Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1885-04-10


We'll 90 down and talk to him,
right off, SEE they.
"'Bring the little gal up 10 our
ranch, after you get through with
him. sez my old lady; she kin have
home with US so long as she blame
pleases.
Tibet druv the mail home and
clinched her on the other side. the
wimmen wuz with US. So we tux
along q stout luther lariat, with a
running moose in one end, kinder
handy fur talking to sech carrloh ez
Pearson, and jest as night wuz Begin
ming to set in we got under way
toward his ranch Thep WIZ six of
us-Hank Fletcher, Gale Bledsoe,
Pete, and me-jest enough to be
Judge, jury, and executioner.
Cap. paused here to light fresh
cigar; bat before the flames of the
match had taken hold On the tobacco
he tossed the burning match aside.
jest excuse ne for about two
seconds, gentlemen, whilst waltz IN
and see ef my little gal is haker
IN for anything that | kin get her"
The girl was contentedly cuddled
up in a corner OF the green plash-
covered seat. fast asleep, with her
head resting on a soft black and white
plaid shawl. With her delicate fea
lures and beautiful yellow hair, she
would have been considered lovely
anywhere, and after seeing her it was
easy to understand the look of tender
ness which lighted up the old ranch
mans face whenever he mentioned his
''little gal"
"Well, sirs," he continued upon
gaining his seat liz the Smoker-and
by this time every man ia the car was
a listener-"w sirs, we didn't say
much, becuz our heads had a power
full sight of thinking in 'em and our
feet wuz busy climbing over the rock
toward Parsons. 1t wuz a long time
sense we'd a ben engaged in SIGH
business; but we knowed Pearson
deserved it, and we meant to give him
no chance to forgit.
"But the cards 1uz packed agin us.
In the center of the road, Jest where
we meant to leave it, to climb down
toward Pearson's, an old greasly bar
wuz camped as cool rs you please,
diggin' among the rocks fur worms.
] hadn't seen no bar IN these diggln's
fur years, and l begun to think that
things wuz happening powerful brisk
all at once, and that it never rains fun
but 1t pores, when clip went old man
Bassett's rifle and clip went Pete's,
and the greasly started down the hull
toward Pearson's with bullst in his
forehead and another in his chest
You remember | told you that
could almost look down Pearson
chimbly from the road. Well, that's
what the bar did, an more He just
natchelly tumbled down the side of
the mountain and gave one big bound
jest above tho shanty and went ker-
plump onto the roof, smashing in the
rafters like they were straw and knock
ing the mud chimbly seven ways fur
Sunday.
when we got there the little gal
wuz in her night dress, standing in
the middle Of the floor and rubbing
her eyes.
"'fs it Christmas3" she sez and is
ST. Nicholas Gomez And what woke
me up9"
Il ketched her up in my arms and
wrapped my coat all around her, so
she couldn't see what had walked her
up, and SCI |
"It amt quite Christmas yit,
honey SEE l; but st. Nicholas is
come, sure, and he's got whole raft
of things fur you up ts my ranch.
81 want my stocking she seq,
kinder struggling to get away from
me Father don't know l hung it
up, but | did, and | want it.
"Well, sirs, jest to quiet her found
out where she'd hung her stocking,
way up the chimbly, where her father
couldn'tsee it, becuz she knew power
| full well he wouldn't hev no Sech fool
ishness, and | got one of the boys to
kinder hunt around fur it, jest to
quiet her.
well, sirs, gentlemen, that thar
| little siocking-wlth more holes and
patches and places where she had
| cobbled ii herself with cotton string,
that stocking-wuz a laying III the
ashes Jest where the bar had knocked
it when he broke down the chlmbly,
and they wuE nugget of gold as big
as my three fingers right on top of it.
| Two or three smaller pieces wuz
scattered around, and it wuz plain Ia
| the meaRest iatellec' that in falling
the greasky's paw had clawed out 8
pocket OF gold In the rocks jest above
the shanty, and the whole had jest
natchslly gravltated down with The
| bar.
He wuz dead, of course, and wher
the boys KEN to lift him, Jake Pear
son wuz under him, smashed so thai
he had jest breath enough to tell me
where to find the little girls ma before
| he went.
The next day-Christmas Day
we sasshaysd around there with
shoyels and picks, and, after so nt
little trouble in tracing it, we finally
located the pocket and dug out the
balance OF thegold. l had every
crumb of it melted into this yer brics
in my handkerchief, and when we
get to st. Louey ] hands it over tc
my little gals ma, and SEE, seq l:
-Four hundred and two dollars aso
| twenty three cents as Christmas gift
for your little gal, from a greasly bar
who was winter Christian than ever
Jake Pearson wuz, Madam, Begin
your pardon. sezI."
'Lsthrop-twenty.a minutesfssor =
sung out the brakeman, as the train
slowed up at the supper station, four
hours and ffteen minutes out of San
| Francisco.