Huntsville gazette., 1891-12-19
A TELLER CAME DRIVING ALONG.

| TELLER CAME DRIVING ALONG.
awake, N I caught my little finger
nail in my teeth m bit it off Well, /
had plenty O. pain then, and | jumped
ahead like tired OK when you CAD him
deep.
| THAT lasted me for mebbe half ali
| hour but l couldn't tell nothin' about
the time I'd lost track O that entirely.
Then the cold began to numb me again.
Twas frightful cold night, an l dun
no how twas the ole man KEEP FIN
freezing to death.
! "Finally, l staggered n fell, N just
as l did, n thought to myself It l
wouldn't bother to git up fur 'twan't
wuth while, the ole man spoke up. I
don't think he'd said anything afore, all
day long. joe he says, speakin' sharp
an loud, but not hollerin', Joe, hear
the Christmas chimesn
First l thought he was ravin' again,
but it started me up an | listened, an
sure enough the church bells was a.
ringin'. Boys. l never knowed afore
what church bells mean. Talk about
good tidings of great joy thar never
was tidings of joy came to me like
them bell brought 1t was Christmas
eve, an 1 hadn't never thought of it all
day. Thar was, within hearin' O. the
bells, an givin' out, an I made up my
mind I'd make another stagger, m 1
struggled up again.
"Twan't no use, though. I'd got
plumb to the end O the run. Iplowed
| along bit, but as | bnowed a'ter-
wards / must ha' gone clean off nv
head, fur left the trail an wandered
off somewhere, the Lord on'y knows
where, but He must ha' been lookin'
out fur us, fur l kinder wandered
round, like, till come back ter the
trail agin, an as luck would have it ]
come back ter the top of a bluff an
stumblin' ahead, knowin' nothin', l
went plumb over, draggin' the sled
along with me.
"Wall, we tumbled square inter the
roadway. Eff it hadn't been for the
snow we'd both ha' been killed, likely,
fur we fell nigh fifty feet AS twas
couldn't git up, fur | was dead beat,
an the ole man couldn't cause I hadn't
united him. | was skeerd to do it. But
he wasn't hurt an he lay on one side,
expectin' to lay there an die, when he
heerd sleigh bells. Blamed if feller
didn't come drivin' along with fust-
rate horse. Seems he lived out on the
perara an was goin' home FIN town,
but he was a good=hearted feller, an
when he found out what the situation
was he turned right away an took us
into town fiyin'. The ole man had
sense enough left to tell him about it
an to tell who we was.
1.-THE feller drove right to the ole
mans house, IN we found they was
havin' a little Christmas party there,
an nat'ral enough they was talkin'
about the ole man when we come to
the door. was that tired l never
woke up till the next afternoon, an
there was in bed in the ole mans
house, with the doctor lookin' at me-
| "He laughed when looked 'roun an
asked where I was, an he says: 4
thought you'd be all right, soon as
you'd had your sleep out An says:
Yes. I'm all right; but how's the ole
man?' Then he looked mighty grave.
an he says: i can't tell yet He's been
hurt mighty bad but l reckon maybe
with good nussin' he'll come round
mebbe. He would ha' died. though, if
he hadn't been brought home Then
he shook hands with me an said all
1 sorts o foolish things bout me bein'
hero, stead o what I am, big man
with tolable strong legs an arms But
Lord bless youl what he said was
nothin' to the way the women took
on, when l dressed an went
downstairs They hugged me. an
kissed me till l was fairly 'shamed O.
myself, an the ole woman says: Joe
! Pelton, you brought me my husband
for Christmas gift, and III give you
a wife fur yourn' Then / moved ii
were all settled. cause l knowed the
ole man wouldn't never go back OF,
what she said. An he didn't, neither,
when he got stronger, as he did a ter
a bit. He won't never be strong like
J he was, but he's tolable well now, an
likely to>live good many years.
"Well, them women made me talk
all the afternoon bout the walk down
f'm camp. an when they wanted to
know how I'd hurt my finger, an
told EN-, I'm blamed if they didn't cry
/ till ] felt like fool. ."-Texas Sift.nea