The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1898-12-14
The Courage Of BlevinS
ATHEN Johnny Blevins and Herby
Wv Rounse came out of the theater

ATHEN Johnny Blevins and Herby
w Rounse came out of the theater
at IL o'clock and found that there was
a tie-up on the North side cable lines
Johnny, who lived on the North side,
said that he would be darned. He said
it with such fervor, so that it sounded
far worse than might be imagined, and
Herby felt, not for the first time, that
Johnny was not a fellow to be tritied
with when he was thoroughly aroused.
Its too bad, old man, isn't it?" he
said. I'D ask you to come around
to my diggings, only some cousins OF
ours are up from Aurora and'the house
is full. You can take a cab, though.
It's terrible bore, isn't it?'
Horrible" assented Johnny. 81 don't
believe I've got money enough for a
cab. It's horrible bore"
81 haven't, either" said Herby. 81
guess you'll have to walk, old man."
II guess l will, too. 1t isn't much
of a walk, anyway. I can do it in half
an hour easy"
Herby expressed his admiration of
his friends pedestrian capability, and
the two walked over to Clark street,
where they parted.
Don't let anybody hold you up. old
man." said Herby, as he shook hands.
Johnny gave laugh of mingled scorn
and recklessness and turned his face
northward.
Johnny was firmly convinced in his
own mind that it would be rash and
ill-advised bandit who would attempt
to hold him up. He knew, of course.
that people had been robbed now and
they must have betrayed some sign
of timidity or at least irresolution in
the first place and that their resist
ance could have been only half-hearted
when the attack was made-that is, if
they resisted at all. He had often pic
tured to himself how he would have
acted in such an emergency.
Johnny is not young man of i'm
posing physique. He admits that him
self. Figures applied to weight and
dimensions are, as Johnny says, "what
you can't get around" and five feet
eight and one-half is not an eXtraordi-
nary height any more than 1873 pounds
is an extraordinary weight. Still John
Ey takes a great deal of comfort in his
chest expansion and in the rigidity of
the muscles of his forearm.
''There is not an ounce of superfu-
Gus flesh about me-" he is wont to say,
and there is a great deal of truth i'll
ont
of rubber cords, handles and pulleys
screwed to the doorpost in his bed
room, which he calls an exerciser, and
he exercises on it morning and evening
most religiously-also a pair of six
pound dumbbells and pair of Indian
clubs, with which he nearly Drained
himself the last time he tried to use
them. He has a pair of foils, too, and
Johnny is going to take fencing lessons
some of these days. He is going to take
boxing lessons, too, perhaps, though
for the matter of that he has great
deal of confidence in himself already
as far as boxing is concerned. He has
the art intuitively, as it were. Two
or three of the fellows with whom he
has put on the gloves tell him that
he is wonder.
There was one fellow, however, who
nearly destroyed Johnny's opinion of
his own proves. He is a boy who
has a pimply face and wears a horse
shoe scarfpin and smokes his cigars
from one side of his mouth. When the
two had pulled off their coats and stood
facing each other he suddenly put one
padded hand to his face and began to
laugh in the most outrageous and in
sulting manner.
You amt going to hold your mits
that way, are your" he asked, shaking
with mirth.
Never you mind about that" re-
turned Johnny. "You put up your
hands and look out for yourself"
"All right; you're the DOCTOR" said
lis opponent, whereupon he executed
a circling walk, saving his arms and
crossing his feet at every third step
with an impressive stamp. 'You see, y
he continued, presenting profile view
of his figure and rolling his head about
easily, ''if / make a pass at you like
this"
Johnny's first impression was that
there had been gas explosion and
that the roof had fallen inc When he
recovered and regained his balance he
saw his antagonist was laughing; also
that he had his hands down. He lunged
out straight from the shoulder at the
erinning face, but somehow the face
was not there by the time his arm
Strengthened, and he would have fallen