The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-07-07
a SLIP or THE PEN.

- J0nn ,Ynumoa 9a0dcu up GU A0knety
put on bis chaps land rode out across The /!
range TO got the mall. John hsd q lot to
do. as be would have told you himself, for
he was to be married on Christmas day,
and that iswhy he was 30 regularly riding
twice week to the postofi1cs.
Over at Antelope the telegraph operator,
who acted also as station agent and post
master, was sitting alone In his little Of
Nce-excspt the section house, the only
house In hght-thinking Of home and
Mary Brand. Home was away down east
and Mary Brand was just q black eyed
girl who did not cnre for him one bit, AZ
he well knew, for he had asked her about
It before be started west. But there Is no
law against thinking Of girl, even II you
cannot get her. SO the operator thought
of Mary Brand, believed himself to be
very miserable and piled moro GOALS on the
fire, though The little stove was already
redhot.
Just when darkness succeeded the dull
daylight snow began TO iall, and with the
first lakes cane .luhn Thomas. He got
his letters and snt down by tho OPERATORS
fire to !, nd them. He was big, comfort
able fellow, In marked contrast to the dis
contented looking tclegrapber, and so the
latter thought, for no broke the silence
with:
~ say, you seem pretty we'll satisfied
with yourself How do you manage 1t In
hole like thisp"
"Young fellow" said John, "the plains
Ii the finest place on earth and the only
place left where a man can get start.
Look at me. Came out nine years ago
without cent, worked four years on the
trail and three for old Baxter, learned to
carry branding iron in my chaps and to
rope nything my horse could catch, and
now i've got place Of my own and an in
forest in q trail herd. What's the matter
with meP''
you're all right" admitted the boy.
".But you couldn't do 1t again, now Tom
Adams has got bis maverick bill through
the Legislature.
"Don't fool yourself, said John. "Any
maverick my horse can catch Is going to
get my brand on. Do you know how
many mavericks were sold for the benefit
Of the school fund Oh the fall round up in
this district I'll tell you. One. He
fetched rs cents. Oh, the law Is all right"
The operator was interrupted in his
smoking by the click Of the instrument,
and when be had taken train order, the
pipe was out Picking up IN envelope
John had thrown down he thrust 1t into
/. tho GOALS, and as II 1ared up be noticed
the postmark.
"Hell0r said he, Bangor Is my town.
Do you know anybody In Bangor2'
"You bet d." 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
made a rush to catch him, the operators
dismay would not have escaped notice.
His jaw dropped and the beautiful pipe
fell to the eE
John catA Ahis horse and headed away
toward the \ inch through the falling
snow. The operator went to the key and
tclegraphed for pipe to be sent up on tho
first train. Then he went to bed. He had
bad night.
John hummed tune as his horse am
bled along through the dark. Not an oper-
alto air, but one Of those hymn tunes all
cowboys use on dark nights. He was GER
tainly happy for he didn't hurry his horse
or spur him when he stumbled. One of
those letters was from Mary Brand. She
wrote she was leaving Bangor for her I'M
cle's home in Denver on that day and that
John was not to come down until Christ
mas owe because there was much to do and
he would be in the way" The other let
ter was from 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. Will ad.
wise further soon." Snow was still falling !
when John reached home and turned in,
rejecting upon the futility of all maverick
laws.
Snow was still falling next day. Tho
railroad was blockaded and he could not |
get to Denver on the day appointed. The |
wires were down, SO there was no tele- |
graphing. Christmas was spent In the |
telegrapher's office, and for once John |
looked as discontented as the operator.
The latter took no interest In coloring the |
new Pipe, and wrote out his resignation, |
ready to dispatch as soon as the line should |
DO open, announcing that no was going |
back to Maine by the first train.
Ono of the first things 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 no 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 hid been singing Mary |
Brand The key had been clicking Mary |
Brand. Small wonder when he took the !
pad of yellow paper and wrote out the
message he made one small slip. He really |
didn't do It, 1t did itself.
"You need not come down. Engage
mcnt off. Mary Brand" is the way 1t
read when John received 1t.
If this were not true story, it might be
written that John went in person and de-
manded m explanation. What he really
did was to write note suggesting the re-
turn of his letters. And Mary being a
black eyed girl, he got them by return
mail.
Mary Brand went home. The ranchman
returned to the winter vocation of riding
the pastures and waiting for spring. Tho
operator took an early train for down
east. If no ever knew what he had done,
he kept his own counsel and renewed his
suit.
So Mary married the operator, and, be-
inga black eyed girl, she makes him q
good wife.-Argonaut.
A laval NUorvoI |