The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1901-11-29
THE PEDDLER'S RUSE

You see, l came TO MS coast Soon
after the gold fever broke out and set
tied down in the Santa Barbara valley
below here. ranching. l was a widower
even then and had brought with me
from the states my only child, a daugh-
ter past seventeen. She was a pretty
girl. If l do say it, and being as good
as she was pretty you can imagine l
was quite wrapped up in her. OF
course l was anxious to keep her with
me, and IL not that at least l looked
for her to do something better than
fall in love with a peddler."
"And did she?"
Eyes. You see in those days the
country was full of young fellows who
had struck out for themselves and were
trying to get a start by carrying knick-
knacks around from one mining camp
to another. Some of them were lively
chaps enough and we'll educated, but
was fresh from the states, with all the
eastern p~re.i'ldices, and it almost drove
me wild when Nellie told me she want
ed to marry a young fellow who
brought his pack through our district
a good deal oftener than the trade
seemed to require. l vas a hot temper
ed fool in those days, so l stormed.
threatened, locked Nellie up for a week
and sent word to her lover that l had
loaded my gun for wildcats and ped
dlers. One day when l came back from
q cattle sale she was missing. ! chased
her a couple of days, but they had TAX
en- to the woods, and it was Of no use.
After awhile l got a letter from Frisco,
and l wrote back saying that l disown-
ed her and that he had better keep out
Of the range of my rifle.
"One evening after a terrible rain
storm a peddler came to my house and
asked for. shelter for the night. He
was a thin, weak looking fellow, with
his face covered with a huge, ragged
beard. He carried on his back an NOR
mously long and heavy pack and SEEM
ed SO exhausted with his tramp
through the mire that l hadn't the
heart to do more than order him of
the place. He seemed all broke ur
when he found l wouldn't wen give
him q bunch Of straw in the stable and
no other house within twelve miles.
Instead of complaining, however, he
merely begged that l would let him
leave his pack, which. he said. contain
ed goods of value, under shelter from
the rain. l finally consented to this.
So, us l had sworn none of his trade
should ever cross my threshold. l car
ried his pack inside, while it's owner
limped off to crawl under some bush Or
other.
Something about the man reminded
me Of Nellie's husband Il little. How
ever. l locked and barred all the doors
and windows as usual, for some road
agents had been around those parts
about that time and had stopped and
robbed several ranches, and, as l told
you, l was all alone. Somehow l
couldn't go to sleep when after that !
went to bed. After tossing around for
awhile I got up and sat by the fire,
brooding over my trouble and trying
not to think of the poor chap shivering
ont there In the cold and rain some
where. l looked at his pack sitting up
in the room and wondered what made
it SO long. AS / watched it l fancied
l saw it move"
"Saw 1t move?"
EXACTLY. I wouldn't believe my own
eyes ut first, but after watching intent
ly for awhile l distinctly saw the front
OF a hand pressed against the canvas
from the inside. Like a flash Their I
understood the whole thing. The ped
dler was one OF the road agents gang,
and, knowing l had considerable mon
ey about the house, they had adopted
that p!an for smuggling one Of their
crew inside the house. After l had
gone to sleep the fellow inside could
let in the rest and finish the job. I
walked quietly across the room. took
my gun frcm the antlcrs. knelt down 4
few feet from the pack, aimed square
In the center and pulled the trigger"
"GO on murmihred the listener, with
Il shuGler.
But the gun DIDN'T so off," contin-
ued the landlord. clearing his throat.
.'The nipple was rusty and wouldn't
work. SO l laid down the rife. Just
then l saw a ghost. The pack opened.
and l saw sticking out Of its top the
curly yellow hair of my Nellie when
she was a little tat Of four. The shock
staggered me so that | sank ON my
knees. ! wiped my eyes and wondered
IL l had not gone crazy. l was almost
certain of 1t when the ghost stretched
out a pair Of chubby white arms and
said:
"'How Go. grandpay'"
"Ah," said the guest, with a relieved
sigh. II begin to see. And what did
you do thenY
II don't exactly know" said the
landlord softly. but If there is my
thing that will bend a stiff. stubborn
neck quicker than the arms of a little
child I'd like to know what it is. l put
the tired little prisoner down by the
fire. opened the door and held out my
arms"
"And the mother?"
yes" nodded the landlord. 'They
were both there, and. mister, I guess
that's the end Of my story" And the
old man wiped his eyes. "You must
p~..A.AYA