Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1900-10-04
A MINERS ADVENTURE.
Telling How IL Feels to Re For an
Hour or SO Under II Gun


Hour or So Under Gum.
"Once upon a time" said a Colorado
mining expert, Il went rummaging around
my state looking for coal that was sup
posed to exist, and after a long trip in a
wagon | was nearing the railroad sta
ton As | drove along the ridge of n
wooded hill l was suddenly brought up
with a round turn by man stepping out
of the bushes and sticking an ugly look
ing gun straight at me. The man told
me to throw up my hands, and that is
what | did. The man told me to move
up past him till he told me to stop. This
l also did, his gun covering me all the
time. Then he climbed into the wagon
and sat on a box of mineral specimens |
was taking back to Denver with ae. lie
never said word after he told me TO
drive on when he had seated himself, and
l didn't say anything at first, but it
wasn't long until | couldn't stand it, with
him sitting there so dead still behind
me, so / venturcd to speak.
Excuse me, partner said | as pleas
antly as | could, but | would like to say
that if it's all the same to you | wish you
would sit here OH the seat with me. The
old gun may 20 off, and it wouldn't
make il any pleasantcr for me to get a
bullet in the small of the back
Huh" he grunted Are you armed?
81 told him | was not, and he moved
up and sat down beside me, keeping his
gun ready for business. AS the wagon
topped the last rise in the road from
which we could see the station about
half mile away he looked hard at me.
I'm going down there with you,
young fellow he said, 'on n little bust
ness, and if you say anything about me
to anybody or speak of me at all and
any disturbance comes up I'll shoot you
first off. Do you understandF
HE was silent for the rest of the way,
and when we stopped and he got out he
told me to remember and | nodded. He
strolled over on to the platform, and |
went to the stable with my horses and
came back to the station. | went out
on the platform for air. He had moved
down to the far end, and | concluded
that | would move off in the other direc-
ton toward n water tank | noticed n
couple of hundred yards up the track.
About the time | had my plans made a
handcar came down with six section
hands on it who had seen me drive up to
the station with the man and his gun.
They had seen him lOafing about the
platform and informed me that to their
notion he was a train robber, and they
proposed to run him in. They We're en-
tirely unarmed, however, and they knew
what it meant to tackle q fellow with a
gun, so they began to calculate among
themselves how to get their man.
'The section hands moved down to the
platform and as it was about noon they
got out their dinner buckets and began
looking around for a good place to spread
their lunch. One Of the hands suggested
that they might get him dead to rights
by spreading their lunch over in his
neighborhood. and perhaps if he had
been hiding in the hills very long he was
hungry enough to ask to join them. The
proposition was accepted at once, and
the crowd went over and opened up their
buckets They asked me to 20 along,
but | wasn't a bit hungry, though | was
as hollow inside as an empty barrel. My
friend, however, wasn't feeling that way,
for soon as he saw the food spread
out temptingly before him he went right
up and asked if he couldn't have bite.
He ate like a man who hadn't eaten for
n long time, and he was soon so absorb
ed in it that he forgot his caution and let
go of his gun.
"In a minute section hand had it,
and in another minute they had piled on
top of him, and while some held him
others tied him, and then they stood him
on his feet and started him over to the
platform to wait for the train. / was
good deal easier in my mind when | saw
the ugly cuss fixed so as he couldn't train
his gun on me. but it did not add to my
comfort to have to listen to the fearful
way in which he cursed me for every
thing vile and shameful in having be-
trayed him. Who he was or what he
was nobody knew then, and | never did
find out, but | guess he was a train rob-
Der all right and got his dose, for | new
er saw or heard of him again. and | was
on the lookout for a good many years. be
cause | knew if we ever met there was
going to be shooting to hll."-Denyer
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