Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1876-01-05

trouble soon enough. The boys got into
words one night, and Kirby threw a mug
at Clint, who out with his knife and was
at Kirby like fash. Luckily Tor him
Clints eyes weren't in good seeing order.
and the liquor hadn't made his arm any the
more steady, SO Kirby only got scratch
on his arm. 1t showed what Clint would
like to do, though, and some of the BOYS
made pretty heavy bets on the end of it.
l stuck up for Kirby, for you see knew
him pretty well, and there was true grit in
him; and then, too, he was uncommon
pleasant about it, and even stopped saying
much about Clint's blocking up our luck
over ut the Run.
We'll. just about then Jack White
came over from Cambria and told Clint
that he'd heard that his uncle was asking
around where he was. You see, Clint's
uncle had store down there and had
made tidy pile of money, and, rs he
hadn't any children, he said he wouldn't
mind leaving it to him If he was living
respectable. Clint had lived with him
when he was boy, but they hadn't got
along very well, 80 Clint ran off. The
old man didn't mind this, though, and
now he wanted to lind him. Jack said he
was sure that if Clint was to go over and
play his cards right he'd get the money.
You may be sure this was q stroke of
luck for Clint just then, and he didn't like
to lose it; but you see he didn't look very
genteel, and he knew his uncle was sharp
enough to find it out. He was fat enough,
for whisky never made a living skeleton
of him, but it was plain that il WASH;
good health that had made his nose so
red, nor fine manners that had given him
the cut across his cheek and bruised up
his eye. The boys all allowed that he
was the hardest looking chap in the camp,
and, If his uncle left him his money, ii
wouldn't be on the strength of his good
cOuntenance! But, you know, he had to
do something right OF, and so he wrote
pretty letter to the old man as ever l want
to see; but VIXEN the, answer came, il said
his uncle was very sick, and rs he had
something particular to say to him,
wouldn't Clint come over at once, and in
closed he'd find the money for his fare. |
tell you this stumped Clint, for he'd he'd
another fight and was a picture to behold.
g But here's where the surprise to us all
came in. Clint was pretty well puzzled
what to do, and while all the boys were
advising him Kirby spoke up. I'd no
'Neu Ho was PiCuy qulct, Dut uoDOuy
could have guessed what he was thinking
about. He looked some like Clint, and
once had been pitched into by a new Dig
ger Run boy for Clint. The fellow never
made the second mistake about them. 1t
wasn't rs though they were twins but they
both had brown hair and long boards,
blue eyes, and were about the same build,
so you couldn't have made descriptive
list OF the one that wouldn't have done for
the other. What Kirby said was that
Clints uncle hadn't seen him since he
was boy and he'd expect to find him
changed; and although he--that's Kirby,
you know-had had hard feeln's to Clint,
he wasn't a man to hold Il grudge, and
he'd let by-gones he by-gones. So, ii
Clint thought well of it, he'd go over TO
Cambria, and if he found the land lay
right he'd pass off for him and make
things sure.
This struck us all OF heap, for we
knew Kirby could do it if he chose and If
nobody interfered with him, and that he
really could cajole the old man better
than Clint could for when that fellow
got wound up to talk he was alters going
you five better. Some of the boys thought
II rather risky, and they wanted Clint to
write and say he had the typhoid fever,
and so stave ii oft until he looked fit to
90; but he knew that if he crossed his
uncle now he'd likely enough lose every
thing, and so he thought it best to make
sure and let Kirby go and see, anyhow.
One thing that helped Kirby along was
that his first wife had come from Cambria,
and he'd heard her talk so much about
the people that he knew nearly rs much
of them rs Clint did. To make the mat.
ter sure Clint stuffed him with all he re-
membered, and one night we got up
practicing; and we made out that we
were the folks, and Kirby pow vowed to
the minister, and old Miss Cranby-that
was me!-and the doctor, until he knew
his lesson and we'd nearly split our sides
laughing.
"Of course, seeing the interest we all
took in 1t, we weren't going to do the
thing half, SO we dubbed together and
got Kirby a suit Of store clothes and a
shiny valisc, and he went off as proper as
parson-begging your pardon!-and we
settled down again. He wrote pretty
prompt, and said everything was going on
as smooth as oil The old man had called
out that 1t WAS Clint as soon as he saw
him, before he'd said word, and Kirby
wrote it would have been kind Of cruel to
have told him better. SO he didn't. He
wrote several more letters, and once Jack
White had letter from his sister, saying
that Clint Bowers had come home, and it
was said that the old man was ticklcd to
death with his manner, and meant to leave
him all lie had. This cinched it sure
enough, and Clint became tip-top among
the boys, and his credit was good for all
the drinks he chose to order, ana must
say he was liberal enough, and nobody
contradicted him, He wrote 10 Kirby-he
was all the time writing TO him-but this
time he told how handsome lie thought it
was in him to do all this, considering
ey' rything. When the answer came
Kirby said he didn't profess much relig-
In, ~ ~ liz.