The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1893-06-20

er more, we fixed up a shootin' match
fer next day, on Ben's farm, fer he was
skeert to go anywhere's else, and I rid
back home, and next afternoon I was
on hand feelin' as slick as a whistle, fer
I was gamblin' on gittin' Mary. No
body was to know anything about our
settlement, and when I seed Ben, he
was settin' on the fence, about a quar-
ter of a mile from his house, with his
gun acrost his lap, lookin' lonesomer
than a cat in a rain storm. 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' ar
rangements. 1t had a pile of loose
straw in it, and as we sot thar talkin',
I seed a knot hole in the plank about
two inches acrost, and I asst him eff it
wouldn't make a good enough mark
with the straw inside to ketch the bull
let's. You see I was dom the most of
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 outside andi it was like as et it had
been put thar a purpose.
eve 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'. I was feelin' in regular shoot
in trim, and when I shot my five I
knowed Ben was goin' to have to do
some mighty tall shootin' 'er lose the
gal. We went to the mark together
and pegged up three holes, not half an
inch from the knot-hole, and two bull
let's had gone smack through, leavin'
no sign.
"Then Ben he took his turn, and I was
shore I 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, mister3 There
WASH the sign of a bullet hole any
where's!
81 looked at Ben and he looked atme.
"'You amt shootin' very spry to-
day. says he, GRIMM.
"'You air, says L, looking ugly and
feelin' my hollis on Mary slippin.'
Next round I was dead sot on doin'
my level best and l put three balls
through the holeand scraped the edges
with the other two.
"Ben was lookin' peakid, 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 takin' till Christmas to fire
them five shots. He gUti 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 win9" broke in the visitor,
in a 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 I rid home feel
in like a saw log had fell on me butt
end fo'most, and Ben went lopin' acrost
the field lords Squire Higgins's,
"About a month after the shootin'
match Ben and Mary was hitched and
I was to the hitchin feelin' a good deal
pearter than I did the day Ben beat me,
and gettin' some consolation out of a
new gal, jist moved onto the Fork.
But l couldn't quite git over Ben's
beatin' me shootin'.
"AIong about midnight, I had to go
home, and as I started to git on my
boss, Mary followed me out on the
porch.
"'Dan1," says she, kinder coolin'
and soft like, you won't git mad at
me eff I tell you somethin', will you7'
"'Of cours not, Mary says L.
'Nothin' you could say er do would
make me mad at you..'
"'Well, then, Danl,' says she, shak-
in some, fer I 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.'
"WelI, sir, you could a knocked me
down with a splinter, and got hot all
nvar- but I shet nv laws down hard