The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1892-12-13
w PLUCKY M

fair sheer of holdups an don't banker
arter any more. How many3 Wall,
1 couldn't jist give We exact fggers,
but ten wouldn't be fur out of the
way"
"And were you wounded in any of
the holdups2" 1 asked.
"Three different times, sir. Some
folks used to purtend to believe that
drivers and road agents stood in to-
gether and whacked up, but they war
idiots fur talkin' such bosh. The best
proof of the fact that it wasn't so lay
in the KILN Of three different drivers
on this very line inside of six months.
Durin' that same time we got away
with two robbers. People who are
whackin' up, AS they. call it, don't
slambang bullets and buckshot into
each other at clus range, do they3"
"Well, hardly. You've had women
aboard when you've been stopped, I
presume"
"Sartin, and then thar was fun. I
was laughin' to myself only yesterday
about the case we used to call The
Old Maids Roundup It was a funny
thing. I'll pint out the place, a dozen
miles ahead, as we come to it. I had
three men and a woman as passengers,
and all were inside. l hadn't seen the
woman and couldn'b tell what she
looked like, but it turned out that she
was a single ~critter, about forty years
old. She had red hair and a sharp
nose, and she could talk a wheel off a
coach in five minutes. Mebbe she'd
bin disappointed i love, as they call it.
I've heard that that sort O. turns a
woman's feelin's into pepper and vine
gar. She got into a fuss with the men
about their smokin' almost as soor as
we started, and every few minutes I
heard her pipin' away and maxim a
kick about somethin' or other. 1t jest
made me fat to know she wasn't har-
messed up tome.
"We'd jest climbed the hill and it
was three o'clock in the afternoon
when the robber they used to call
Harry Blossom steps out from behind
a rock and levelshis gun on a line with
my face. stops right then and thar.
Harry mods to me not to make a fool
of myself while he was busy and steps
along to the door and orders the pas
sengers to git down and view the seen
cry. He was a gentleman, Harry was,
and mighty gallant to the ladies. The
old maid had travelled enuff to know
what a hold up was, and at fust she
refused to git down. She sot right thar
on the back seatand wollopedt that chap
with her tongue till he didn't know
whether he was afoot or on horseback.
Jemimy! but you orter hev heard her
call him william, rascal, wretch, coward,
Iniun and a hunded other names! I
was consarned over the robbery, of
course, but I had to laugh or burst"
"And she wouldn't get downs" 1
asked.
"She did arter a bit. He wasn't
goin' to rob her, fer he wasn't that
kind of a greaser, but he fggered that
the men had passed her their wallets,
as was often the case. The three fell
lers was like lambs, but I didn't blame
EN- any. A man who plays fool when
thar's a shot gun and a road agent
lookin' at him never gifts any sym
pathy. She finally got down, and l
could see she was bilin' over with mad
ness. Harry got 'em in a row and
was calm fur their wealth when the
old maid yelled out like a cat pinched
in a door and grabbed him. He had a
pistol in his hand at the time, but she
didn't seem to keer. She got him
around the waist and tripped him up,
and it was all done so quick nobody
could get the hang of it. She was jest
fghtin' mad and wanted to scratch
and pull ha'r, but when he went down
we all saw the chance and lit on to
him. He fired twice, but didn't hurt
anybody, and by that time we had him
safe. He's over in the p~enitentiary
Wit, and it's all OWN to that old
maid.
sit was funny. We loaded him in
side. bound hand and foot, and she
tongue walloped him fur thirteen long
miles. Harry was a tuf one, but he
afterward told me he'd rather got five
"a extra than to hev bin obliged to
hear her go on. She had a Bible with
her, and she put in the last two miles
readin' a chapter of it to himl
The rewards offered on him piled
up about 81, 900, and she got the money
and 5000 on top of it as a present from
tho nomnanu Lands but didn't Harry