The Portland daily press., 1892-04-09
THE ROAD AGENT.

The pull is up hill for almost three
miles along here, and the horses plod
along slowly. The dust is just as deep,
but now, instead of blowing off to lee
ward, as it did awhile ago, 1t hangs
close around the stage in thick, dense,
reddish yellow cloud, almost shutting
off the view from the passengers inside,
Hf they cared to look cut. But the beau
ties of nature hold their interest only
slightly Just at present. The dust occu-
pies their attention to a Large extent 1t
fills.their mouths and eyes and nostrils,
and ciings to their hair and ears in much
profusion It is disagreeable-very; end
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 short time
ago, but they hate each other with a bit
ter hatred just now-al on account of
the dust. Dust is great destroyer OF
good hu1nor.
Back there 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 a
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 influ-
ence, has relaxed from his usual taci-
turnity and is quite communicative to
the beardless,s 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: So. f
'.See them two big rocks?-road runs
btween 'em. Uh-huh. Wal, right thar
-mebbe couple rods r so fu'ther on
was whar | was helt up one day in tn
summer of '76."
ssYesP' 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, th't 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 naissin bout tn time we was
ready t. start firm Eldorado in tn morn
in. Berry McNeill, tn other gyard, goes
arter i'm, an fms Mr.. Man laid up with
cash in tn head firm beer bottle
ben scrappin night b'fore.
9Th agent an me was thinkin pow'ful
bout who we cd git t. take Hauser's
place Of be was sick, wen hyar comes
Mac, whistlin.
!" Say, fellers, says he, 'Hauser got
plunked with a bottle las night, an is
layin on his downy couch with head
ache. Reckon | en- go in b my lone
some; got Hauser's sawed off gum
'sWe both kicked a whole lot, but
Mac, he'd made up his min an was boun
t. hey his own way; b'sides, we didn't
hev 10 one right handy t. go long. 80 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 ey'rythin went lovely till jes'
long bout hyar. Then Mac says, Ben,
I b'lieve they's some cusses layin fer us
up b them rocks-I think seen feller's
head, jes' now SaysI: Mac, y're full
o hop. / seen it; too, an 'twa'n't nothin
but hawk crossin the road
81 stirred up the critters 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 starin intuh my face th't it made
me ashamed O myself. Mac cut loose
wi ii. sawed off shotgun an then begun
wi tn Winchester, gittin two fellers an
skinufn up some more-but they was too
dern many OF 'em, an they cd shoot,
too, so Mac. he never got no chance e
pump that gun dry. lie ouSn0n hes
shot, nohow, but he allus was a nervy
cuss-nore nerve n sense. Iusetuh say,
Mac c'"-
Half dozen daa1zy forms leap from
the roadsias-the 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 .ge, On the inside, get good
look at the lnazzles of lis two big re-
volvers-we hear Ben calculate, "Wal,
this do beat hellr' 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 chsnge-and more too.
f'''' .