The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1893-05-05


was to know anything about our settle
mint, and when seed Ben, he was set
tim on the fence, about a quarter of a
mile from his house, with his gun
acrost his lap, lookin' lonesomer than a
cat in a rainstorm. Thar was an old
frame barn standin' by itself in the
field, and we went over to it to have a
quiet place for the closin' arrange
ments. 1t had pile of loose straw in
| it, and as we sot thar talkin', seed a
knot-hole in the plank about two
inches acrost, and 1 asst him eff it
wouldn't make a good enough mark
with the straw inside to ketch the bull
lets. You see l was doin' the most of
the engineerin', fer Ben was that shook
up he didn't seem to know his head
from hole in the ground. He said he
| thought the knot-hole would do, so we
| went outside and it was like as eff it
had been put thar a purpose.
"We stepped off a hundred yards fust,
! and druv a pin down, and then went on
twenty-five yards and druv another,
and me and Ben took our places. We
| was to shoot ten times apiece, me five
and Ben five, turn about, and neither of
| us was to go nigh the other to Illustrate
| him during the shootin'. was feelin'
in regular shootin' trim, and when I
| shot my five knowed Ben was goin' to
have to do some mighty tall shootin 'er
| lose the gal. We went to the mark to-
gether and pegged up three holes, not
| half an inch from the l1nothole, and two
bullets had gone smack through, leavin'
| no sign.
"Then Ben he took his turn, and was
| shore seen him shake when he sighted
| his gun, but he shot off his five, and we
went up to see what he had done-and
what do you think, mister? There
wasn't the sign of bullet hole any
where's!
II looked at Ben and he looked at
me.
"'You amt shootin' very spry to-
day. says he. grinnin'.
| "'You air., says /, lool1in' ugly and
feelin' my holts on Mary slippin'.
"Next round 1 was dead sot on doin'
my level best and I put three balls
through the hole and scraped the edges
| with the other two.
'Ben was lookin' peallid, and seed
his knees wabbiin', but he braced up
and went back to settle who should
have the gal, and it 'peared to ne like
as if he was takin' till Christmas to fire
them five shots. lie got it done at last,
though, and we walked up to the mark
kinder unsartin, both of us, but thar
wasn't any need of it."
"Did you win?" broke in the visitor,
in high state of excitement and in
terest.
Mary win, mister" chuckled the old
man. THAT sandy-headed, thumb
headed cuss had sent every one of his
five bullets smack through the knot
hole and thar wasn't the sign of a
scratch anywheres in sight
THAT ended it fer me, both fer shoot
in and fer the gal, and rid home feel
in like a saw log had fell on me butt
end fomost, and Ben went lopin' acrost
the field tor'ds Squire Higgins.
| "About a month after the shootin'
match Ben and Mary was hitched and 1
was to the hitchin' feelin' good deal
pearter than did the day Ben beat me,
an gettin' some consolation out of a
new gal, jist moved onto the Fork. But
couldn't quite git over Ben's beatin'
me shootin'.
"Along about midnight, had to go
home, and as 1 started to git on my
hoss, Mary followed me out on the
porch.
"'Danl,' says she, kinder cooin' and
soft like, you won't git mad at me eff
tell you somethin'. will you?'
" Of course not, Mary saws I. Moth
in you could say er do would make me
mad at you.'
"'Well, then, Dan1, says she, shal1iu'
some, fer l was holdin' her hand and
knowed, when you and Ben had that
shootin' match fer me, Ben didn't have
no bullets in his gun. They was just
wads'
''Well, sir, you could a-knoclSed me
down with splinter, and l got hot all
over, but l shet my jaws down hard
fer minute and held in, thinkin' about
them wads.
"'And he didn't beat me shootin',
after alp says l, feelin' mighty good
over it, all at once.
"'No, he didn't says she, pattin' me
on the arm like as eff she was my
mother.
"'But he got you,' says /, droppin'
back peg er two.
eyes, says she, but put him up to
it, Danl.'
"Then she smiled till thought the
sun was raisin', and throwed my arms
right round her and says L:
| "'Mary' SAWS 'VOuVe pOt mora
sense than Ben and me put together,
pertickerly me, and I'm glad you've got
the one you wanted and with that I
jumped on my hoss and rid lickety split
fer home, and when I got thar jist
hugged that rifle of mine as eff it had
been Mary Higgins"
"Danl," called the old mans wife
from the kitchen at this point, "sup-
per's ready"
$50 air we, Lizzie" he said, rising.
The visitor looked at him inquiringly
as he rose to accompany him supper
ward.
"Yes," smiled the old man, "she's the
same that was the new gal on the Fork
the night Mary and Ben got hitched. -
w. ]. Hampton, in Detroit Free Press.
Awful Loneliness of the Plains.
Midocean is not more lonesome than
the plains; nor night so gloomy as that
dumb sunlight. 1t is barren Of sound.
The brown grass is knee.deep-and
even that trifle gives a shock, in this
hoof'obliterated land. The band of