Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-06-14

smile on Miss Mollie
A few terse words from Maxwell in
formed me that | was in the presence of
Mr.. Shaw, who represented a stock buying
firm in Chicago, and as | returned his bow
felt that it would be luxury to knock
that man down. Not that he was an ill
looking fellow by any means, for he was
something of ladies' man" in appear
ance, but l felt that we were antagonistic
/ doubt if he gave me so much as pass
ing thought, for lie devoted himself to Miss
Brant, who, bent on wholesale conquest,
distributed her bright glances with great
impartiality
During the month following my arrival
business at the station was quiet, the stock
shipping season not yet having commenced
A small band of cowboys would sometimes
! dash up to the station, breakneck pace, on
their wiry ponies, and although their broad
sombreros, clanking spurs and well filled
cartridge belts, Ornamented with a gun
and perhaps knife or two, gave them the
| appearance of bandits, they seemed rather
good natured set, if bit lawless.
Now and then a copper hued face
streaked with bright paint and surmount-
ed by shock of Straight black hair, would
peer at me through the office window, and
| if gave start Of surprise it seemed to
| afford the noble red man n certain amount
! of amusement; then, after n prolonged
stare, he would grunt and stalk majestic
| ally away. The event of the day, however,
was the arrival of the west bound train at
night. The entire population was on hand
at this time, and no matter how belated
! the train not a lounger left the platform
until the hurrying, painting thing trailing
| its way across the prairie like some huge,
glistening serpent, was lost to view
Meanwhile l lad been making great
strides in Miss Nollie's good graces, dis
| tancing Shaw, who was jealous applicant
| for her favor. The country around about
had something OF the picturesqueness of
the Bad Lands, although not so broken.
and at such times as ! was free from office
| duties Miss Mollie mounted on her nimble
black pony, and l on her fathers gray.
secured the hills and wales, returning with
appetites that caused the cook to eve us
| with scant favor. In an exchange of con-
| fidences told her that was alone in the
world, with none but distant relatives.
She had no one but her father. her
mother having died when Mollie was a
child. II was at school in Helena when
mamma died" she said, land came di-
| rectly here with psp pa, where we have since
| lived" That explained the situation
| Miss Mollie had been given advantages
| evidently.
Coming in from a longer ride than usual
one evening we found the whole settle
| ment in an uproar. Some twenty COWBOYS
were reported cam ped within two miles of
| the place awaiting daybreak to bring into
| the corral 800 head of cattle. We discussed
the matter at the supper table, and l re
marked that the genus cowboy, so far rs
was acquainted with him, did not sustain
| his hard REPUTATION
"Wait until you see him drunk =" was
MaXwell's rejoinder.
| That's all swagger-mcre braggado-
| ciO," said Shaw. Let them see that Won
are not afraid of them and they'll leave
! You alone fast enough. Rascally beggars
though, the most of them"
! Maxwell smiled quietly, and turning TO
me observed, Even the cowboy has his
! good traits; if he damages piece of prop
! erty while drunk ten to one he will walk
up and pay for it when he gets sober if it
takes his last cent
Curious how respectful like they air
tew wimmen," Oh med in Brant Amt
| never seen one yit too drunk tew fOrgit his
manners when winlmen folks was around.
| l rec lect OnCt-'twant NOR II year ago,
! reckOn-two on 'em got up a rumpus about
/ suthin in this very room, Just afOre dinner
One on 'em had the drap on t'other. and
there they stood, like couple of coyotes,
waitin fer a chance to spring, when my
little Mol, here walked into the room.
| Lord! You should a seed 'cm drap into
their cheers, like they'd been shot After
| dinner they kim over TO this table and axed
! her pardon, like real gents"
THAT goes to prove what | said" re-
marked Shaw loftily. If | had been
around here, Miss Mollie, the fellows should
have been kicked out"
Miss Mollie smiled her sweetest. and l
felt a wild desire to throttle some one for
be it known she and had had little tiff
| that evening, and she was driving me to
! the verge of despera ion with her vagaries,
while Shaw appeared to be in the sixth
heaven and anticipated the seventh.
| Shaw's last remark was of course taken
for what it was worth but we were des-
! tined to remember that evenings CONVEX
/ sation.
In the morning, bright and early, the
| fun began. The cars, ordered by tele-
| graph, were waiting in long rows opposite
the stock yards and away off in the dis
tance, just coming over the brow of the
hill, was n widespread brown mass that
circled and eddied nearer and nearer until
we could finally make out the wildly toss
| ing heads and hear the lowing that was
like the rumbling of distant thunder.
Around and around the herd the COWBOYS
swung their nimble ponies. ever aiming to
keep the cattle in a compact bunca apd ut
! the same time urging them forward The
sunlight shone on the forest Of cleaning
horns and frightened the clouds of dust in
,heir wake into go den mist Now and
then one of the animals would break away
from the herd and dash off, closely fol-
lowed by cowboy, lasso in hand, and ere
the creature was secured and dragged
back, painting, to the herd. an exciting
| race was often witnessed.
AS they neared the corral the cowboys
fell to the rear, and squirting the animals
forward with 'quirts" or long dashed
whips they were driven into vast pen, V
shaped, the entrance being the mouth of
the V. This in turn opened to another
large pen, square, and at the further side
of the square were ranged six small pens.
Once secured in the square pen it was no