The Lafayette gazette., 1893-06-10

Se7next day, on Bens, farm, fer he was
Skeert to go anywheres else, and rid
back home, and next forenoon was on
hand feelin' us slick q whistle, fer
was gamblin' on gtttin' Mary. Nobody
was to know anything about our settle
tin on the fence, about q quarter of q
mile from his house, with his gun
acrost his lap, loolin' lonesomer than .
cat in a rainstorm. Thar was an old
frame barn standin' by itself in tho
field, and we went over to it to have a
ments. 1t had a pile of loose straw in
it, and as we sot thar tallSin', 1 seed q
lnot-hole in the plank about two
inches acrost, and I ast him eff it
wouldn't make a good enough mark
with the straw inside to ketch the bull
the engineerin', fer Ben was that shook
up he didn't seem to know his head
from a hole in the ground. He said he
thought the knot-hole would do, SO we
went outsido ana it was like as ef it
had been put thar q purpose.
1--WE stepped of a hundred yards fnst,
and druv a pin down, and then went on
twenty-five yards and druv another,
and me and Ben toolE,our places. We
was to shoot ten times apiece, me fiyc
and Ben fives turn shout, and neither Of
u4sltas to go nigh the other to flustrate
in regular shootin' trim, and when I
shot my five lxnosved Ben was goin' to
have to do some mighty tall shootan' 'er
lose the gal. We went to the mark to-
gether and pegged up three holes, not
half an inch from the knothole. 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 be had done-and
what do you think, mister? There
where's!
II looked at Ben and he looked at
"'You amt shootin' very spry to-
day. says he, grinnin'.
feelin' my hollis on Mary shppin'.
Next round I was dead sot on doin'
my level best and put three balls
through the hole and scraped the edges
with the other two.
ben was loolkin' pealkid, and I seed
his knees wabblin', but he braced up
and went back to settle who should
have the gal, and it 'peared to me like
as If he was talkin' till Christmas to fire
them five shots. He 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,
in high state Of excitement and in
terest.
''Nary win, mister" chuckled the old
man. THAT sandy-heatled, 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 anyvvheres in sight.
THAT ended it fer me, both fer shoot
in and fer the gal, and rid homo feel
in like saw log had fell on me butt
end fo'most, and Ben went lopin' acrost
the field lords Squire Higgins.
about q month after the shootin'
match Ben and Mary was hitched and
was to the hitchin' feelin' q 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
I couldn't quite git over Ben's beatin'
me shootin'.
''Along about midnight, had to go
home, and as started to git on my
hoss, Mary followed me out on the
porch.
soft like, you won't git mad at me eff
tell you somethir', will you?'
- OF course not, Mary says I. Moth,
in you could say er do would make me
mad at you.'.
"'Well, then, Dan'l,' says she, shakin'
some, fer 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.'
"Wc11, sir, you could a-l1nocked me
down with splinter, and got hot all
over, but I shet my jaws down hard
fer a minute and held in, tl1inkin' about
them wads.
"'And he didn't beat me shootin',
after alp says I, 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 1, droppin'
back a peg er two.
Yes says she. but put him up to
it, Dan'l.'
"Then she smiled till thought the
sun was raisin', and throvved my arms
right round her and says /:
Mary says I, you've got more
sense than Ben and me put together,
perticlScrly me, and I'm glad you've got
the one you wanted,' and with that I
Jumped on my hoss and rid licl<ety split
fer home, and when I got thar jist
huFged that rife of mine eff it had
been Mary Higgins"
"Dan1," called the old mans wife
from the kitchen at this point, ''sup-