The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1885-04-11

greeS below zero. Even MIS- Illus
Perrin, the sole person VINO ever i'm
plicitly believed Tim, had had to admit
that this particular story was triiie
''steep" She usually asserted, as in
creasing Tins credibility, that he was
one of those lucky people of whom it
might be said, as of one of Mrs. Whit
news well-known characters, that
''where he was, things happened, .
which was the reason why he always
had so many strange adventures to tell.
Even the expression of her doubt in this
instance was tempered with charity.
81 think it might be true Tim," she
had added. ''You always pay your
bills and keep your promises, and l al
ways try to believe such men till they
are proved false"
Beats all what women will swaller"
laughed ''Skep' Thompson.
Mrs. Titus Perrin's sister, Mrs. Hard
away, who had just arrived in town to
pay her sister visit, after many years
absence in the far West had brought
her sewing in from the living room be-
hind the store to keep her sister COM
pany. Her son, boy of sixteen or
seventeen, who had attended her on
her journey, was among the group of
men around the stove. Mrs. Hardaway
evidently did not agree with her sister,
and she now took occasion to say so.
~ didn't believe it., she remarked.
coldly. Its just as hard for some
women to swallow lies as it is for some
men,"
They all laughed.
Eyes, | suppose So" said "Skep'
Thompson. But Tim here counts
most too much on everybody's ability to
swaller You can talk, Tim-I'll own
you're glib as if you'd been to college,
and hang me if | don't rather enjoy
hearin' you on the whole. But you
mustn't expect us to beJjeUe you, that's
all
"An right" said Fisherman Tim,
with imperturhable good nature. 81
don't know as l can expect an igno-
ramus like you, Skep, to understand
these yarns. It's like tellin' a blind
man about colors, or those fellows
down there where | used to be about
ice. They never would believe that
there could be such thing. But, good
ness knows, don't want to talk any
more. My tongues downright tired. "
80, nor said Titus Perrin, encourage
ingly; you were going to say some
thing about Dakota. That's change
Maybe Skep could understand that.
He's been to Dakota himself. Let's
have it.
The men, after cracking a few more
jokes at Tins expense, gradually as
sumed listening attitude, and that
| oracle proceeded.
You see, Lem Schroeder-he was a
Minnesota man | used to knoW-and |
were up north, prospectin'. 1t was
Just after | came back from the tropics.
l knew [ was CROWN Old and [ didn't
want to die down there, so Twas comm
north to settle. Lem was a peddIer,
and he had a good team, So as we ped
| died along the way, we hadn't been at
much expense, and we'd had a pretty
| good time. 1t was late in September
when we set out, and when it got into
November, and pretty squally, we both
thought we'd better be gettin' back to
his place. just then Lem took sick
| hard sick, too.
g ..Neyer nind.,says he. .v YOU Jake
there was quite a lot of goods left
and by the time you get back I'll be
all right
''Well, there was a good farmers
wife up there promised to see to him,
and | went off; but when | came back
he WASH t any better, and the weeks
went on, and still he didn't get we'll
The snow got deep, and rather thought
we'd better winter up there, but nothin'
would do for Lem but he must 90 home:
so, as soon as he got pretty strong.
again, we started. We'd planned it so
that we could get from one place to an
other pretty comfortable every day. and
if there was a storm we'd put up till it
| blew over
ut was Christmas mornin' when we
started, before light, and clear and
cold as piece of ice. The sun came
out, though, after awhile, bright enough.
The snow was deep, but it was packed
hard, and we drove over the smooth
prairie like mad. At noon we stopped
for dinner at a farmer named Perkins,
but we didn' want to lose much time
such good day, so we were on the
road again shortly after one.
at was along about half-past two
when, all of sudden, Lem looked Oft
at the sky behind us, and, says he,
What in thunder is that black cloud?'
and, sure enough, right back of us
was big cloud; and yet not a cloud
neither, a sort of darkness, more like
you know how it looked if you've
ever been in a regular blizzard and it
WASH t. creepin', it was comm along
faster than any express train you ever
saw. We whipped up as lively as we
could, and Lem headed for little house
that we could just see way off on the
skyline. But the cloud was goin' about
hundred times as fast as we were, and
it wasn't fifteen minutes before we
knew it wasn't any use, our tearin'
along so. So far as we saw, we had got
to stand and take it the best way we
could.
"It.grew darker and darker around
us, till it was all kind of a twilight.
but once in awhile this twilight would
sorter lift like, and then we could see
two or three clumps of trees there were
in sight, and the little house off on the
sky line, full six miles away, and they
looked white, as if they were made of