Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1892-10-01

moved from its original site, the gold
fever at Alamo and the affairS of the
International Company of Mexico
when my host started to tell me of a
dispute he had had that day over the
spelling Of the word burglar
s'Several weeks before friend had
written to him and told him that
burglar had entered his house in
San Diego and had robbed MIN OF
everything he could lay his hands
upon.
"'But concluded my companion,
Il was surprised to find that my
friend, who is man of good educa-
ton, spelled burglar E-u-r-gl-a-r-e-r
in every instance.
Il ventured the opinion, in a half
joking sort of wav, that perhaps the
San Diegan to whom my friend had
referred was educated in the old
school, and therefore preferred to use
words that were obsolete.
'Burglarer' is not correct and
never was, was the quick and almost
snappish letOrt.
Il at once subsidized, and my friend,
after quite long silence, gave the on
horse a vicious cut with his whip,
which. with a consciousness Of hav-
ing ruffled his peace of mind by hint
ing that his friend had even the
shadow of an excuse for his spelling,
or mis-spelling, l thought he would
rather have given to me, then re-
marked:
81 have an unabridged Webster
at home. I'll look this thing up when
we arrive
II learned afterward that bet of
$50 had that day been made on the
point at issue, and this doubtless ac-
counted for the Feasibility that my
quite natural remark had produced
in my newly made friend. But my
discontinue did not end here.
"Although the property of my ben
efactOr adjoined that belonging to
the rancher with whom I had bust
ness, their dwelling houses were fully
a mile apart. When 1 consented to
make the trip at the Horton House
it was early In the afternoon. l cal
culated that 1 would have ample time
to secure an interview with the gen.
tleman for whom was in quest and
make Tia Juana in time to catch the
last train to the city that night.
''My friend pointed out to me that
the evening was far advanced: that
his neighbor would certainly have re-
tired, and, that, as it would be i'm
possible for me to reach San Diego
again that night, 1 had better accept
his hospitality till morning, when he
promised that he would drive me to
my destination and then back to Tia
Juan. Seeing that the person whom
I was travelling to see was an abso.
lutte stranger to me, l had no excuse
Tor not accepting this offer, so l did
so.
81 did not for moment doubt the
good intentions of my companion, al
though 1 must confess that as I was
being whirled through the blackness
of the night-the horses seemed to
have doubled their speed since the
sun went down-jolted over pitch
holes and carried around corners I
could not see, but with which the
animals were evidently quite familiar
Il could not help thinking that if I
was worth kidnapping the man beside
me could have me far over the border
line into Mexico without the least
possibility of my knowing it.
clared his intention to consult the
famous photographer and had offered
me accommodation for the night he
became eloquently silent. Nor had I
any particular inclination.to talk, for
the darkness was so intense and the
pace of the horses appeared to IN
crease with every stride they made,
that seemed to forget everything
except that I was being whirled help
lessly onward into a region that I
knew absolutely nothing about.
'It was thrilling experience. I
knew that man sat beside me, be-
cause now and again I would be
thrown violently against him. sup
posed that he still held the lines, yet
I knew that the animals that were
hurryiug us onward knew better
where to go than he could tell them
with the reins. The clatter of their
hoofs, mingling with the rattle of the
light cart in which we sat, appeared
to merge into one indefinite sound,
until at last my imagination seemed
to run riot and fancied myself on
the back of Mohammed's milk white
steed, Al Borak, speeding through
space from Mecca to Jerusalem and
thence to the seventh heaven.
suddenly I was almost jerked from
my seat by the animals coming to a
dead standstill, and my companion
calculated quick, Here we are
"Then he alighted, lit lantern
which he readily put his hands upon
and soon had his horses unhitched
and put up for the night. After this
he conducted me to the house.
Judging from the room we en-
tered after passing the threshold, the
ho,,se was. although of rather fiimSy