Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1892-05-05
THE ROAD AGENT.

along slowly, The dust is Just as deep
but now, instead of blowing off to lee
ward, 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
II they cared to look out. But the beau.
ties of nature hold their interest only
slightly just at present The dust occu-
pies their attention to large extent. II
fills their mouths and eyes and nostrils,
and clings to their hair and ears in much
/. profusion. 1t is isagreeable-very; and
the man who has enough spirits left to
try and keep up the conversation is voted
an ass by his fellow passengers. They
were all very friendly only a short time
ago, but they hate each other with bit
ter hatred just now-all on account of
the dust. Dust is a great DESTROYER of
good humor.
Back there a mile or SO the sun shines
brightly on the canyon road, making it
look like long yellow ribbon, but Just
ahead the shadow of the mountain on
the west, which seems to close the up-
per end of the pass, cuts the light off in
an odd, abrupt way, and presently we
shall be in comparative darkness, for
the edge of the heavy timber is only
little distance before us.
Somehow the dust doesn't rise very
high, or else the driver and the passen.
ger on the box don't mind it, for we can
hear them talking. Old Ben, through
some unseen but easily imagined infiu-
ence, has relaxed from his usual taci
turnity and is quite communicative to
the beardless, boyish 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
mile away and remarks:
'See them two big rocks?-road runs
b'tween 'em. Uh-huh. Wal, right thar
--mebbe couple rods r SO fu'ther on
was whar l was helt up one day in tn
summer of '76."
"Yes?' said the passengers pleasant
voice interrogatively. "Would you mind
telling me about it?"
Ben chirped to his horses, spat impress
sively and literally and began:
oval, 'twuz this away. That morn
in tn 'xpress box was loaded plumb full
o hard stuff, tht he'd t. go through that
day. Now, jes'z luck'd hev' it, one O.
the gyards-we he'd guards them days
turned up missin bout tn time we was
ready t start firm Eldorado in TIL morn
in. Berry McNeill, tn other gyard, goes
arter i'm, an fms Mr.. Man laid up with
cash in tn head firm a.beer bottle
ben scrappin night bfore.
9th agent an me was thinkin powful
bout who weed git t take Hauser's
place Of he was sick, wen hyar comes
Mac, whistlin
Say, fellers,' says he, 'Hauser got
plunked with bottle las night, an is
1ayin on his downy couch with head
ache. Reckon l en- go in b. my lone
some; got Hauser's sawed off gum
"We both kicked whole lot, but
Mac, he'd made up his min an was boun
t hev his own way; b'sides, we didn't
hev no one right handy t go 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 pas
sengers.
"Wal, we KEEP our peppers skun right
sharp, but ev'rythin went lovely till jes'
long bout hyar. Then Mac says, Ben,
l b'lieve they's some cusses layin fer us
upb them rocks-I think seen feller's
head, jes' now.' SaysI: Mac, y're full
o hop. / seen it, too, an twa'nt nothin
but hawk crossin the road
81 stirred up the critters bit, how
somever, but jes'z we turned tn rocks
somebody jumps out firm both sides an
nails tn leaders, an they was SO many
guns starin intuh my face th't it made
me ashamed O myself. Mac cut loose
wi tn sawed off shotgun an then begun
wi tn Winchester, gittin two fellers an
skinnin up some more-but they was too
dern many of 'em, an they cd shoot,
too, SO Mac he never got no chance t.
pump that gun dry. He oughtn't t. hey
shot, nohow, but he allus was a nervy
cuss-nore nerve n sense. Iusetuh say,
Mac -
Half dozen dusky forms leap from
the roadside-the big cowboy who got
aboard early in the afternoon, and has
been DOING and swearing in a sleepy
way about the dust, is suddenly wide |
awake, and we, on the inside, get good |
look at the nuzzles of his two big re-
yolvers-we hear Ben calculate, oval, |
this do beat hell!' and then we are in
vited to get down into the road, where
the pleasant faced, boyish looking young
man, who got on back at Alpena, pro-
ceeds to business, and politely, cour-
teously, but firmly withal, relieves us
of our spare change-and more too.
y
That is my part of the story. OF |
course there were quite a number of
other people present, including the
youthful highwayman and his capable
assistants, and they, also, have claim
ON the above narrative. l did not mean
that 1 owned it: what l tried to say was
that this is the only one of the events
from which come this yeracious tale
that took part in, and | think it has
been shown that my part was entirely
passive one. Perhaps we had better cali