Wichita eagle., 1888-01-14
JUST HIS LUCK.

"Thar NAV be nothin' in luck" said old
man Plunket, "but thar some mighty strange
things happens III this world.
Il klrowed that thar fellow what inst rid by
here erwhiIe ago when be was er boy, and /
knowed him oil eriong through life TO the
present time, and it was said that he was the
smartsst boy in the settlement, and when he
was eJ young man il was said he was the
luclliest fellow in the settlement, and it
did look ike luck to ne, for he never turned
his hand to anything when he first started
out in life but what it was sure TO turn out
well and make him money, and fore he
was % years old he'd bought two likely
niggcrs and had his farm well stocked.
But he amt get no farm Cow IN. he amt got
notnin' else, and It's because bis luck changed.
His name Is Jasper Green"
PlunkeC stopped !, take chew of Browns
tobacco. and then continued:
"Thar's Squire Simmons, who lives yonder
where You see that fise barn. was just the
same age of Jasper Green, ard they war
raised boys together, and while everybody
said that jasper was smart and lucky, they
had to say that Squire was er fool and tho
unlucl1iest cusS that wes ever allowed to live
at all.D
stated that he remembered the raising of both
boys, and "it wa just mat way"
Squire Simmons was er green one" con
tin,ed Old man Plunket, "and when | remem-
Der how be used to git erround in his coperas
briJches and jeans jacket at the parties in the
settlement, / can't tell how be ever did turn
out like he has, er how he ever got the woman
for er wife that he has got"
L I I l.
had Jasper Green erGin him, for Jasper
wanted the same girl, and the girls father
end her Old aunt, that lived eTlong with enr,
were agin Squire. too, and called him er fool,
and unlucl1y and gouky, and the old man
svore he should never have her, and told him
to never da-ken his door ergin. Her maiden
name was Lula Bright"
@Well, yen see" said old man Plunket,
growing somewhat animated as the fountain
Of memories began to stir; 81 know
al erbout the whole business Old man
Bright had watched Lula and Squire
erlong time and he seed thatshe was always
ertakng UP for him, and he seed that Squire
thought more of Lula than he did OF anybody
else and he took to trying to bring him out
and make something Of him, but old Bright
rot disguised with Souires awkward ways,
Rhen he went to work and tried TO git his
girl diSgusted too, but he couldn't.
"iine first thing that old man Bright done
for Squire, to kinder bring him out was to
give him young horse, for Squire's dada
was a drunkRrd and never did have nothing
to help any of his children with. Squire got
the young horse home and him and his dada
turned in and broke him TO work to er little
old one horse wagin what they had, but Re
was as wild as a buck and one day while
they war passing erlong, Squire driving and
the old man walking erleng with his gun
looking out tor er turkey, they met three or
four bows of the settlement and one of 'em
was jasper, and they would have Squire to
stop and talk er while, and as he stopped the
Old man didn't go very far till he set down
Oh er rock, and Jasper hadn't been erround
the horse long till ne seed how skitish he was
of strangers, and so he'd just shuttle his foot
on the ground little and the horse would
shy. and Squire was busy talking to the other
BOYS and didn't take no notice of what was
going on, till Jasper, Citing er little closer
and closer TO the horse all at once give big
shuttle on the ground and out jumped the
horse down the road, kicking and er fyin.
and the old man was terribly excited and
Jasper lowed to him:
"'Shoot TIE horse. shoot the horse, he'll kill
your son. and the old fool blQzed erway and
down he fotch him. They skint the horse,
put the skin in the wagin, and the old man
and Squire took hold and were pulling the
wagin on back home, when who should they
meet but old Bright. .
"'Hellor said old man Bright: where's
your horser
"'Tnar's what's left of him. said Squiro's
dada, pointing to the hide.
when the people III the settlement hered
of it they all said, just his luck. Just his
luck But Lula she cried when she hered
srbout it, ard old Bright didn't like it, and
he thought he'd give Jasper another young
horse what he had there and see how he'd
come out with 'eni, ana may be Lula would
see the difference in the two fellows and be-
come disgusted with Squire. SO old Bright
he didn't let on, but he gave the horse TO JAS
per, and the first thing anybody knowed he
had him broke and was cutting shines round
the settlement, riding out the girls and hay
ing er fine time Old man Bright let it run
on this way for some time, till at last ho
called his daughter to him and pointed out
the difference in the two Young men, citing
the horses as an example. Lula she just
over in his buggy To see the Brights, and
Squire he'd walk over to sec EN- and old
man Bright thought he'd done the very
best thing he could have done to break up
the attachment that was evident between his
daughter and Squire
after that" continued old ma,. Plunket,
81 remember that ono day the two young
men happened to meet at CID man BrigEcs,
End the old mon he'd got some fine seed corn
from off somewhere, and as it was corn plant
ing time he give the young fellows an equal
number of grains, and they were TO plant in
a rich spot and git in the seed OF it. Jasner
he went home and fixed his ground up well
and planted lis grains and 1t w-arD't no great
while beforsIthe cora was up and looking fire.
Squire he went ho,ac Gad picked out a rich
spot just back Of his mame's garden and fixed
his ground and laid of his furrous. ard then
took his corn and went -eriong and dropped
the grains, intending to cover when be got
through dropping, when 10, as he dropped the
last grain and Strengthened himself and
turned, he seed that an old rooster haG been
right behind him all the time and picked up
the grains as fast as be had dropped EN-. and
people, when they kered OF il, lGC lowed it's
his luck, its bis luck, and it locked that way
to me.
"N hen old man Bright continued cid man
Plumket, seed that nochin else would do. he
got mad and forbid his daughter ever speak
ing to Squire ergn, and be told Squire never
10 darken his door if no didn't want to cit
shot. and Tie Squire knowed Old Bright was
er tough customer, and that he'd do just
what be said.
''Oid Bright had er niger named Pomp
that loved his young mistress and hated Jas.
per Green, for Jasper was mighty bad erbout
paterchng. and he carried little notes from
Ernii.a 70 Lila nlln from Inis kncl. II