The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1878-02-21

EN- an tumbhn' 'em over an n'oyer. tin.
way in the back distance with the sun a
shlnin' on 'em they looked like red-hot
Goals a bobbin' along after; US, tryin' to
| ketch up Ter to have it out 18th US fer
alsturbin 'em. Queerish kind of fancy
that, too, come to think of it, but that's
the way they looked to me, any wav.
'There'sa little shanty about mid
way in them woods-we'il come to ,em
soon now, an you can see for yourself
as the train hands call Stump Station ,
cos there haint nothing there sides the
shanty but stumps. Sometimes the
shingle-weavers and bark-peelers as
camp out way back in the woods come
out there to board the train, or to git
provision, which is expressed up to
them from the city, an sometimes in
the shootin' season city feller or two
come up to hunt, gifts off there, but it
haint no regular station, am nobody
stays there an SO it's very seldom we
stop.
!" But this time I'm telling you of, and
| while | was standin' out there on the
platform tryin' to calculate how long
1t would be at the rate [ was maxim
money (times was better then) before I
could say some words had in my mind
to say, as soon as l was well enough
fixed, to a certain little dark-eyed gal,
as L was sure was waitin' patient and
expectin' OF me to say 'em. Don't mind
tellin' you this now, you see, sir, COS
that came out all right long ago, an
I've never had cause to be sorry for say
in them words, but kinder think they
was the most sensible ones I ever said.
Well, as | was standing there, out
comes a young teller as had come up
with us from Philadelphia He was
nobby-looking feller, dressed out all
regular in shootin' coat, peaked hat,
high-top boots, dogs an guns, an big
hamper in the baggage-car; quiet and
civil, a reg'lar blooded gentleman you'd
say at first sight, an he was very good
lookin' with his wide-open blue eyes,
and brown, curly hair and beard, but
still didn't quite like i'm; not but what
he was pleasant an decent enough to
me, but whenever he spoke his upper
lip had a fashion of lifting ,up-kind o.
snarly like; an when he laughed, which
Re did of'en an easy, it was a regular
out an out snarl, an looked jist like
one of them ere dogs you've mebbe seen.
with their upper teeth stickin' out over
the under Ones-they can t bite, no WAYS,
but they're fearful on a snarl. But |
had my notions that this feller could
bite too, as well as snarl, if it so pleased
him, and | says to myself, thinking of
him, You'll bear watching, you will
an KEEP eye on him accordin'
:" Well, sir, that gent wore on the lit.
tie finger of his left hand this same
identical hairring. 1t took my notice
while a-talkin' to him, though being
made out o. two kinds o. hair, an one.
sort I'd swear was off his own curly
pate. So, by and by, talkin' o. one
thing an another, I works around to
rings, an finally made bold to say to
him
"sThat's Gurus kind of ring for
gent to wear, SIR ~
"He looked at it, twisted it around
careless like, turned kind o. red and
laughed little-snarl still showing out
plain-an' says qggHff aes3
".Yes, rather neat thing; do you
fancy it?'
Don't understand you, sir, says.
sWhat might you mean?'
"'I mean,' says he, If you like it you
may have it.; I'm rather tired of it my
self, and with that he pulls it off an
hands it over
sssMuch obleeged to you, SIR says I;
sbut | wasn't meanin' to ask for it, not
by no means.
"sOh,' he says, its of no conse-
quence; if / hadn't give ito you I'd a
give it to some one else,' and with that
he turns about and walks into the car.
and puts the ring on my finger, think
in it would make a pretty keepsake to
give my little gal-and when we came
to Stump Station my gentleman gets
out, dogs and guns and baggage and
snarl and all, an that's the last / ever
see of him.
"About two weeks after that time
there was a very pretty young lady got
on the train at Elm Station, just out of
Philadelphia, you know. She didn't
have nobody with her, and seemed kind
o. tiinid like and skeery; never moyin'
hardly out of her first posish, 'cept
when the train stopped at some station,
tho being tnrough express we didn't
StOp dt inauy-Due WHeH we uiu Ho-
ticed she allus pulled her thick black
veil down over her pretty face and kind
er turned her head into one corner o.
the seat, lettin' on to be asleep, an
when any body came in or went past
her seat-which some of 'em as haven't
travelled much is allays a doin', you
know, sir, walkin' up and down restless,
an goin' for drinks and changin' seats
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES they did that |
could see her give little jumps and look
kinder quick and frightened like, an
lo hl,od q IL h int, lo,.