The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-02-07
ROBBING THE STAGE.

common consent q stage, which ran be-
tween Bokey'S and Logtown, was crawl
ing up the long grade which cork
screwed around to the summit of Pilot
Knob 1t was necessary To do, this in
order that a good preparatory start
might be had for the succeeding rafting
plunge down the other corkscrcw road
which led to Logtown.
BY the side of Black Pete, the driver,
sat an Eastern importation of the genus
drummer. Pete rolled his tobacco
into his cheek, snapped fly off the ear
OF his nigh leader and said:
mo, sir, don't git no pay fer fight
in, an l don't do no tightin' for Their
Company, II AIRY galoot stops this hyer
stage and perlitely like asks for the
cash box, he's gwine ter cit it. Tain't
no use, no ways. to fight them tellers.
they always hev Their drap on ye"
''But, said the drummer, "were YOU
ever robbed on this route?'
wal, no, but I've seed fellers Il loaf
in round heer ez | thought mought do
it some time er other
And if they did stop You, YOU would
give them the express box and drive on,
EN-"
Yer bet! Ii Their Express Company
wants to perfect Their box they must send
! a messenger along"
The stage crawled up slowly to the
top of the hill, and Black Pete settled
his foot firmly ON the brake-strap. and
with scat EN-, boys" the sweating
horses started to investigate the myster-
les of the almost invisible road below
them OH keen gallop.
Round aud round the rapidlv-varying
road the stage and the passengers
whircd, sometimes losing sight of the
horses around the sharp turns and again
Slowing sharply outward toward the
dangerous cage of the canyon which
yawned below them.
The sun was down and the moon was
painting weird and restless shadows on
the powdered dust of the grade.
1t was just the time for the imagina-
| ton to picture scenes of violence, rob
berry and blood. Suddenly the chapar-
raj bushes by the roadside slightly part
ed, and a long shining black object was
waved over them toward the stage A
shadowy figure rose in the moonlight
among the bushes and from behind &
black veil, which smothered the yoict
somewhat, came the hoarse command o.
stop, stop"
Black Pete hurriedly pushed his foo
heavily down upon the brake, reached
down into the bottom of the stage, pull
ing out the express box and muttering
''cnss yer. take, it, threw the box into
the road. The restless horses immedi
ately plunged away into the shadows o
the forest
IVA was that highwayman2" gasp
ed the drummer.
/ In course it wns,' answered Pete
''didn't yer see Their shootin' iron
Thar goes Il cool thousand dollars, as
knows on, You bet Their boys Il be on
arter him tonight Ishouldn't wonde
if that war old Bart himself. He's
cool one, he Is He always shoots hi
mouth off in some potry. Leaves it i
the box when he gets through with il
Didn' yer notice how level he held tina
thar shootin iron right towards me-
The lights of Logtown now glistene
below them, and few turns Of tn
corkscrew brought the stage up to tn
hotel porch where it stopped with lou
whoa" from Black Pete. Not man
. minutes elapsed before the prophecy {
n of Pete was realized, for As soon as til
story OF the bold robbery of Wells
E FargO's box was related dozen OF 5
{ ready miners volunteered to search ii
woods for the road agent After ha
an hours swearing and drinking ovt
the matter they saddled their horses an
started for the scene OF the robbery.
1t was a little, eramped-up helte
SHELTER mining town among the Sierra
: One need not rise early in Scar Hole
" see the sun rise, for he will not See it
h. does. Old Sol is never visible the
until ten in the morning. The roug
picturesque cabins looking for all Il
world like dilapidated dice thrown
random from the box, and built DEF
down in hole between the surroundiI
peaks And vet they actually had
telephone connecting them with t
outside world. The denizens of Sea-
IN Hole were not given to an indulgenc
20 business communications with the gre
a. commercial centers, but their telepho
was the means of preventing many
the inhabitants from spending the l
+ maindcr of their earthly days at the
sane asylum. Every morning when t
It echoing of the booming blasts and t
thud of the pick had ceased in the HI
dozen mining claims surrounding I
81 camp the wearied. lonely miners gath
eli at the little cabin in which W
placed the telephone, and gave vent
their pent-up feelings by, not u fl
. fight, but by free interchange of 9,
ro sip with the residents of the cam
o' above and below them on the line of
cd wire.
~ Such was their Unborn detestation
nj any man who followed any pur5
NJ. which did not require active labor W
md their hands and such was their chivat
as devotion to the fair sex, that the m,
agement of their part OF the telephC
was given to n Young lady by the ma
of Frances Goldsmith.
K On the afternoon OF June = tn Is
Miss Frank, as She wa usually CALI
sat in the little Telephone office watt
N for the nightly crowd OF manly goss
ers to come in.
The little rocking-chair in which
sat went humping TO and fro nos
y and nervously upon the pine floor
II Ethe tiny slippered foot beat a nerve
&c tattoo in unison with 1t.
Its too bad" she cried, impe
lously. ''it's too bad for Charley to We
down in that old holo in the ground
the winter and then sell out for a 7
trv thousand. And he's doing it
49, so he can be married this summer, to-
rs ,5 q nrntty little wave of blt