St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1897-03-27

will never do for you TO go home ridir
that double-action, scallop-baclz thing
never in the created world. Rue til.
trade-eyen pull if you can't do no bet
ter-but rue the trade, Andy-ruc tht
trade"
"This mought bss q vdevilish good tinls
of year for you to lay low and say moth,
in, Rufe," Andy whispered back to me
"You want me to play this game dead
square into the strangers hand, and
don't most in generally always handle
the documents that way. It looks like
both of you took n for natural-borr
tiurn fool, but we will see about that
Rufe--we will see."
Then turnin to the stranger, who was
now mounted on the mule with his boots
in the stirrups, Andy smiled a pleasant
homely smile, and went on to say:
snow, stranger, if you have got any
mfre scallop-back, calico horses down
in your country would love the best in
the world for you to bring drove the
next time you are passin through our
settlement. have got few head OF
mules and horses over to my plantation
both straight backs and scallop backs
and hump backs-and I will trade with
you most any time and any way. The
scallop-back horses are all the go in this
country now, whadf the straight backs
are way yonder out of the fashion,"
''Holy Moses and the twelve epistles.
what a lie!" thinks I to myself, but as
Andy had already give it out that my
time OF year to say nothin had come, /
didn't put my hand into the game any
more. And yet still did feel rale curl
GUS all oyer in spots from the fear that
the way in which he had got bit and
bugged in the trade and the general
shock which struck us when the
stranger pulled the wa'ddin out of the
hole in that pony's back, had kindly un-
strung Andy's nertious system and ad-
died his mind.
Who Was Crazy That Daye
In the main time couldn't help but
take notice that the stranger kept hang
in around like he was waitin for some
thin to happen and would ruther not go,
whilst thought If it was me after
thrown as much dirt ON man as he
had on Andy 7 Iwould be movin my
Washin in a swingin gallop.
But presently Andy he swung him
self into his saddle tightened Sthe
leins on scallop-back Billy, wished the
stranger whole lot of good luck,
waved his hat at him in sayin good-by,
tangled his spurs with the flank girth
and away he went. He pulled in and
waited for me mile or two down the
road, and when I rid UP he was dis
mounted on the ground, rubin and pet
tin that pony, and talkin and carryin
on with himself like a man that was
borned a fool and had also went crazy.
"Andy Lucas 5ta1kin to himself out
loud so I could hear, 'you may not be
smart enough to run cJr congress, but
the family records will show that you
amt all sorts of a fool on the same day.
You have got a head as long as flour
barrel and as level as q squash. You
may show the whites of your eyes and
look foolish sometimes, but I'll be
doubiy dadburned If there is anything
particular green in your general rec
ords. But it does raley look like 1t will
take some people forever to find out that
you are q natural-born horse trader,
with great gobs of sense, and that fits
don't run in the Lucas family. But you
jest spit your bait and wait, and then
when q sucker comes along and bites
you can throw him out on dry land so
he never can dutter back to water.''
,@"Git. on your horse, Andy, and come
on. It is gettin late and we would bet
ter be moyin along towards honle,"
says I, soft and gentle as could, cause
I then felt plum certain that the man
was not in his right mind.
"Say here, Rufe, don't you be givin
yourself SO Internal much trouble and
worriment about me-" he come back,
kindly frin up, like he was mad, "You
tnought maybe think I am as blind
IS a mole and as crazy ais a chineh.
4 heap of people amt got no better
sense than to think that, and you must
be one of the people this evenin. The
stranger we met back yonder in the
'oad-the idiot which swapped me this
pony for that old mule-has backed his
,wn fool self up agin that very snag.
Can't you stir up the mush in your
mutton head sufficient to see that I
have swapped the very daylights out
II the stranger, and him a-lookin at
ne all the time? Don't you know this
pony is worth small
1roye of sich mules as that to a man
n the tradin business like me2 Didn't
FoH see the game that dadblame fool
vas tryin to play on me, and can't
you see how the documents have come
ny way like mill race with the dam
,usted? You saw the idiot GRIMM
It me, and hangin around like q man
hat was saunt for and didn't want to
70 worth hardly, and yet you couldn't |
ZEE through his game. BY the eternal |
Fim-janls, Rufe, it is as plain to me as
,urnt woods. And now, accordin to my |
eneral opinions, il there is a man in |
his crowd that is a standin candidate |
or the crazy SLOAN, his name is San
Iers, and not Lucas by durn sight"
Andy Recoycrs Rapidly.
"Eow, see if you can't manage so as
o let few ideas soak through your
air. whilst I fry to give you some of the I