Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1892-04-09
by r. L. KErCHuM.

NV but now. IN
stead Of blowing off to leeward, as it did
awhile ago, it hangs close around the
stage in a thick, dense, reddish-yellow
cloud, almost shutting off the view from
the passengers inside, if they cared to
look out. But the beauties of nature
hold their interest only slightly, just at
present. The dust occupies their atten-
ton to a large extent. 1t fills their
mouths. and eyes, and nostrils, aud
clings to their hair and ears in much
profusion. 1t is disagreeable--very /;
and the man who has enough spirits left
to try to keep up the conversation is
voted an ass by his fellow passengers.
They were all very friendly only short
time ago, but they hate each other with
bitter hatred just now-all on account
of the dust. Dust is great destroyer of
good humor.
Somehow, the dust doesn't rise very
high, or else the driver and the passenger
on the box don't mind it, for we can
hear them talking. Old Ben, through
some unseen but easily imagined in
fuence, has relaxe from bis usual tact
turnity, and is quite communicative
to the beardless, bcyish-looking young
chap who got on back at Alpena and is
sharing the box with him.
AS the stage reaches the level and
rolls into the shadows OF the mountain
and the tall pines, Ben points with the
whip to the mouth of the narrow pass
leading out of the canyon quarter of a
mile away, and remarks:
"See them two big rocks-road runs
btwcen 'cm. Uh-huh. Wal, right
thar-mebbe couple rods r so tu Their
on-was whar was he!t up one day in
tn summer of '76."
eyes? said the passengers pleasant
voice, interrogatively. "Would you
mind telling me about it2"
Ben chirped to his horses, spat i'm
rressively and literally, and began.
"Wal, 'twuz this away. That morn.
in tn Express box was loaded plumb
full o haId stuff, th't he'd T. go through
that day. Now, jesz lucl1'd hev' it, one
O the gyards-we he'd guards them days
turned up missin' bout tn time we
was readyt start firm Eldorado in tn
mornin'. Berry Mcneil, TIL other gyard -,
goes arter i'm, an fms Mr. Man laid up
with a cash in til head firm beer bot
tle-be'n scrappin' night b'fore.
9Th agent an me was thinkin' pow
full bout who We cd git t take Haus-
er's place eff he was sick, Wen hyar
comes Mac. whistlin'.
"Say, feIlers, says he, 'Hauser got
plunked with a bottle las night, an is
layin' on his downy couch with head
ache, Reckon en- go it b. my lone
some, | got Hauser's sawed-of gun.
"We both kicked a whole lot, but
Mac, he'd made up his min, an was
boun' t hev' his own way; b'sides, we
didn't hey' no one right handy t. 90
long, SO we he'd t give in, an Mac,
whistlin' one o his everlastin' toons, piles
up on tn box, an we pulls out. They
want no passengers.
"Wal, We KEEP our peppers skun right
sharp, but ev'rythin' went lovely till jes'
long bout hyar. Then Mac says: Ben,
| b'lieve they's some cusses layin' fer us
up b. them rocks-I think seen fell
ler's head, jes' now Says 1: Mac,
yre full o hop. l seen. it, too, an
'twa'n't nothin' but hawk, crossin' the
road
al stirred up the critters a bit, how
somever, but jesz we turned tn rocks,
somebody jumps out firm both sides an
nails tn leaders, an they was so many
guns stlrin' intuh my face th't it made
me ashamed O myself. Mac cut loose
VII tn sawed-off shotgun, an then be
gun wi tn Winchester, gittin' two fell
lers an skinnin' up some more-but the,
was too many of EN-, an they cd shoot
too, so Mac be never got no chance t
pump that gun dry. He oughtn't t hev
shot, nohow, but he allus was nervy
cuss-more nerve n sense. usetuh say,
Mac"
Half dozen dusky forms leap from
the road side-tbc big cowboy who got
aboard early in the afternoon, and has
been doing and swearing in sleepy
way about the dust, is suddenly wide
awake, and we, on the inside, get good
look at the muzzles of his two big re.
volvers-we hear Ben calculate, "Wal,
this do beat all!"--and then we are in-
vlted to get GOWN into the road, where
the pleasant-faced, boyish- looking young
man, who got on back at Alpena, pro.
ceeds to business, and, politely, courte.
ously, but firmly, withal, relieves US of our
spare change-and, more, too.
This is my part of the story. oil
course, there were quite a number oil
other people present, including the
youthful highwayman and his capable
assistants, and they, also, have claim
on the above narrative. did not meau
that | owned it; what tried to say was
that that is the only one of the events
from which come this veracious tale that
look part in, and think it has beer
shown that my part was entirely pas
sive one. Perhaps We had better cali
that portion of the story the gentlemsnly
'VaN agent - oIIduep hC SOb aoOuI every
thing else there was to get. The rest is
Hallegan's.
Hallegan and | were travelling to-
gether, aud it was his foresight-or
rather, an odd notion of his-that en-.
abled us to resume cur journey 20 Den
yer after the road-agent incident. This
odd notion was in the form of thir
chamois insole, which he wore in his lert
boot, and which, in addition to card
giving directions tor the disposition of
his body in case he should be suddenly
called hence while among strangers,
contained fifty dollar bill. 1t was au
ordinary tifty-dollar bill, but when Ter
ence flashed it before ns dazzled eyes il
the hotel at Merrill that night, | wa
quite sure that it wa0 larger and more
valuable than the opinions of New
England hired man. 1t took us to Lead
vile, anyway, and that was all we coult
reasonably desire.
But for the rest of the story
1t was about two years after the road
agent affair, in which we lost almos
everything but our good NAMES and tn,
clothing We wore, when, one day, wa:
thunder-stru1k 10 receive Hallegan'