The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1893-01-21

That great crowd leaned forward
with brcathlcss interest as they sped
away, their wheels closely abreast, and
the interest deepencd as they COM
pleted the first round and passed the
stand to enter upon the second half
mile without either having gained any
perceptibe advantage. AS the quarter
pole was passed it was noticed that the
cowboy drew u tribe ahead, and the
shouts of his hackers and rough com
panions were of the most encouraging
nature. | was too far distant to be
able to see the young girls face, but I
instinctivcly felt that it must wear Il
look of pain and modification and that
her heart must have throbbed pain
! fully over what seemed certain defeat.
| Under the wire they flew, and the
| cheers were deafening as the cowboy
| passed the line fully fifteen feet in ad-
vance of his fair competitor. Had
! possessed sufficient muscular power l
| felt that | would have experienced sin
cere pleasure in springing over the
railing and administering good
thrashing to the burly braggart when
l heard him mocllingly say to her, as
they came to a stop and dismounted
eco home and wash your mammy's s
dishes. You can't ride little bit.
My blood was fred at the taunting
remark, and hotly exclaimed:
She is far better rider than you
and nothing but your brute strength
defeated her. | believe she could beat
you if given another trial.
"Thc flood of thanks the girls eyes
poured upon me warmed my heart to
the core. The bully looked at me dis
dainfully a moment and sneeringly
said:
Boys. git onto the white-cholSered
tenderfoot. Git onto the silk-harnessed
ladies' man. Eff you think the gal kin
put it onto me in another race, mebbe
you've got some SPAR dust that'll prop
up yer opinion?'
Yes l have angrily answered.
Plenty of it, if the young woman will
run again.
About how much do you hold yer
opinion at?" he asked.
"All yourself and your friends want
to throw in sight, replied
''At this large, red-faced man, APP
parently under the influence of liquor,
whom 1 afterwards learned was the
owner of the great herd of cattle over
which the braggart presided as fore
man, stepped up and said:
"If you want to cinch the tender
foot fur a bet Dick, I'll let you have a
thousand.
81 was mad, boys, and wouldn't have
weakened then if my life was to be the
forfeit of my obstinacy. Addressing
the young woman | asked:
"'Will you ride another mile against
him at five o'clock this afternoon?'
After a moments hesitation she re-
piled:
Indeed, ! will, and I know l will
defeat him. | felt before that every
one in the crowd was against me, and l
was nervous and very much frightened
but your words have encouraged me
and / feel that | can now ride much
better.
"'Meet me at the Pacific hotel in an
hour and l will cover your one thou
sand dollars l said to the cattlc-owner
and his foreman.
81 hastened to the town and, boys,
/ did something that l would have
scorned to do had not my anger and
stubbornness been aroused to a dcsper-
ate point. had jewelry samples with
me valued at several Thousand dollars,
and calling a wagon / went to the
hotel, loaded my sample cases, and
hauled them to the leading jeweler of
the town, who was a good customer of
mine. / explained to him that need
cd lnat, nf fh.-,,En,,l Il
few hoGrs only, and offered to pledge
my samples for that sum. He well
knew the value of the stuff | carried,
and after but a moments hesitation
wrote me a check for the desired
amount. Securing the money at the
| bank, it was soon in chosen stake
holders hands with the one thousand
dollars from the other side.
THE news of the additional race and
| the heavy stakes ventured on it spread
| like wildfre, and the jam on the fair
| grounds at the appointed hour was ter
rible. | secured brief interview with
the young woman and found her eyes
alight with hope, and, after warmly
thanking me for the interest | mani
| tested in her success, She strongly reit-
/ Grated the belief that she would win
| the race. There is little cuss called
! Cupid who goes about dressed N pair
| of wings and bow and arrow, and
/ tell you, boys, he was getting in his
delicate work on me in great shape as
! / stood looking on the animated face Of
that handsome girl and listened to her
musical voice as she thanked me mod
eStlV but earnestly for nv services in
assisting her to lower the pride of that
taunting brute and wiping from her
own escutcheon the stigma of defeat.
| If papa were here he would back
me with all he possesses under the
! circumstances, she said, but he was
| detained at the ranch five miles out.
| Should | bc the cause of you losing
/ your money he will certainly make it
! up to you, and with an arch zmile) the
knowledge of that fact alont permitted
me to consent to you rislsing it
There is no risk, replied You
will win, and no one will shout louder
than ! when you lead your insulting
antagonist under the wire.
''By queer freak of human nature
the sympathy which had been bestowed
upon the cowboy at the former race
was now lavished on the girl, and when
she wheeled her safety onto the track
the vast crowd cheered her to the
echo, and shouted forth a torrent of
words Of encouragement. To all this
she responded with modest bows and
smiles Of gratitude, and when the gong
sounded she rode to the scratch with a