Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1891-10-08

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Nancy Hamlet urged her POM forlCdrd
across the lonely prdirie.
ter be sOmethin' with ownin'. Thar's q
railroad comm frum Kansas City, crar
through the Neutral Lands, an on ter
ther Gulf O. Mexico. Their country II
be on er big boom purity soon, an eff
we uns control Their coal beds hyer on
Deer creek We'll be capitalists afore we
know wot we uns air doin'. We uns
must hev Their claim, Finley" declared
Hines, uttering an oath that must have
made the beautiful sensitive roses, grow
ing luxuriantly at his feet, close their
tender, fernlike leaves in terror.
"Maybe this hyer settlers already con-
tracted fur the claim" said Finley.
mo, he amt. I've been over ter
Baxter an seed Their records. Hamlet
hain't ther grit ter contract fur it, havin'
been warned by Their league not to. Their
league hain't no use fur ole Joy, an
though Hamlet amt er Lacquer hisself
low he's plumb erfeard O. Their s'ciety,
an amt amin ter make ther members
mad at him."
"But yer er member O. ther league
yerself, Dick"
YES" and Hines laughed coarsely,
"but burned little I'm keerin' fur it or
anythin' else 'ceptin' this claim on Deer
creek"
They'd string yer up ter blackjack,
reckon, eff yer went back on EN-"
''They hain't goin' ter find it out fur
some little spell. Thar's more settlers
than yer think fur stealin' slylike inter
the land Office at Baxter and contractin'
fur their claims unbeknowns ter Their
league. 1 tell yer, we uns II git er con-
tract fur this piece O. land, let ole humpy
live in ther dugout undisturbed till Their
leaguers cool off er bit, then we kin
show our papers, and run ole Hamlet an
ther gal off"
'Purty slick, Dick; but wot eff Tom
Byers gets wind Of it? They say he's
struck bad on ther settlers gal, an
Toms mighty hard ter contend sginst,
let me tell yer"
81 reckon Tom would be er ugly Gus
toner to deal with. Durn his big picterl
He's been watchin' me like er hawk this
summer, but he's down in Their Injun ma
ton now, pickin' up some shippin' stock,
an hyar it said tibet he's goin' ter sell
out his ranch an leave Their county. Eff
he does, we uns needn't fix fur any
racket with him, an eff we uns gifts
squatted down hyer on ther claim it'll
take more'n Tom Byers ter git US off. b"
81 reckon it would, with the gang frum
Lightnin' to back US.
"Thet's wotever~
"But say, Dick, why don't yer con-
tract fur Their claim yerself, an not take
er pardner?" the other suddenly asked.
81 would eff 1 he'd Their money. l know
yer hev plenty o cash, after stOppin'
tibet train over in Missoury," and Hines
ehuckled gleefully, can KIN pay down
Their fee required by ther land agent"
"Waal, l am better heeled than afore
boarded tibet train," replied Finley,
''an' I'm willin' ter go cohoots on Their
claim with yer, Dick. When do yer
want ter git Their contract"
II thought we could start in Their
mornin' afore daylight an ride ter Bax-
ter" returned Hines. Eyer see, if we
uns gifts er airly start nobody IN Their
neighborhood will see US, an so we uns
will not be suspicioned of goin' ter Their
land Office. Yer know Their league has
spies out"
Then the plotters mounted their po-
MES, which had been permitted to crop
the grass along the margin Of the stream,
and rode off, chuckling with much self
satisfaction over the cleverness Of their
scheme to gain possession of Adam Ham,
let's claim.
Ito BE CONTINUED.