Time showed he was right.
His lesson was well learned. The mi
ners looked a little curious when he
at the camp, and still call
ed him crazy. But he had learned q
lesson many of them never learned,
poor fellows. They continued their
old ways, making money fast and
spending it foolishly-even giving 1t
to monte dealers. But the Armstrong |
firm was never broken in that way but
once. After that whenever he saw
one of the peculiar signs, Robbers
"Fleecers' Den," Fools Last |
Armstrong would shake his
head with q knowing air, and say to |
himself as he passed along, "Oh, yes,
you've been there; you
know all about that; you don't buck |
your money away at three-card monte |
NOT much ui-OVeTldld Monthly.