The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-10-21
W0MENAND ROADAGENTS
HARRY BLOSSOM MET BIS MATCH
IN AN OLD MAID,


Upa long hill the hor ss we're slowly
toiling. Speaking OF road agents" said
the old stage driver, ''rve had my fair sheer
Of holdups and don't banker artsr any
more. How manyl Wall, couldn't jist
give ye the exact figgers, but ten wouldn't
be fur out Of the way"
'And were you ever wounded in any Of
the holdupsF' I asked.
"Three different times, sir. Some folks
used TO purtsnd to believe that drivers and
road agents stood in together and whacked
up, but they war idiots fur talKiR' sich besh.
The best proof of the fact that it wasA't 80
lay in the KILN Of three different drives on
this very line inside Of six months. Durin'
that same time we got away with two rob-
bers. People who ar whaokin' up, as they
call It, don't slambaug bullets and buckshot
into each other at clus range. do theyp
"Well, hardly. You've had women aboard
when you've been stopped, presumeFn
"Sartip, and then thar was fun. / was
laughin' to myself only yesterday about the
case we used to call The Old Maids Round
up IL was a burned funny thing. I'll
PINT cut the place, a dozen miles ahead, as
we cum TO It, had three men and a wo-
man as passengers and all were inside. l
hadn't seen the woman aAd couldn't tell
what she locked like. but it turned out that
she was a single critter, about 80 years old.
She had red hair and sharp nose. and she
could talk wheel of a coach In Ave min
utes. Mebbe she'd bin disappointed in love,
as they call 1t. I've heard that that sort o.
turns a woman's feelin's into pepper and
vinegar. She got into fuss with the men
about their smokin' almost as soon as we
started, and every few minutes / heard her
pipin' away and maxim a kick about sone-
thin or other. 1t Jest made nae fat to know
she wasn't harnesssd up to me.
HARRY APPEARS.
"We'd Jest climbed the hill ana IL was
o'clock in the afternoon when the robber
they used to call Harry Blossom steps out
from behind @ rock and levels his gun on a
line with my face. / stops right then and
thar. Harry mods to me not to make g fool
of myself while he was busy and steps along
to the door and orders the passengers TO gi1
down and view the scenery. He was gen
tleman, Harry was, and mighty gallant to
the ladies. The old maid ad Travelled enuff
to know what a holdup was, and at fust she
refused to git down. She sot right thar on
the back seat and wolloped that chap with
her tongue till he didn't know whether he
was a-foot or hessback. Jemimy but you
orter hev heard her call him villain, rascal.
wretch, skunk, coward, Injun ami a hum
dred other namesl l was cousRrAed over
the robbery, Of course, but had TO laugh
or burst"
And she wouldn't get DOWN. asked.
'She did arter bit. He wasR't going 70
rob her fur he wasn't that kind Of a greAser,
but he figgered that the men had passed her
their wallets as was often the case. The
three fellers was like lambs, but didn't
blame EN- any. A man who plays fool
when ther's q shotgun aud a road agent
lookin' at him never gifts any sympathy.
H. Il oh
was biiin' over with madness. Harry got
'em in a row and was oallin' fur thew wealth
when the old maid yelled cut like cat
pinched in doer, and grabbed him. He had
q pistol ia his hand at the time, but she
didn't seem to kser. She got him around
the waist and tripped him up, and 1t was
all done so quick nobody could get the hang
of IL. She was jest Aghtin' mad and wanted
10 scratch and pull har, but when he went
down we all saw the chance and lit Gu to
him. He fired twice, but didn't hurt any
body, and by that time we had him safe.
He's over in the Penitentisry yit, and les
all owing to that old maid.
A TONGUE LAsHING.
ut was funny. We loaded him inside.
bound kehd and fost, aRd she tezgus wal
Hoped him for tsirtsen long miles. Harry
was tuR enc, but he Rrterward told me
he'd rather got Eve years extra than to hev
bin obliged to hear her go on. She had
Bible with her, and she put In the last two
miles readin' chapter Of 10 to himl
1.-THE rewards offered on him piled up
q bout 81 900, and she got the money and
$500 on top of 10 as q present from the CON-
pany. Lands! but didn't Harry feel broke
up and ashamed He'd stood of the sheriff
half a dozen times, and to be ceptur'd by a
womaR-and an old maid, at thaE-jest broke
his spirits down till he was as humble as a
rabbit.
THE PLUCKY sCHooLMA'AM.
"Jest about year arter Harry Blossoms
capture" continued the driver, as l asked
him for further incidents, 81 went out of
Austin with only one passenger, and she
over in Eureka and wasn't ever 20 years
old. l kin remember that she was short
and small, and had black eyes. Thar
wasn't much money passiA' between the two
towns and that line had never bin iHterfered
with.
"Howsoever, thar is allus q fust time, and
II cum to me about FIVE miles out Of Eureka.
The bosses war joggin' eleng as contented
as you please. and l was holdin' the lines
and thinkin' of the gal rve been harnessed
to since, when | gifts sudden lift. A cuss
who didn't know beans about the dizziness
had taken it into his NOODLE TO turR read
agent, and this Wus his fust holdup. In
stead Of steppin' eus like gentleman and
givin' me chance 30 hold up IN decent
fashion, he puts q bullet into this right
shoulder afore be shows hissslf, ard thea
begins TO whoop and dance up aad down the
roSd. The HOSES was fur runnin' away,
but finally got 'en pulled down and waited
fur the burned idiot to cum up. He was
white about the gtlls and good deal mere
skeert than l was till told him had only
one passenger and that a gal. Then he be-
gins to brace up aud let on he's a terror
from way back. No respectable robber
would hev thought of plunderiR' woman.
but that cuss was lowdown and probably
hard up He walked up 70 the door. gun
In each hand, and ordered her 10 step
down.
ENOUGH TO ATTEND TO.
"And you couldn't interferer Iasked
81 wasn't heeled with shooter, and
bein' as he had put ball into me AID was
bleedin' like a stuck pig, and hevin' trouble
with the bosses l didR't want any more
bizness on hand jest then. IkRowed he'd
skeer the gal half to death and wouldn't git