The Opelousas courier., 1895-09-21

piece of land, but he didn't need n o dirt
over in the red flats. The bottom had
| teliterally fell out of that laad and II
want good for nothin in lATticlar but
to grow grass and hold the world to
gether.
I'm that wav me and Andy kept the
OLD man between a night sweat and a
buck ager, you understand, till we hao
got him jest about ripe and mellow for
a trade. But in the main time some
thin had broke loose in d fresh place,
and we didn't have no pitch hot"
ANDY Lucas was the first man as
usual to find out that there was some
thin dead up the creek. you under
stand, and he come a curtin over to my
| house one mornin before byeakfas
spreadin Of the news.
IF we don't do somethin right away
Immediately in regards to old man
Steve Turner the jig is up and its Char
lie at the rat hole, says Andy to me.
Naturally you mought not think it, but
the dadblamed old thing has started
| ont courtin all of a student, and he is
now courtin the wilder Biggers to beat
six bits. He has planted three wives
and the grass amt sproutin on the last
new grave. by gollys, You can go right
now and find aunt Miles tracks out in
the garden, but that don't make a con-
t%inential durn bit of difference with old
man Steve. He will take the wilder if
he can git her, and in case Of a push
ency-if she is rale bad off to marry
She mought take up a fool notion to
mix clothes with him. In that case lie
won't sell out, and you will have to wait
for another death in the Turner family
before you can tote the papers to that
strip Of dirt over there in the red
flats" 2
well, by this the cards had got
tolerable bad gumu-ed up, you undel-
stand, and luck vas runnin from me
like a shot. But two heads are mostin
generally always better than one, Rufe
~ ~ if they null the same way
together:
,1tc, ~passr next day
that Andy Lu~as took land
made a horse back tril over 1re
hill country, and when he come back
he brought a letter with him for old
man Steve Turner. The letter was sup
posed to come from a buxu,n young
wilder by the name of Ada Singleton,
which | raley have my doubts if there
is such a woman in the whole entire
human family. But at any rates it was
a scandlous sweet and lovin letter, and
it is none of my business who had writ
it or where it come from. Andy made
it sorter late comm in. and consequent
TALLY he rode in by the wilder Big
gerse's place and left the letter with
her. He told the wilder as best he
could where he had been and who sent
the letter.
From all | can hear, command a
gwine, Andy went on to tell the wild
der. the old man is more than probab BILE
to be over here bright and early in the
mornin and you can deliver the letter
over to him when he comes"
Now you must recollect, Rufe, that
they was out of sealin wax where that
letter come from. and there want moth
in but a little piece ofred ribbin tied in
a double bow knot to keep other peo-
pie from perusin of it. Mind you now
| don't even make out like the wilder
Biggers done any perusin, but at any
rates when old man Steve went over
there the next day he didn't find the
latch string danglin around on the out
side by a whole tremendous big lot. |
can't say for certain-and neither can
A~ndy-that the wilder ever give hit,
the letter, but by Ratlins she give him
his walkin papers right then and now.
Henceforwards since then he couldn't
touch her-dadblame him-he couldn't
touch her with G fifty foot pole.
Inside of three days old man Steve
was ready to sell out and move off. He
at me oncst more for a land trade,
and by this time between me and
Andy-we had beat his iggers down
from $500 to $500, and finally at last /
the deal at S25O-half cash and
the balance in one and two years.
That old man by the name of Steve
is out after a fresh bunch of
Rufe, and calico he must have.
He maybe mought make up with the
by-and-by, but if he don't-and
you will only work and wait and han
die the documents right-durned if you
buy everything he has got for
next to nothin on a credit. 1t takes
me and Andy Lucas to cook 'em. you
and by gatlins when we
Steve Turner we cooked him to
q cracklin."