Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1897-06-24

velope John had thrown down, ne thrust
it into the Goals; and as it fared up, he
noticed the postmark.
"Hullo!' said he; Bangor is my
town; do you know anybody in Ban
gor?"
"You bet I do" said the cowboy. "I'm
going to marry the incest girl in that
whole town, and her name is Mary
Brand"
If old Hornet outside the door had not
got tired of standing there, IS miles
from his supper, so that John at that
moment made rush to catch him, the
operators dismay would not have es-
capped notice. His jaw dropped, and the
beautiful pipe fell to the floor.
John caught his horse and headed
away toward the ranch through the fall
ing snow. The operator went to the
key and telegraphed for pipe to be
sent up on the first train. Then he
went to bed. He had bad night.
John hummed tune as his horse
ambled along through the dark. Not
an operate air, but one of those hymn
tunes all cowboys use on dark nights.
He was certainly happy, for he didn't
hurry his horse, nor spur him when he
stumbled. One of those letters was
from Mary Brand. She wrote she was
leaving Bangor for her uncle's home in
Denver on that day, and that John was
not to come down until Christmas Eve,
because there was much to do and he
''would be il the way" The other letter
was from n broker in Denver. and said:
Think we have customer for your
trail cows, and have engaged for you
to meet him here some day next week.
VIII advise further soon." Snow was
still falling when John reached home
and turned in, rejecting upon the futi.-
ity of all maverick laws.
Snow was still falling next day. The
railroad was blockaded, and he could
not get to Denver on the day appointed.
The wires were down, so there was no
telegraphing. Christmas was spent in
the telegrapher's Office, and for once
John looked as discontinued as the OPP
orator. The latter took no interest in
coloring the new pipe, and wrote out
his resignation ready to dispatch rs
soon as the line should be open, an
nouncing that he was going back to
Maine by the first train.
One of the first things that was sent
when the line was open was Johns
message to Mary Brand, at Denver, to
the effect that if the railroad wasn't
shoveled out very soon, he should start
down on foot.
That operator was good boy, and he
sent the message straight, and when,
an hour later, he was called up by the
Denver Office to receive the following
message to John Thomas, about his
trail cows: "You need not come down.
Engagement off. Culver Bros" he was
still without guile. But his heart was
full of Mary Brand. All day the wires
had been singing Mary Brand; the key
had been clicking Mary Brand. Small
wonder when he took the pad of yell
low paper and wrote out the message,
he made one small slip-he really didn't
do it, it did itself:
you need not come down. Engage
ment off. Mary Brand" is the way it
read when John received it.
If this were not true story, il might
be written that John went in person
and demanded an explanation. What
he really did was to write a note sug-
costing the return of his letters. And
Mary being black-eyed girl, he got
them by return mail.
Mary Brand went home. The ranch
man returned to the winter vocation
of riding the pastures and waiting for
spring. The operator took an early
train for down east. If he ever knew
what he had done, he kept his counsel
and renewed his suit.
So Mary married the operator, and.
being black-eyed girl, she makes him
a good wife.-San Francisco Argonaut-