The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-11-09

know how many perhaps the whole
| length of hero
! 'Well?" says l.
Our little placer claim says Aggy
| slowly, rubbing his hands together, Gov
| ers that ford; and by judicous taking
| up OF claims for various unclcs ana
| brothers and friends of ours along the
| creek on the lowlands we can fix il so
| they can't even bridge it,"
| DO you mean they can't cross our
| claims if we say they cant?"
Sure thing" says Aggy. There's you
| and me and the law TO say No to that
! ] wish | had gun
You don't need any gun for that skunk
OF driver.
"Of course not; but theren be pas
sengers, and there's no telling how ex-
cited them passengers will be when they
| find they've got to go over the hills ford
! hunting"
Are you going to send EN- all around,
Ago"
The whole bunch Anybody coming
hack from the digRings has gold in his
| clothes, so it won't hurt 'em none: and !
propose to give that stage line an adj
vertising that won't do it bit Of good.
| Come along. Red; lets see that lad that
has the shack up the river. We need
something to eat, and maybe he's got
gun. Ii he's decent Teller Well let
| him in on a claim. Never mind about the
| hole; it won't run away, and there's no
body to touch anything Come on.
SO We went up the river. The mans
| name was White an he was a white
man ty nature, too. lie led rs well and
was just as hot az us when we told him
| about the stage drivers trick Then we
| told him about the find and let aim in.
Now" says Aggy, have you got
gum"
81 have that" says the man. My dad
used to be a duck hunter on Chesapeake
Fay. When you say gun III show you
gun He dove in under his bunk ana
fetched out what I should say was Ne
! bore shotgun, with barrels six foot
long.
Gentlemen" says he, holding the gun
up and patting it lovingly, IF YOU ram ID
quarter pound of powder in each one Of
them barrels and a handful of buckshot
on top of that you've got an argument
that couldn't be upset by the Supreme
Court. I'll guarantee that when you
point her anywheres within ten feet of
a man not over hundred yard away
and let her do her duty all the talent
that that mans family could employ
couldn't gather enough of him to recog
nze him by and you won't be in bed
more'n long enough to heal busted
shoulder"
Il hope it amt going to be my painful
line of performance to pull the trigger.
says Agcy. Il think the sight OF her
would have weight with most people.
When's the stage due back?'
DAY after tomorrow, about noon"
THAT gives us lots of time to stake,
and TO salt claims that can't show cause
their own selves, says Aggy. Il think
were all right"
The next day we worked like the Old
| Harry. We had everything fixed up right
by nightfall, and there was nothing to
do but dig and wait.
Curious folks we all are, amt We?
should have said my own self that If ia
found gold by the hucketful ia be more
| interested in that than l would be in get
! ting even with a NUT that had done me-
dirt, but il wasn't So PERHAPS it was
| because hadn't paid much attention to
money all my life. and ] had paid the
| strictest attention to the way other peo
! pie used me. Living where there's SO
| few folks accounts for that, l suppose.
Getting oven on OIL" esteemed frierd
| tho stage driver was right in your Cncls
Roddys line, and Agsy and our new rard.
White, seemed to take kindly to it also.
| If you ever saw three faces filled with
| innocent glee it was when we heard the
| wheels of tibet stage coming-why, the
night before I WAS woke up by some
| body laughing. There rs Aggv sound
| asleen sitting up hugging himself in the
moonlight
| "Oh. my! Oh nv" saws he. cts the
| oplv ford for four Thousand miles,"
We planted a sign in the middle of the
road with this wording on il in bic let
tiers, made with the black end of stick: