The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-01-26


almost life for him.
Naturally enough, Bill was the more
prosperous of the two. Before he
was thirty he owned a considerable
"bunch -" of cattle and leased quite a
body of land IN the eastern part of
Baylor county as a ranch. Joe was his
line rider, and in that capacity was en-
abled to do great deal of such work
as did not require any great amount of
mere muscular strength. Everything
worked smoothly with them until May
Conley came to live with a married
brother of hers who lived only few
miles from the Savage ranch. She was
not a highly educated girl by any
means, and it is doubtful if she was
more than fairly intelligent, but she
was pretty, and she was ickle-and
that tells the whole story. In this case
Joe was the first victim. He met May
at one of the big camp-meetings that
are common in that country in the fall
of the year, and after that he was very
pronounced in his attentions to her for
several months. Then his attentions
ceased as suddenly and as abruptly as
as they had begun. People noticed
this, and they also noticed that just
about that time Bill began going TO see
| her.
Bill took it up just where Joe laid
it down." remarked one cowboy to an
other during one of the intervals in q
dance on one occasion.
Nav, that amt it," responded his
friend. l think Joe laid it down just
where Bill took it up
! One day, as the two brothers and one
or two others were engaged in brand
| ing some of Bills yearlings, the subject
was brought up.
"Sure enough, Joe, whatever made
you quit goin' to see that Conley gal 80
suddenl?" asked Jim Smith, one of the
helpers, in jocular way.
said Joe, with what was evidently a
forced attempt at gayety.
"Shucksl" calculated his brother.
"You needn't a-stopped for that" II
l couldn't beat you, I'd better quit!"
There was just the least bit of con-
temptuous emphasis on that word
"you," and Joe noticed it. A slightly
shamed, panied look came over his
poor, thin face as he faltered:
"W-well, 1 didn't keer much for her,
no way. was just a-foolin' from the
first"
My deliberate opinion is that this
statement was lie. 1t is my opinion,
furthermore, that in this single, I'M
grammatical, mispronounced, mutilate d
lie there we're loftiness of thought and
purity of purpose such as an angel in
heaven might we'll aspire to. Bill did
not take any such view of the matter,
though, for he only looked up and re-
torted angrily:
"My opinion of anybody that would
go foolin' round woman when he
didn't care nothin' for her is that he
amt much of man."
Hes pretty small potatoes - he
shore is" put in Tom Jackson, the
fourth man at the branding. Nobody
noticed the remark particularly at the
time, but subsequent events caused
them to think great deal about it later
on.
"I'm surprised at you, Joe," said Bill
The ghost of forced smile lowered
piteously on Joe's lips for moment
but he merely rubbed his forehead with
the knot on his wrist in the nervous
way peculiar to him on such occasions
and said nothiug.
Aside from one or two little Incl
dents like this-which are hardly worth
counting as exceptions - Bil's court
ship was an illustration of the fact that
Notwithstanding certain very emf
nent authority to the contrary, the
course of true love does occasionally
run smooth-for awhile. In this case
it ran smooth down to the very day sci
for the wedding. The ceremony wa,
to be performed at what was known as
Plum Creek school-house, and early in
the morning Bill went with number
of his friends to get ready for the fes'
tivities. In some countries it nigh,
not be considered as part of the
groom's duties, to make these prepare
tions, but in Texas it is etiquette fol
anybody to do anything, provided there
is not some one else to do it.
The ceremony was to take place al
ten O'Clock. Perhaps half an hour be-
fore that time Joe and his friend jim
Smith were riding through the timber
bottoms in Texas, and were much as
tonished when, at sudden bend il
the trail, they came across the sup
| poecu prospective Drlu6' one WAS Oh
horseback and unaccompanied.
HelloP, exclaimed Joe in surprise
Are you lost?"
Eyes" answered May with ner
vous laugh. 81 never was as glad t.
see anybody in my life. This here
creek bottom timber's 80 thick wild
cat would mighty nigh get lost in it, lie
alone woman"
81 should think that you and Bill
had been to Plum Creek schoo-hous,
often enough to know the way by thi
timer"
81 amt a-going to Plum Creek,
said May, with foolish giggle.
"Whatl Amt you goin' to git mar
ried?"
eyes"
"Well, Bill's at the school-hous,
now, a-waitin' for you"
May tossed her head and then gig
gled again.