St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1896-03-20

StOCk-YdTuS III our city LOT the snip
ment Of cattle from the Powder
River valley. 1t is needless to COM
ment upon the great influence that
this deal will have upon Lariat, the
star city Of northwest Wyoming, as
the improvements will amount to at
least forty thousand dollars" etc.
1t was all very quickly and AMIGA
bly, arranged. That evening the
colonel held an enthusiastic reception
at the Alagazan, the leading hotel
where there were none so confident
of the future of Lariat, so jovial, and
withal so lavish with his money, as
he. Incidentally, it may be said that
the bar of the Alagazan did big
business, and that the landed pro-
prietors of Lariat, Hank McDougall
especially, awakened to the fact that
they had good thing.
The next morning the colonel, note
book in hand, and accompanied by
the leading citizens of the town, in
spected property available for the
uses of the Black Butte Cattle Com
pany. In the afternoon-for the
agents time was limited-the pur-
chasing began. The courteous old
gentleman who had entertained them
so Hospitality the night before did
not haggle over prices. He paid cash
for his new acquisitionsin crisp, new,
five-hundred dollar notes-a proceed
ing which, to make change, unfortu.
nately drained the town in a short
time of all it's smaller denomination
By evening the English syndicate
had acquired choice tract OF land
lying on both sides of the railroad,
in the heart Of Lariat, for which it
had paid out some twenty-five thou
sand dollars. McDougall, editor and
town marshal, had made some thou
sands by the deal, and had he been
ready speaker would probably have
said, These Englishmen are the big
gest suckers l ever saw" But, as it
was, he contented himself with the
simple words, Beats ALL"
1t wanted but few minutes of
train time, next day, when the colonel
carrying his compact little valise, his
face beaming with happy good-na-
ture, sauntered leisurely down to
where the big engine was putting and
blowing, preparatory to its long trip
down the road.
Il must leave just at this time" he
said, ito transact some very impor-
tant business in Cheyenne. But I'll
be back in week or ten days, and
begin work immediately" And he
treated the little crowd about the
train to cigars.
The whistle footed warning note,
the bell rang, and the colonel cor
daily shook hands all around. Step
ping on the rear platform of the train,
he turned about once more and wa we'd
his good-byes to persons in the dis
tance. Just at the moment that the
wheels began to turn, Hank McDou.
gall, his marshal's star cleaning on
his vest-he wore no coat-came run
ming down Wyoming avenue from the
post office, yellow paper in his hand,
which he waved tically over
his head.
Stop that train!" yelled the town
marshal. But the conductor and en-
gineer did not hear, and the train
moved on.
Jump, you scoundrel, jump!" again
yelled Hank, at the same time draw
ing his gun. The colonel's only answer
was polite wave of the hand. Then
Hank took snapshot at the fast
departing train, and-would you be.
lieve it?-that little old man whipped
out two pistols from somewhere,
quick as a wink, and for few mo-
ments the way the bullets whistled
about the heads of the crowd along
the track was something wonderful.
And as the train grew smaller and
smaller in its straight-away course
over the prairie, the last act of the
lone passenger on the rear platform
was to wave white handkerchief
towards the little city of Lariat and
disappear within the car.
The town marshal replaced his gun
in his hip-pocket and turned sadly
away. Deaf to repeated inquiries as
to the meaning of it all, he dsap.
peared within the editorial sanctum;
for in the midst of all excitement he
still remembered that, ex.officio, he
was an editor, and-he was both