The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1885-12-25

| ucE IL was easy 70 uuOetSt8uU tu0
look of tenderness which lighted up
the old ranchman's face whenever be
mentioned his ''little GAL"
"Well. sirs," he continued upon
gaining his seat in the smoker-and
by this time every man in the car was
a listene--''well, sirs, we didn't say
much becux our heads had power
full sight of thinking in 'em and our
feet wuz busy climbing over the rock
towards Parsons. It wuz ; long
time sence we'd a ben engaged in
| SIGH business; but we knOwed Pear
son deserved it, and we meant to
| give him such q talking to as he
wouldn't have no chance to forgit.
"But the cards wuz packed agin
US. In the center of the road, Jest
where we meant to leave it to climb
down toward Parsons, an old
greasly bar wuz camped as cool as
you please, diggin' among the rocks
fur worms. Hadn't seen no bar in
these diggin's fur years, and l begun
to think that things wuz happening
powerful brisk all at once, and that
| it never rains fun but it pores, when
clip went old man Bassett' srifle and
clip went Pete's, and the greasly
started down the hill toward Pear
sons with q bullet in his forehead
and another in his chist.
"You remember I told you that
could Almost look down PearsOn's
chimbly from the road. Well, that's
what the bar did. an more. He
jest natchelly tumbled down the side
of the mountain and gave one big
bound Jest above the shanty and
went kerplump onto the roof, smash
ing in the rafters like they were
straw and knocking the mud CHM
bly, seven ways for Sunday.
when we got there the little gal
wuz in her night dress, standing in
the middle of the floor and rubbing.
her eyes.
:" is it Christmas?' she SEE, and
is st. Nicholas GOMEZ And what
woke me up?'
II ketched her up in my arms and
wrapped my coat all around her, 50
she couldn't see what had walked
her up, and l seq, SEE 1:
"'It amt quite Christmas. yit,
honey seq /; but St. Nicholas is
come, sure, and he's got a whole
raft of things for you, up to my
ranch
81 want my stocking she SEE,
kinder struggling to git away from
me. Father don't know hung it
up, but did. and want it.
''Well, sirs, jest to quiet her, I
found out where she'd hung her
stocking, way up the chimbly, where
her father couldn't see it, becuz she
knew powerful well he wouldn't hev
no sech foolishness, and got one
of the boys to kinder hunt around
for it, jest to4uiet her.
"Well, sirs, gentlemen, that thar
little stocking-with more holes and
patches and places where she had
cobhled it herself with cotton string
than stocking-wuz q laying in the
ashes Jest where the bar had knocked
it when he broke down the chimbly,
and they wuz a 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 to the meanest intellec' that in
falling the greasly's paw had clawed
out a pocket of gold in the rocks jest
above the shanty, and the whole had
jest natchelly gravitated down with
the bar.
HE wuz dead; Of course, and
when the boys KEN to lift him. Jake
Pearson wuz under him, smashed 50
that he had just breath enough
to tell me where to find the little
gals ma before he went.
1.-The next day-Christmas Day
We sasshayed around there with
shovels, and after some little trouble
in tracing it we finally located the
pocket and dug out the balance of
the gold. I had every crumb Of it
melted into this yer brick in my
handkerchief, and when We get to
St Louey ! hands it over to my little
gals ma, and / seq, seq /:
''Cour hundred and two dollars
and twenty-three cents a. .
Christmas gift for your little gal r
from . greasly bar. who was
whiter Christian than ever Jake
Pearson wuz. madam. Begin your \
PARDON ses L" e
"Lathrop-twenty-fi minutes ~
fsrr! sang out the brakeman.
= the train allowed up ct the
supper station, four hours and
fifteen minutes out Of San ~
Erancisco.-Hesry NeUpot. - -
Detroit Free Ress. n ~
&o. ~