The Penn's Grove record., 1895-07-26

SAou6hs VI 10 ISu u6RUeQ.
Bob was a strong, good humoret
boy, not q bit afraid Of work, and h.
had a way with him that gave him com
mand OF men and creatures. He ros.
rapidly in old man Loves employ from
simple COW puncher to wagon boss
then foreman ; and when he vas only
twenty-five went with the approval ant
good will of his employer to take th.
position OF ranch manager for q Bos.
ton company.
All the world loves a lover. Bob wa.
such a whole hearted one, his state o,
mind was SO patient, he took much de.
light, in it, wore his chains with such
open pride and enthusiasm, that ali
the Panhandle felt with and for him,
Besides being q fellow that a cir
could love without any difficulty, any.
body-with a daughter to spare
might have been pleased with Bob 70,
q son-in-1aw.
And old man Love was pleased enough
with the match, and greatly given to
Dragging OF Bob as a coming adjunct
to the Love greatness, untilthe tragedy
of the n horned brindle COW, which
tore things all up generally, threat.
ened to v two loving hearts and
darken forever Bob's and Mays happy
horizon.
This old cow-worth perhaps 81
bobbed up at one of the round-ups
sporting, in addition to the B. N. of
the Boston National, which was
facetiously known as the "Bean"
brand, old man Loves Xxx. :
Though very uncommon, such scci,
dents may occur in the haste and con
fusion of branding, without necessarily
implying dishonesty on some ones
part. While they do sometimes re-
suit in fights and killings, they are
easily enough adjusted between
reasonable people, since. any clever
cattleman q 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 a
crazy crank about the .~sacrsdness of
his brand. His long suit was to Jump
up and down and swear that 1t never
yet was on anything that wasn't his
own. He invariably claimed an ami
NAL that bore it In addition to an
other brand las did his old cow), how
ever plainly it showed as the newer of
the two, though a. a matter of fact his
branding irons were handled by just
as many careless cowsboys as any
other.
If Bob had known what that aged
and damaged brindle COW was going
% cost him he might perhaps have
bllnked his obvious duty and let old
man Love have her-in the face Of
right and reason.
But he was not theman to be backed
Town by any one, and he dared the
worst and got it'll
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, Oh OF, Bob, from that
sime forth, and to remark significantly
that he had far rather secs child Of
his married to a horse thief than to,a
person capable of such behavior.
Communication between the loyers
lad e'nce been managed, once or
twice, by the utmost stealth and
iscrecy. Having. by his means, been
assured of his s~weetheart's steadfast-
ness and readiness, Bob sent her word
by n of her fathers cowboys to ride
: good horse past the halfway brand
ing pen, armed himself with a license,
and hung around the Triple Z ranch
tor a week.
When May finally found the oppor-
unity to slip away in the most care
less manner. with one of the. mems
Bombreros on, and In the face oi
threatening weather, she received q
rspturous welcome from the long-ban.
lshed Bob, and they promptly headed
their ponies for Squire Wiley's just
the other side Of Roaring Greek, who
was supposed to be holding himself "
readiness for their visit.
What Mexican, or other paid spy,
Or what unfriendly or envious hand
carried the news to old man Love viii
not be known, but he burst into ont
of his near COW camps at dinner, short
ly after Bob and Mays departure, like
o roaring South African lion with
mustard in his eye.
"'The boys"-who knew we'll enough
shat was afoot and what would b
asked of them-dropped their tin cups
and plates, jumped on their waiting
ponies, and were ont OF hailing dis
lance before he fairly lit in their
midst.
But old Hank Pearsall, the cook
vas a new man, not long from South,
vest Texas, neither knowing of, MOI
caring particularly, for Bob Holly and
his love affairs. So he stood ct his
official post at the tail end Of the
chuck wagon and gave smiable atten.
tion to the imprisoned harangue and
singular antics of this new and enter.
tanning empioyer,