The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1894-05-25
miscellaneous.
BOB AND MAY.

Bob and May were sweethearts.
Of course they were; that's what
they had been learning ever since Bob,
a STRIPPING of 20, had come out from
| Tennessee to the Texas Panhandle
with the family.
In those days May was a bright
haired, high strung little girl of IA
whom Bob never called nor thought of
as ''red-headed"
| Bob was a strong, good humored
boy, not bit afraid of work, and he
had way with him that gave him
command of men and creatures. He
rose rapidly in old man Loves employ
from simple COW puncher to wagon
boss, then foreman, and when
he was only % went, with the approx
al and good will of his employer, to
take the position of ranch manager
for Boston company.
All the world loves a lover. Bob
was such a whole hearted one, his
state of mind was so patent, he took
such delight in it, wore his chains
with such open pride and enthusiasm,
that all the Panhandle felt with and
| for him.
And old man Love was pleased
| 0HOuSu Will GIlc uldGCl dlu greatly
| given to Dragging of Bob as coming
adjunct to the Love greatness, until
| the tragedy of the one horned brindle
COW, which tore things up generally,
| threatened to sever two loving hearts
| and darken forever Bob's and Mary's
| happy horizon.
This old cow-worth perhaps 81
| bobbed up at one of the roundups
sporting, in addition to the B N of the
| Boston National, which was facetious-
ly known as the Bean" brand, old
man Loves xxx.
Though very uncommon, such acct
dents may occur in the haste and con-
| fusion of branding without necessarily
| implying dishonesty on some ones
part While they do sometimes result
| in fights and killings they are easily
enough adjusted between reasonable
people, since any clever cattleman
can readily tell which brand is of the
longer standing.
| But any cowboy on the range would
have told you that while old man Love
was square enough himself he was Il
crazy crank about the sacredness of
his brand. His long suit was to jump
up and down and swear that it never
yet was on anything that wasn't his
own. He invariably claimed an ami
NAL that bore it in addition to another
brand (as did this old cow however
plainly it showed as the newer of the
two, though as matter of fact his
branding irons were handled by just
as many careless cowboys as any
others.
! If Bob had known what that aged
and damaged brindle COW was going
to cost him, he might perhaps have
blinked his obvious duty and let the
old man Love have her-in the face Of
right and reason.
But he was not the man to be back
ed down by any one, and he dared the
worst-and got it
He held the COW for his company,
after a fierce contest, and old man
Love went home raging, to give his
distorted version of the affair, issue
orders that no member of his family
was to speak to or of Bob from that
time forth, and to remark significant
ly that he had far rather see child of
his married to a horse thief than to u
person capable of such behavior.
| Communication between the lovers
had since been managed, once or twice
by the utmost stealth and secrecy.
Having, by this means, been assured
| of his sweetheart's steadfastness and
readiness, Bob sent her word by one
of her fathers cowboys to ride good
horse past the half way branding pen,
armed himself with license and hung
around the Triple y ranch for week.
When May finally found the oppor-
tunity to slip away in the most care
less manner, with one of the mems
sombreros on and in the face of threat
ening weather, shereceived a rapturous
welcome from the long banished Bob,
and they promptly headed their ponies
for Squire Wiley's, just the other side
of Roaring creek, who was supposed
to be holding himself in readiness for
their visit.
What Mexican or other paid spy or
what unfriendly or envious hand car
ried the news to old man Love will
not be known, but he burst into one of
his near COW camps at dinner, shortly
after Bob and Mays departure, like a
roaring South African lion with mus
tard in his eye.
1.-The boys''-who knew well enough
what was afoot, and what would be
asked of them-dropped their tin cups
and plates, jumped on their waiting
ponies and were out of hailing dis
tance before he fairly lit in their
midst.
But old Hank Pearsall, the cook,
was new man, not long from south
west Texas, neither knowing of nor
caring particularly for Bob Holly and
his love affair. So he stood at his Of
fetal post, at the tail end of the chuck
wagon, and gave amiable attention to
the impassioned harangue and singu-
lar antics of this new and entertaining
employer.
Being commanded to come along
and assist in dispensing Bob and
rescuing May, he mounted serious
appearing but fitful tempered buck
skin colored pony, with one white eye
and much symmetry of bone-as much
of a character in its way as Hank was
in his-and started, with considerable
interest and curiosity.
They rode hard and were near over
hauling the lovers within mile of
Roaring creek. But while pursuer
and pursued pushed ON at their ut
most pace another factor was coming
with hundred times greater speed to
take hand in the game.
The dry bed of Roaring creek was
just before them, beyond that tiny
rise, then an arroyo, and beyond that
again the roof of the Justices house,
just in sight. AS Bob and May clat-
tered over the creek bed and scrambled
up onto the rise beyond, both looked
back, and their ponies stopped, tos-
sing their heads, pricking their ears
and snorting at curious humming
sound that suddenly seemed to fill all
the air about.
'Hurry up, darling" cried Bob,
throwing out a hand to catch Mays ;
''it's big storm coming from above. "
slope to cross the dry arroyo in front
it was running from bank to bank and
trimming over with a sudden flood of
red, muddy water.
And even above the noise of the
| Aacd hafora tham thau haard q sound