News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1892-05-26
A Sheep in VOLTS Clothing.

ne pun Is uphill IOf almost Uhree
miles along here, and the horses pIod
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, al
most shutting off the view from the
passengers inside, if they cared to
look out. But the beauties of nature
hold their interest only slightly just
at present. The dust occupies their
attention to large extent. 1t fills
their mouths and eyes and nostrils
and clings to their hair and ears in
much profusion. 1t is disagreeable-
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 short time ago; but
they hate each other with a bitter
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 canon road,
making it look like a long, yellow rib
bon; but just ahead the shadow of
the mountain on the west, which
seems to close the upper end of the
pass, cuts the light off in an odd, alb
rupt way, and presently we shall be
in comparative darkness, for the edge
of the heavy timber is only n little
distance before US.
Somehow the dust doesn't t rise very
high, or else the driver and the pas
hn Il
we can hear them talking. Old Ben,
| through some unseen but easily-im-
agined influence, had relaxed from his
usual taciturnity, and is quite COM
municative to the beardless. boyish-
looking chap who got on back at Al
pena and is sharing the box with him.
AS the stage reaches the level and
rolls into the shadow of the noun
tain and the tall pines, Ben points
with the whip to the mouth of the
narrow pass leading out of the canon
a quarter of a mile away, and re-
marks:
"See them two big rocks ?-road
runs b'twean 'em. Uh-huh. Well,
right thar-mebbe a couple rods r so
luther on-was whar l was helt up
one day in tn summer of 10"
Yes?" said the passengers pleas
ant voice, interrogatively. Would
you mind telling me about it?"
Ben chirped to his horses, spat i'm
pressively and literally and began;
oval, 'twus this way. That morn
in the 'Xpress-box was loaded plumb
full o hard stuff, th't he'd t. go
through that day Now, ies'z luck d
hev it, one of the gyards-we had
guards them days-turned up missin'
bout tn time we was ready t start
fr'm EldOrado in tn mornin'. Berry
Mcneil, tn other gyard, goes arter
i'm, an fms MIR. Man laid up with a
cash in th' head firm a beer bottle
ben scrappin' night b'fore.
The agent an me was thinkin'
pow'ful bout who we cd git t take
Hauser's place eff he was sick, wen
hyar comes Mac. whistlin'.
"Say fellers," says he, 'Hauser's
got plunked with bottle las night,
an is layin' on his downy couch with
a headache. Reckon / en- go it b. my
lonesome; got Hauser's sawed-off
gun.
I'VE both kicked a whole lot, but
Mac he'd made up his min, an was
boun' to 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, whislin' one of his everlastin,
toons, piles up on tn box, an we
pulls out. They want no passengers.