Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1893-05-12

i\lEIIE was a yOungste'
| there want no man
sr boy in Poor Fork Valley that could
shot alongside of me. Nary a one,
and the old man sighed heavily
"But," he continued, "this gittln'
old knocks the edge off a mans eye
sight, and makes his handso trcmbly
that he can't even take a drink Of water
without wastin' half Of it, and as fer
shootin' us old fellers might as well try
to hit center with a maui at a hundred
yards.
The visitor, to whom TINS conversation
was addressed, made few desutory and
incongruoas remarks, and the old man
resumed his talk, pretty mXa as if
nothing ns.'.. a. all had been ''i7 '''''l it
81 never 20, beat but once, he went
on, with a good-humored reminiscent
cbuc<le. land that wa, b5 feilsFtsIlt
hadn't sense enough skeeTcsly to 60 in
out Of the rain. Lelstways that's what
thought when the match come off. lie
didn't live in my neighbOrhooi, but he
had a farm about twenty mile furder up
the Fork. and l bad a habit Of goin' up
thar to see a mighty likely gal, that was
darter to the man that owned the place
next to the chap that beat me at the
shootin'. The old mans name was Squire
Higgins, and the gals name was Mary.
Mary's a purity name, and Mary was a
purity gal. Nothin' oa the Fork vas a
pa,chin to that gal, and wanted her
bad enough to 90 up thar sparkin' about
twict week durin' of a mighty harl@gill,
ter. when It was cold enough to freeze the
knobs of a bureau. Mary kinder liked me,
too. Liked me betterin' any Of the other
Young fellers tnat was hangin round,
exceptin' Ben Wilkins, aud it was neck
and neck betwlxt me and Ben. Ben was
her neighbor, and the same feller had the
shootin' match with. never could see
how she tuck to Ben, be was 50 dog
poned freckle faced and sun burnt aud
sandy headed and ignorant like aud
foo!er than Thompson's colt, but you
can't tell about women, and thar wasn't
no goin' back on the solemn fact, that eff
Ben didn't git out Of my way, I was
never goin' to git the gal and it was
most nigh as certain that ei somethin'
didn't happen TO me, Ben wasn't gOin' to
git her neither. 1t was close rdnnin',
Mister, and the gal settin on the fence,
aqgin' Us OIL. That's another weakness
women has; mean these young women
that has ther choice, like Mary Higgins.
Wasn't no danger of her film amaiden's
grave, even ef me and Ben both got put
out of the way"
lone mornin' when | wss on the road
leadin' up the Fork, towards Squire Hig-
giDs's farm, met Ben comm down with
a load of hay, and I'd been goin' to see
Mary then fer mighty nigh a year.
"'How'dy', Benz says ], friendly
enough.
"'How d'y', Dau'l, says he to me.
"'Fair to middlin', says I.
"'Goin' up to the squire's, I reckon1
says he, questionin'.
"'That's what, says :, speakiu' a, if
had the rights to.
"'Mary amt home, says he.
"'Wbo said anything about Nary
says l, gettin' red round the years.
"'The way you're goin',' says he,
with grin.
"'What's that to your says !, no
over polite reckon.
" 'Nothin', says he; "but ef you wan
to see her, you'd better 90 down tC
mothers. She's down thar to a quiltin'.
"Ben grinned again and got purity
mad, but not enough to hurt anybody,
and says to him:
ben wilkins saYu l, have you got
gunf
" you don't want to fight, do youF
says he, backin' off kinder, fer
thought he was skeert, and mebbe hc
was.
NO says l, but want Mary Hig,
gins
80 do l, says he.
"Then it cleared up a bit, aud we
both looked at each other sorter sheepish,
and grinned, fer before this we hadn't
even had no understandin',