The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-06-12


tire, otherwise known as the cigar
store Indian.
Don't think you ever told me about
it, said 1, seeming a story. Il heard
there was an odd romance connected
with the affair, but 1 am completely in
the dark as to the particulars. Won't
you enlighten me?'
Bloomer flicked the ashes from the
end of his cigar and settled back COM
fortably in his armchair
THE matter has gone by so long now
that all the parties concerned can af-
ford to laugh at it; and even my wife's
father thinks it is a pretty good choke
excuse me. 1 should say joke-now,
| though it was anything but a joking
matter for him at the time.
! cat the date upon which my story
| opens as the novel writer's say, l was
only young college graduate, with
plenty of brains and ambition, but lit
tie or no cash, dependent on my wages
| as manager of a western wheat and
cattle ranch for a living, while the
| father of the girl with whom I was
reckless enough to fall in love was
president of the village bank, director
! in several different railroads and other
concerns, county judge and a sort of
! general Pooh Bah in that section of the
country.
"All this, however, did not deter me
| IIOIl ldillIS III lONe WITH pretty jessie
| Granger. [ found no difficulty with
Jessie herself. She blushingly capitu-
lated after a brief campaign, in which
I bombarded her chiefly with bonbons
bouquets and billet SIOUX, and her
mother, too, came gracefully around
| to my side of the question, but when l
| preached the subject to Judge Granger
| he put on his sternest judicial look and
glared at me for fully minute with
out saying a word-just glared, you
! understand.
Finally 1 plucked up courage and
said:
We'll, judge, what is the sentence?'
| II was hoping he'd say hard labor
| for life, with Jessie for jailer,' but he
didn't. He glared some more, and
then began to sputter. I caught the
words COMPOUNDED cheek and impu-
dence,' but as this remark seemed to
| have no bearing on the subject under
discussion, l let it pass without reply
! ing. Finally he began to address his
conversation to me. Said he:
Young man, are you aware that
| the young LADY, to whose hand you
aspire is a prospective heiress. and will
eventually come into the possession of
a snug little fortune?
Give heard rumors to that effect
said l, but that won't make a. particle
IF difference. Her wealth shall never
! be a barrier or stumbling block between
US. Even if she had a million dollars
! I'd love her just as much with it is l
would if she didn't have cent. So you
needn't worry yourself any on that
| score.
THE judge gasped once or twice, and
/ thought he was going to have a
stroke of some sort, but he finally re-
! covered sufficiently TO call my attention
to the location of the door and insinu-
ofn fT,ot Il g..
taking a walk for the benefit of my
health was before me waiting to be
improved.
Il improved it. walked out of the
| judges Office and up to the judges
house, and informed Jessie that her
father was the most obstinate man 1
knew of, with one exception.
land who is the exception?' she
asked.
Myself said I. Your paternal
| ancestor is inclined to be trifle-er-
mulish, so to speak, but when it comes
to game of ohstinacy 1 can give him
95 points out of a possible 100, and then
beat him without half trying
"'Can your said she, with an en-
bound 10 be obstinate, I'm glad it is in
good cause
I'VE agreed to stand together for
good and all, and wear out her fathers
opposition, even if it required q CEN
fury to accomplish that desirable end.
l am happy to say, however, that we
did not have to wait the full 100 years.
The exact time, I believe, was Is
months. but it seemed like century to
me. principally because my interviews
with Jessie during that time were some
what brief and infrequent
From the date of my interview with
him in his office he had never spoken
to or recognized me in any way, shape
or manner. Whenever we CHANGED to
meet he stared straight ahead and
passed on. paying no more attention to
me than if 1 were a clod beneath his
feet.
Twice during the first six months of
my enforced waiting 1 called at Judge
Granger's office for the purpose Of talk
ing the matter over with him, and if
possible, inducing him TO change his
mind, but on each occasion he peremp-
torily declined to see me.
after this I took to writing RI
wrote him several letters, setting forth
my prospects and showing that ! was
abundantly able to take care of a wife
Needless to say. l received no reply.
OF one thing ] was sure; my pathetic
pleas, instead of having softening eff
feet on Jessie's father, acted like a
tonic. adding a fresh layer of obstinacy
that article. After receiving one of my
notes noticed that the judge invariably
carried himself with more naughty
and unbending air than ever. and in
his eyes there was the confident, self
satisfied look of general who has the
enemy checkmated and beaten at every
point.
Three dreary months dragged by.
and then the whirligig of time brought
its revenge at last as the poet tells
about, and our positions were unexpect-
eddy reversed and 1 suddenly became
the obdurate and naughty dispenser of
favors, with Judge Granger a trembling
supplicant before me, not figuratively, |
but literally.
How did this wonderful metamor-
phosis come about? Well. it seems
strange, yet in reality it was the most
simple and natural thing in the world. |
You see, Judge Granger was an enthu- |
siastic horseman, fond of riding and |
driving, and one day when a stranger !
came into town and offered him a fine !
saddle horse for about two-thirds its |
actual value the judge couldn't resist |
the temptation to buy it.
THE animal had been stolen from q |
ranch only few miles distant. hut of |
course the purchaser knew nothing of |
this. The alacrty with which the |
stranger got out of town after dispos- |
ing of the animal ought to have opened |
the judges eyes, but apparently it did |
rot.
Anyhow. the next morning the judge
donned his riding suit and set forth to |
try his new saddle horse He rode for |
perhaps half a dozen miles out into the |
country, and then turning about he |
was leisure!y jogging back to town.
when he was overtaken by a party of |
cowboys who were riding posthaste in
IL