West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1884-01-04

. looked al us sOlemnly; Name tOddlcd
up TO him. He looked at her curiously,
but did not move.
Get out, john" said Jack: "you
needn't be scared no more; we're 10
home"
He got out stinlv. and. to nv sur
prise turned and lifted the baby down.
She caught his pig-tail and pulled il i'm
wild delight. He seemed grieyed when
/ took her away. When Jack told Mary,
the good soul found thousand reasons
why he should stay. and hurried to
make him bed i'm the attic. The Ce-
lestial did not say much, but when Jack
I called him John he smiled sad
smile.
Mclean man callec John. Hump
| Yik Keen
SO with due consideration for his feel
| ings we addressed him rs Yik Kce. lie
| wa of great use. He helped take care of
| the ch ldrcn, did the washing MARY did
not fancy his method of sprinkl;ng
! clolhcs) and helped Jack on the farm.
| We msdc him one of the family. He
was always pleasant and smiling, but
was a man of few words.
| Cousin Jack added much TO his in
| come by trading in hides. Ranchmen
| wing at distance sold their hides TO
him, and Jack sold them. To traders who
| came around at certain times in the
! year. Harry White was partner i'm
the business. He used to go on sort
OF roundup and visit the ranches all
over the country. The cattle of tn,
ranchmcn roamed in vast herds over
/ the plains, protected only by the brand
! of the owner. Cattle stealing was fre.
! quently prac;iccd. Offenders i'm this ne
! spcct were shown no mercy. They were
| convicted, tr ed and executed only i'm
! the court of Jud @ Lynch. never
! blamed the ranchmen for this; il was
! impossible to guard the herds i'm the
/ vast area over which they travcrsed.
ana the catt.c must be protected i'm some
I way. & Mead was Il wealthy ranch
man, who lived about ten miles from us.
/ lie owned TIE largest herd of cattle on
the plains. They were branded with
the vOwcls of his name, f.. A, which
could be rccogri ed anywhere He
/ always shipped his cattle East TO his
! brother in Chicago. feared the man.
lie was tall and gaunt, with deep-sct
/ black eyes and low forehead. His home
| was unhappy; his wife cross and ugly,
and his children wild and unruly. This
made him more than commonly dis
] agreeable.
think it was in the fall Of II that
! Harry White brought the big load of
I hides TO Jack. Both were much pleased
at the bargain they made Harry rave
/ glowing accounts of Il new customcr-a
ranchman from Chicago who had taken
up an abandoned homestead. He had
purchased many cattle from his cousin.
Gil Mead, and hoped to rival him in the
number and quality of his herd Jack
/ packed the hides away To keep till De-
/ cember' when we expected the dealer.
One afternoon, not long after this,
/ Gil Mead rode up to the house. looking
! very agreeable and pleasant. A couple
| OF strangers, also ranchmen, were with
nm They wanted to look at the
hldeS, one OF the men being Il trad r.,
/ Gil said. Jack was in Denver. SO Xix
/ kec and went to the barn with them.
| They looked the hides over carefully.
ana conversed in low tones, Gil with a
| suppressed oath. Finally they thanAed
us courtcously and took their leave.
Hump no goo lee" sa Il Yik Kee,
/ but he wuuldn't say any more.
At five that evening. when we were
at supper, n crowd Of twenty-five or
/ thirty men rode up on horseback. Jack
came out and met them, inviting them
in to take supper in his generous, hos.
/ pltable way. They wanted him to 90
| TO Denver with them; there was to be a
meeting there of importance to ranch
men. The meeting would be at eipht.
/ They had brought with them an extra
/ horse for Jack. Mary looked around
! for Yik Kee to help her. but he had
/ mystcrlously disappeared. | family
| remembered seeing his white, horrifel
| face peering around the barn ut the
| horses. | noted the visitors ate little
/ the food seemed to choke them. Some
| of them watched Mary and the baby in
/ queer sort of way. When Jack. rs
/ was his custom, kissed his wife and ba-
! bles goodbye, one of the visitors. an
| oidish man, coughcd huskily, and said.
"Blcst if | kin stan this They all
| rode of, Jack the merIiest Of all. way
ing his hat till he was out of sight.
When we were clearing mp the unu-
sual quantity of dishes Yik Kce ap-
| Peared at the end window and beck
| oncd me. | followed him out Ted was
with him. Behind the barn were
the three horses. saddlcd. Shcp
was with them, released from confine-
meHt where he had been secured from
| following his master.
"Foller EN-, said Ted, in an excited
whisper. "Yik's afraid they're are up
10 something.
What is it, Yik?" ! said. sternly.
mo foOling now.
For answer he twisted his long pic
tail around his neck, tying il under his
let ear In a significant manner
Hump he hangee; stealee COW"
Oh, Mary, I sobbod. remember,
| Gil Mead Wis T. and his strange actions.
and dimly seeing what Yik Kee meant.
- must tell Mary" ! said, wildly.
"Hump, no, said Yik Kce. "Yellce
/ SILK, and he closed his eyes in a die
/ away sort oil manner "Go now too
/ l0tcc.'
We mounted
Mothcr'll think we're conc 90 ride. 90
said IcJ,as we gallopcd over The plains.
lie wa- dcathly pale poor little fellow.
but he sat erect and firm I saw his
father biz Colts revolver sticking out
Of his pocket tie was adct.rm ned bow.
Even in my despair I'm my wild hone
that could save Jack bv b.gginy 6n
my kn"ce that could cling to him
and that they would have TO- Kim rp.
first ] could not help % smile at Tho
romIcaI iigur Yik Koe presented ON
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