The Somerset reporter., 1896-01-23

to startled grunt. All stopped, rigid
as statues, to listen. A faint wind rus
tied for moment, died down, and then
from afar came an unwonted sound in
the wilderness. 1t was the SOUND of
Jimmy's fiddle.
Cautiously the Indians crept closer
and closer, stopping now and then to
listen, until they reached the foot of the
bank at the water hole. Just above them
shone the light from the dugout en-
trance. The noise of the tortured fiddle
was loud and clear, and at times jim
my 5 voice was uplifted in old hymns
and camp meeting songs reminiscent of
other days back in Missouri. Quiet, but
swift as crawling snakes, the intruders
swept up the incline of the clay bank.
A moment later they swarmed i'll on the
musician. Jimmy was sitting at the
side of his fireplace, and his winchester
was near the door. Thus he was cut off
from his only weapon.
When those Indians came in, filling
up the little dugout, doubt if i'll all the
world there was more surprised and
frightened being than the keeper of No.
ID. The music stopped The hand that
welded the bow dropped as if para
lyzed Jimmy stared at the appari
tions, while old Wolf smiled hypocritic-
ally and granted "Howr Somewhat
reassured by this apparent sociability,
Jimmy managed to gasp out, "Howdy
do?"
The SONS of the desert deliberately sat
%ha IL Ig,1c
once more grunted out
"Play fiddle more. We like A"
Jimmy played something at once
and of course after awhile wound up
with flourish, us all performers do, and
stopped.
The somber audience gave no sign of
approval or dislike. They sat perfectly
still, except that their little eyes gilt
tered and shone in the freight like dia-
monds. But when Jimmy stopped Wolf
grunted again:
More -
Jimmy played more and kept on in
response to the request after each cessa-
ton. Finally he lowered the bow and
protested:
I'D like to be obliging. but IN get
ting too tired y
Wolf simply looSened a winchester
from the folds of "a dirty blanket, cock
ed it and presented it at the professors
body, grunting again
"Play more Much heap. Damn
quick y
There was an immediate revival of
musical activity.
And SO they kept the frightened fid-
dler to his work He played his whole
repertory over and over again, the audi
ence never caring for the repetition.
The night wore on. Far over the flats
came the answering bowls of the melan-
choly coyotes, quavering and dying
away in long drawn note of utter lone
someness, but the sound of the fiddle
never ceased A late moon rose and
slowly climbed toward the zenith The
big dipper in the northern sky dropped
down and around the polar star as
though time were not the essence of
the performance. Still the sound of the
constant fiddle vibrated in the chill air.
AT last over in the east came faint
streak of light, and then all creation
grew dim and gray. And with the first
light Crawling Wolf stood up and shook
himself. His brethren did likewise.
They took jimmy's rife and everything
portable on the premises, never allow
ing him to cease for moment, then
quietly filed out and disappeared in the
morning mists.
About 10 O'Clock next morning the
keeper of station No IL. over On the
Beaver, happening to look up, saw
something coming very rapidly over the
hills from the southwest. The some
thing soon resolved itself into a man on
the back of some creature. AS it came
closer 1T was apparent that the creature
was IA mule running for dear life, while
the man was using both hands and feet
with great energy. The mule stopped,
all blown and wet, i'll front of the sta
ton, and the man fell off in dead
faint He had broken fiddle bow in
one hand and i'll the other IA ruined fid-
die, the body part beaten to a FRAGILE
and the strings flying all about i'll
perfect maze Of tangles.
And the very next driver to arrive at
Dodge City announced to the powers at
the stage office
"Fiddlin Jimmy's done quit. -
Philadelphia Times.