St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1902-11-01
66e Taming
of a Terror
BY FRANK b. WEIGH
OCOVILLE was plum sick of Buck

OCOVILLE was plum sick of Buck
Tansy, and it was evident from the
way the leading citizens of the sage
brush town we're limiting around that
something would soon be doing Buck
was a bunch of badness from the bush
and he had thrown chills through the
town from the first hour of his arrival.
He started in by exploiting himself as
a cataclismic concentration of cussed-
ness with the hairy side out, and he had
managed to make good the bluff in one
way or another, although there had
been nobody to the fore as yet who
packed sand enough to go straight
against his game. There had been sew
eral hardy persons in the community
who were red-raw in their comments
on his conduct, but they were quickly
converted to the belief that they were
pushing in when it wasn't their turn.
Tansy talked tersely to them,
punctuating his remarks with forty
four-caliber astonishers, and the de-
cision was in his favor. There was not
a man in town who would not have
cheerfully Clipped in his services
toward the conversion of Tansy's
husky hulk into fertilizing material,
inclination very extensively. Every
man Jack of them passed whenit came
to make the first play for undying
fame. With singular similarity they
one and all switched for the under
brush when Tansy's arrival was even
suspected. "Mr. Tansy" was always
welcomed with the delighted mitt
whenever he felt called upon to honor
the town center with his presence.
That 'measly wolf" was the highest
compliment handed out for him in his
absence. Commerce and industry
waited upon the coming and going of
the King-pin of the commonwealth,
and trade and traffic hung suspended
upon the peg of his convenience. Plots
and plans innumerable with Tansy as
the decadent issue had been laid,
hatched-and buried. Hooting, toot-
ing terrors with chile-con-carve think
words came, saw and subsidized on first
tete-a-tete with this main guy of the
sage patch.
This was the state of things when
one June evening Ferdy Plunker fol-
lowed his cigarette into the midst of
an indignant crowd at the t~averndoor.
He had dropped off a w~est-bound train
to canvass the dry goods trade OF the
town for an eastern house. His habil-
n who 4 ~ ;ob h ha ocpci1oroI
u%proarious in a quiet community, and
when the Locovillians got sight Of him
they stood agape and staring. Some
were disposed to make light Of the APP
partition, venturing odds as to the ma
lure of it, etc. Ferdy caught some of
the cute comments at his epense, but
vouchsafed the gang nothing more
than a blank stare and a puff of ciga-
rette smoke. He followed his grips
into the chuck-house and proceeded to
thicken up with the head shower of the
biscuit, an easy thing for any one with
the price in his apparel.
The visitation took the public mind
off of Tansy for awhile, but not for
long. as that worthy happened along
in the wake of the tenderfoot. His
arrival was the signal for a general dis
persal of the Indignation meeting in
his honor, but not before a resolution
had been passed to take steps to abate
the nuisance. Those who remained
were pointedly invited by the object of
their ~displeasure to wet their muzzles
with him, an invitation that was as
good as accepted when issued.
While the gang were washing down
their disrespect for the terrible Tansy,
Ferdy CHANGED upon them in the bar
room. His entrance caused a hush to
fall upon the booty bunch. At sight of
him Tansy nearly'swallowed his glass,
losing his liquor in a gulp of astonish-
ment.
"Great CULVER! What's that?" he
roared, pointing to Ferdy. "Hey, there,
Jocko, where's your cage?"
Ferdy without so much as a glance
at the grinning Tansy sauntered slow
ly up to the bar and ordered a soda pop.
the bottle touched the bar a bullet
from Tansy's revolver shivered it,
spraying Ferdy with glass and soda.
"Here's the kind of pop You want"
said Tansy poking the muzzle of the
gun under the patrician proboscis of
the complacent Ferdy. who manifested
nothing more than polite surprise at
the intrusion.
81 say, old chap" said he, as he
mopped his face with his scented hand
kerchief, twill you kindly sneak off
somewhere and lie down for awhile
and keep quiet?
"Well, you cheeky chimpanzee!"
yelled Tansy in amazement; then with
hilarious boot he turned to the men
"How's that for pluck, eh
boys? He's one of those story-book
~tenderfeet that come out west here
and kill off the bad men. Ow-wow-
WOW! kiddy, but you're brave. You're
brave enough to drink with me.
to the barkeep, hand out that
black bottle with the brokenl lip. That's
the stuff thatll curl your hair, boy.
Fill 'er up!"
Not my time o. day for boozerine,
old fellow; i beg to be omitted this
..Fill Ter up, Jocko!" roared Tansy,
with tornadoes in his tones and a -four
ish of his gun. "Fill 'er up there and
hist 'er in quick, CT out you go to my |