The Opelousas courier., 1901-08-31
Mrs. WilliamS'S Wild Ride.
BY CLAR1cE IRENE cL1NaHAN.

CepLloH VI luo peIAlS Wu1SA IA yCdlS
past attended their pioneer sisters on
the frontier. They may have a theo-
retical idea, it is true, but me must
have had actual experience to realize
fully the constant dangers that beset
these brave souls.
The Williams ranch at Rockdalc,
Wyoming, lay near the foot of the
Medicine Bow mountains. and was
40 miles from railroad station and
postofice. A young married couple
had settled there, and invested their
savings in cattle and horses. They
throve and were happy, until one
unfortunate day, when Mrs. Williams
brother, addison White, arrived from
a mining camp in California where he
had been prospecting and working for
two or three years. In boyish glee he
produced from his capacious pockets
four stout buckskin bags tied with
thongs, which he flung upon the kitch-
en- table.
"Open EN-, Mab," he said to Mrs. Will
liams. She united n of the bags,
turned it upside down, and was as
tonished to see an avalanche of
bright, gold pieces roll Owe the table
and down upon the floor.
20, Ad," said Mabel, pursuing the
spinning runaways," what does it
mean? Where did you get them?"
They're my savings of the last four
years." replied Addison. proudly.
Each of those bags has twenty-five
500 gold pieces in it."
1.-TWO thousand dollarsi And you
brought it all the way from the rail-
road station alone on horseback"
exclaimed his sister, aghast. How
very imprudent! Don't you know this
country is full of d~esperadoes? Why
didn't you deposit it in a savings
bank?"
Because I want to invest it right
away, and didn't want to be bothered
putting it in and then drawing itright
out again." returned Addison. with a
self-satisfed air, walking up and down
the room with his hands in his pock-
cts. I'm going to leave it in your
hands, sis, for safe keeping. Mean
while I'll look around, and when l
strike a nicelitt1e location in a mining
camp for a general merchandise store,
I'll use the money In buying stock"
Being thus left in possession of the
treasure, Mabel cast about for a suit
able hiding place; but the secluded
little hooks, the r cupboards, the
mysterious oak closets and big, ram
4 hIin~ rorrofc roo,11So~ IN old lFachio1nJ
eastern houses were totally lacking in
This small, bare walled, three roomed
log cabin.
First Mabel loosened a board in the
floor and put the four buckskin bags
underneath. 1t seemed to her excited
Imagination that any one might. no
tice that that particular board had
been pried up and nailed down again;
and besides, the first thing a robber
In search of concealed wealth would
do would be to look under the floor.
SO, after a few days, she removed the
carelessness in the dark recesses of a
little cupboard where she kept her bot
ties and frying pans.
But this was worse still. Her eyes |
seemed fixed in a telltale gaze on the
place where the treasure lay concealed.
So one day after dark she pried up
one Of the fat stones which formed
part of a walk leading TO the spring
house, dug out some of the soil under
meath to make room, placed the four
little bags therein, and then carefully
replaced the stone.
1t was not surprising that Mrs. Will
liams was a little apprehensive, for
she wal usually quite alone during the |
daytime. Her brother had gone on his
trip to look up a mining camp, and her
husband was busy branding calves and
colts at a roundup even miles away.
Nevertheless, Mabel was by no means
! timid woman. She broke all her
husbands colts, and was never SO
happy as when conQuering a mettle-
some bronco. She was now subduing
, particularly fine thoroughbred colt
named Taurus, which was kept in the
stable instead of being allowed to fol-
low the herd, much to his anger and
disgust.
One morning, while she was en-
gagged with household duties in the
cabin, a loud, ringing blow sounded
upon the door. Upon opening it, she
was confronted by two rough looking
men, one Of whom covered her with a
revolver.
1--WE know you have $4,000 in gold
In this house." he said. Get it at
.ence."
Il give you my word OF honor" said
Mabel, speaking calmly, that the only
money in the house is about $50 that
have on hand for household ex-
penses. It is in the next room"
60 get Il, then, and be lively" said
the rpan with the revolver. AS for
the $4,000, / know it's here. Well see
about that afterward.'
Mabel went into the adjoining room,
geized her husbands rifle that stood
In a corner, slammed the door shut
and shot a thick wooden bolt into
It's hasp.
II am armed" she called, "and will
shoot the man that breaks down the
door!''
She then made a pretense of piling
up furniture before the door to barri-
cade 1t, and under cover Of the noise
opened the rear window and sprang
out. As soon as she gained the ground
she fairly few to the stable, where she
unloosed the half broken colt, Taurus.
Not daring to take time to saddle or