Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1876-10-11
would makea short, determined rnsh

causing Mr.. Forbes to scuttle across
the street in a perfect whnlwind If
dust and sticks and a rafting yollev
of chi! hoo-y! shoe, there! hoo-y'',
the enthusiasm of the audience was
unbounded. Once, Mr.. Forbes got the
cowfairly cornered and headed her right,
into the gate, but just as the gray light
of victory fell upon his uplifted face.
Mrs. Forbes and the hired girl came
charging out in mad pursuit of flock
of geese that had taken advantage of
the open gate to stroll in and have a
nip at the house-plants on the back
porch. Squacking, hopping and scream
ing, the flying geese and the pursuing
column came out like RUNAWAY edi-
ton OF chaos, and the COW gave snort
OF terror and turned short upon Mr..
Forbes, who tossed his hands more
wildly and shouted more vociferously
than ever, and got out of the way with
neatness and dispatch, just as the cow
went by with the sWiftness of a golden
opportunity or vagrant thought. Mr..
Forbes blood was up and he was bound
to head off that cow If it was In the
power of man. Spurred to intense
energy by the derisive shouts of the
children, he bent his head and picked
up his flying feet. They got pretty
fair start, Forbes and the COW, and as
they swept up the street, they could
look into each others eyes and glare
defiance while they spurred the dust
with flying feet. Mr.. Forbes ran un-
til his eyes seemed bursting out of
his head and his very soul seemed to
be in his legs, the perspiration started
out of every pore, under fire pres
sure, every time he struck the ground
with his boot he thought he felt
the earth shake, and yet, though he
tugged and sweat and strained until
the landscape was yellow us corn-meal
before his bloodShot eyes, he couldn't
gain hairs breadth on the shambling,
awkward COW that went sprawhng
and kicking along by his side, filling
the soft September air with such a
wild, tumultuous, horrible jangling of
bells that Forbes made up his mind to
throw the bell away the moment he
got the cow home. The people on the
streets stopped and waved their hands
and cheered enthusiastically as the pro-
cession swept past, ladies leaned out of
the windows and smiled sweetly on the
man and COW alike. Once Forbes
stumbled over crossing and had to
take steps twenty-three feet long for
the next half block to keep from fall
ing, and he was sure he was split clear
up to the chin and would have to but
ton his trousers around his neck for
ever afterward, but he wouldn't give
in to COW if he died for it. At the
next corner the COW turned off down
side street; Forbes shot across the
sidewalk for short cut, and the next
instant he went crashing halfway
through a latticed tree-boX. A street
car driver stopped his car and assisted
Mr.. Forbes to sitting posture, leaned
him up against fence and went on
with his train. And as Mr.. Forbes
sat, in dazed kind of way, mechaIIl-
cally rubbing the dust and dirt off his
coat, and pinning up long gashes and
grimly grinning apertures in his clothes
there came to his ears the distant tin
kle, tinkle of far away cow-bel, the
mellowed sound rising and falling in
tender cadences, with a dreamy. sway
ing melody, as Though the bell was
somewhere over in the adjoining coun-
ty, and the COW that wore it was waltz
ing along over a country road a thou
sand miles minute. -Burljngt0R
Hapk-Eye.