The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-12-19

RuSSeII.)
Which this yere tale" observed the
Old Cattleman in a high spirit OF argu-
mentative philosophy, 'is mighty devil
Gus, not to say dis'jinted, because.
d'you see! from first to last, she's all
the truth. Now, thar is folks sech as
Injuns an them sagacious sports which
we-all terms philosophers, who talks
of truth bein' straight. Injuns will
say a liar has a forked tongue while
philosophers will speak Of "a straight
ondeviatin' narrative meanin' tharby
10 indooce you to Regard a story as
the emanation Of honesty In it's every
word. For myself L don't subscribe
o. to these yere phrases. In my OWL
experience it's the lies that runs IN E
straight line like a outlet. whereas the
truth goes Onder an over, an up in
down, doubles an jumps sideways :
dozen times before ever it finally finds
Its camp in what book sharps call the
climax of the romance. Which l says
a'Sin that this tale, bein' troo, has
nacheraliy as man wrinkles in it as a
new lariat.
"Bein' thoughtfuI that away, an
pTeyed on by a desire TO back-track,
every fact to it's fOuntain-head, mean
while cOnsiderin' how different the ky
ards would rave fallen final if some
Thing prior had been done or left on
done, has ever been my long suit. It's
alters so with me- L can recall as a
child when back liz old Tennessee, how
l devOtes hours when fishin' or other
wise lazily engaged, to wOnderin' who
yer I'd have been personal if my NAV
hnH .IiaI in har ~frIhnn1 m mn Hn1
welded someone else. It's plumb too
many for me as Il problem; an now
an then when in a Sperit of unusual
COS'tatiOn, L ups an wonders where I'd
be if both my nav an pap had cashed
in as colts, I'd Jest simply set down
helpless on my mental launches, on
qualified to think at all. It's plain that
IN sech Ontoward events as my two pa
rents dyin', say, at the age of three.
[ sort o wouldn't as a Twin person
have happened none whatever; an this
yere solemn view of the escape 1 has
from DeiE' nOthin', lever fails to give
me the fOmtods. But enough of
gloomy r~eetrospection an vain porin's
over youthful hopes an fears: it's time
10 push for-ard
II fixes the time of this story easy as
bein' that eepOck when jim East an
o Pierce is sheriffs of the Panhandle,
with headquarters in TascOSa, an Bob
Robertson is chief of the lit ranch. These
yere evidences of merit on the parts OF
them three gents has no.. however,
anything to do with how C~Old-Sober
Simms gets rich at farObank; how w
hold-uPs plots to rob him; how he's
saved by the inadvertent capture of a
bOb-cat who's strange to him entire:
an how the two hoId-ups in their chag-
rim over Cold-sober': escape ar the
mootuaI doubts it ~engenders. pulls on
each other an'sayeS the Strangers the
labor of strirgin' EN- to q cottonwood.
These doin's whereof 1 gives you a
rapid rehearsal, has their start when
Scotty an Locoed Charlie gets trunk
in Tascosa prior to startin west on
their buckboardS with the mailbags Of
the Iee-ScOtt outfit.
"Locoed Charlie an Old Scotty is
drunk when they pulls out. while Cold
sober SimmS by accident is with EN- as
u passenger. At their night camp half
way to the Lee-Scott ranch, LocCed
Charlie whose head can't stand the
strain of Lon Jenkins n~osepaint. makes
w~ar-medicine an lays for Old Scotty
all spraddled out. AS the upcome of
these hostilities Old Scotty confers 4
most elab'rate beatin' on Locoed Charlie
after which they-all cooks their grub,
feeds, an goes to sleep.
But Locoed Charlie don't go 10 sleeU:
he lays thar drunk an d~isgruntled an
~ DAS NNNA- 49, " oOON -
Vengeful scheme. LocOed Charlie gets
up an secretes the mailbag, thinkin'
tharby to worry Old Scotty till he
sWeats blood. LoCOed Charlie packs
the mailbag over among some rocks
which is thick oVergrOWn with cedar;
an. you hear me, son. Locoed Charlie
shore hides it so we'll hat at sun-up
when he's sober an repents an tells
Old Scotty of his little game, neither he
nor Scotty can find that mailbag no.
how.
"Locoed Charlie an ScOtty dom
dare go on without il, but stays an
searches: Cold-sober Simms.-whO l.
given this yere nom -de-Guerre, as Col
onei Sterett terms ii, ecauS he's the
only agent in the Panhandle who don't
drink,-StayS with EN- to help on the
hunt. At last. falin' utter to discover
the missin' mail, LoCOed Charlie an
Old SCOtty returns To Tascosa in feal
an tremblin'. not pdckin' the nerve &c
face NcAIlister who manage for the
Lee-ScOtt. an inform him of the
younger disposition they makes of his
outfits letters. This sudden return &C
Tascosa is after all mere providence
since MCAIliSter is 4 mighty enotloIa
manager that away an its as good as
four for one he hangs both of them cul-
prits i'll that first gust of e~nthoosiasn
which would be sure to follow any eX-
PLANTATION they can make. So they re
turns: an because II" amt hep himSe'!
none bein' he's only Il passenger ~
that blackboard. CoId-s0ber Simms -e'
turns with EN-. No. the mailbag :.
found = week later by a Lee-SCott rider
an for LOcoed Charlie and Scotty it!
a mighty likely just as we'll. At thi:
pint. as your practiced ~racontoor wou.C
say. wa-all can dismiss LocOed Charlie
an Old ScOtty from our story.
"Cold-sober is some sore at bein
baffled in his trip TO the Lee-Scott's a:
he aims to so to work thar as a rider
To console himself, he turns in an
briefly yet briskly bucks a faro gam
that a couple of unknown black4aig
who shows in Tacosa from Fort Ellio
the day prior, has onfurled in Franl
James S'loCn. AS sometimes happens
Cold-scber plays in all brands ar
y'earnarks of luck, an in four hour
breaks the banks It amt overstrone
no sech i~nstitootiOn of finance in fac
as Cherokee Halls faro game in WoIf
Vile. an when Cold-sober calls the las
nine-king turn for one hundred an ha
besides a hundred on the nine, COZ