Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1888-02-24

after q while the landlord and the
OK driver went down to the bank
and agreed to 60 Armstrong; Sc
curity against backing at monte in
future if he would come out OF the
water. so he came out and went
up to the house.
"Will you have a cup of tea or
coffee 7" SAID the wsman, kindly.
ayes, madam" said Armstrong,
81 will take both"
ale is crazy, sure as can be-"
said the woman. But she brought
the two cups as ordered. "Nlllk
and sugarV she inquired, kindly
as before.
"No, madam, mustard and red
pepper answered Armstrong.
81 do believe he is fool" said
the woman, as she went for the
pepper and mustard.
Armstrong, with deliberate cool
ness, put q spoonful of red pepper
into the tea and a spoonful OF mus
tard into the coffee. Thenh he pour
ed the two together into a tin cup.
Then the old conflict ragged again.
and high above the din of rafting
tin cups and pewter spoons, sound
ed the stern command: "Armstrong,
drink it, sir-drink it down." A
momentary hesitation and a few
desperate gulps and 1t was down.
"Oh, yes" said our hero, as his
throat burned and the tears ran
down his eyes, "you buck your
money away at the three card
monte, do you?"
Now, the ThOmpsonian dose
above described, very nearly end
ed the battle with poor Armstrong.
He was silent for quite time, and
everybody else was silent. After
a while the landlord ventured to
suggest that a bed could be pro
vided if one was desired. "No,'
said Armstrong, "l'll sleep on the
floor. You see, stranger" said he
eyelng the landlord with a peculiar
expression, "this fool has been
squandering gold dust at monte
three card mOnte-and does not de
serve to sleep in a bed
so Armstrong ended the days
battle by going to bed on the floor
Then came the dreams. He first
dreamed that he was sleeping or
the North Pole and his head in the
tropics, while all the miners in Yubs
we're ground sluicing in his stom
ach. Next, he dreamed that he had
swallowed Mount Shasta for sup
per, and the old mountain had sud
denly become an active volcano
and was vomiting acres and acres
of hot lava.
Then the scenes shifted, and h'
seemed to have found his final abode
in a place OF vile smells and fierce
flames, politely called the antipode'
| of heaven. And while he writheC
and groaned in sleepless agony
fork tail fiend, with his thumb a
his nose, was saying to him IN
mocking voice "You buck you
money away at three card monte
do you-hey :" But even this trou
bIed sleep had an end at last, an'
Armstrong arose. When he look
ed at himself in the broken looking
glass that hung on the wall h'
thought his face bore traces of Wis
| dom that he never saw there before
| So he said, 81 think you have learn
ed a lesson, Armstrong. You cal
20 back to yOur mining now, sir
| and leave monte alone"
Time showed that he was right
| His lesson was we'll learned. TIL
miners looked a little curious wheI
he reappeared at the camp, an'
still called him crazy. BIT he ha'
learned a lesson many Of them ha'
never learned, poor fellows. The
continued their Old ways, maklnI
money fast and spending it foolish
ly-even giving it to monte deal
ers. But the Armstrong firm wa
never broken in that way but once
After that, whenever he saw ON
Of the peculiar signs, "Robbers
Roost.D "Fleecers' Den," or "FoolS
| Last Chance" Armstrong woulC
shake his head with a knowing al
and say to himself as be passed
along, "Oh, yes, Armstrong, you'v
been there; you know all abou
that; you don't buck your none
away at three card mOnte-no
Al