Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1896-02-28

a1ternoon-for the agents time was
limited-the purchasing began. The
courteous old gentleman who had en-
tertained them SO Hospitality the night
before did not haggle over prices. lie
paid cash for his new acquisitions in
crisp, new $500 notes-a proceeding
which, to make change, unfor tunately,
drained the town in n short time of all
it's smaller denominations.
By evening the English syndicate
had acquired a choice tract of land
lying on both sides of the railroad, in
the heart of Lariat, for which it had
paid out some $4,000. McDougaIl,
editor and town marshal, had made
some thousands by the deal, and had
he been a ready speaker would prob
nbly have said: "These Englishmen are
the biggest suckers ever saw" But,
as it was, he contented himself with the
simple words: "Beats nll!"
1t wanted but n few minutes OF train
time, next day, when the colonel, CAR
rying his compact little valise, his face
beaming with happy good nature, saun-
tered leisurely down to where the big
engine was putting and blowing, pre-
paratory to its long trip down the road.
II must leave just ut this tinle," he
said, ITO transact some very important
business in Cheyenne. But I'll be back
in a week or ten days, and begin work
Immediately" And he treated the lit
tie crowd about the train to cigars.
The whistle footed warning note,
the bell rang and the colonel cordially
shook hands all around. Stepping on
the rear platform of the train, he
turned about once more and waved his
good-byes to persons in the distance.
Just ut the moment that the wheels
began to turn, Hank McDougall, lis
marshal's star cleaning on his vest
he wore no coat-camc running down
Wyoming avenue from the post Office,
yellow paper in his hand, which he
waved dramatically 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 drawing
his gun. The colonel's only answer
was polite wave of the hand. Then
Hank took q snapshot ut the fast de-
parting train, and-would you believe
it?-that little old man whipped out
two pistols from somewhere, quick as
wink, and for few moments 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 it's
straightaway 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 disappeared
within the editorial sanctum; for in the
midst of all excitement he still remem-
bered that, ex-officio, he was an editor,
and-he was both thrifty and eau
tious man.
Exponent appeared, double-leaded, as
if i'll mourning, and the copies sold for
q dollar apiece. The editorial was brief
and to the point:
"From telegram received only too
late by cur town n,nrshal, because of
the necessity of forwarding it by mail
from Crouch's, 1t appears that our late
distinguished visitor, Stemblc, was
none other than the well-known dcs-
perado and confidence man Ike Rogers,
lately fugitive from the Black Hills.
It is painful to be forced to state that
the greenbacks which Rogers so gen
erously distributed while in Lariat are
clever counterfeits, in exchange for
which he carried away thousands Of
dollars of our citizens earnings.
1.-THE editor of the Exponent bids
farewell to his many friends. and an
nounces his intention of pulling up
stakes and moving Immediately to the
Big Horn country."-Lippincott's Mag
azine.