Crittenden press. [volume] (Marion, Ky.) 1879-1907, 1902-06-26
THE MAN WHO
LAUGHED LAST.
ny II. s. Garfield.

80, as the spring roundup was cnu
ed and the branding done, and moth
ing remained to bother folks except
the serenity, they thought to have q
dance. The boss of the Bar c outfit
said they could have his new hide
house. Five of the boys volunteered
to ride all over jeff Davis county and
tell the girls. 1t was easy to get a
fiddler or two from Stockton. The
cook of Bar C. held himself to be COM
petent to throw together enough
jerked beef and black coffee to feed
40 regiments. The married women
would come, not only for the looks Of
the thing, but to tread few meas
ures themselves. There hadn't been
an all-county dance in jeff Davis
county since the Chisholm women,
who belonged to old "Yank" CHS
holm, of the Circle o brand, went
back east, and that was five years
ago.
Minnie Scott, daughter of Buck"
Scott. of the Diamond 2 ranch, would
be there. She was the belle of all
northwestern Texas, gray-eyed and
clear-skinned, plump and merry,
frank-hearted and tender. Zeke
Trimble rode fence for Bar c and Bill
Raglan broke horses for the Running
w people. Zeke was bony chap,
with not much to say at the best of
times. Nobody thought that he
stood much chance with Raglan, who
was a strong, black-eyed fellow, with
q taste for red sashes, red-topped
boots, ivory-handled six-shooters and
gay horsehesh. He could pick the
guitar a bit and ride to lay over any
thing between FL Paso and Browns
vile, and his tongue went freely,
whether he talked to leather leggings
or petticoats. 1t was like him to ride
20 miles to the Diamond ? place and
ask Miss Minnie for the pleasure of
her company to the ball, and it was
like Miss Minnie to tell him that she
intended to go with pa and ma in the
new carriage her pa had bought in
SantOne. 1t was still more like her
10 manage some sort of hint to Trim
bic that he might take her to the
dance if he wanted to. OF course he |
nearly fell off his horse; it tickled him
60. That was the way the trouble be-
gan and it lasted for months.
Old "Buck" Scott and Mrs. Scott |
came to the dance in the new carriage |
all right enough, but their daughter |
rode pacing paint pony and Trimble |
lode with her. They got TO the Bar
c hide-house just as dark fell. AL
ready there was a crowd inside and
two fiddlers were playing "Old Zip
Coon" for the opening quadrille.
Miss Minnie dropped her riding skirt
from her almost as soon as she hit the
ground. Zeke put his six-shooter
into a corner where there was pile
of them, and they were halfway |
around in Ladies to the right and !
gents to the left before pa and ma
got 10 the door. Miss Minnie looked |
about slyly for the red head and black
eyes of Raglan, but she did not see
them. Later in the night she made
bold to ask one of the Running w
men about him. He said that Rag
Ian had left the ranch the day before,
bound for Stockton, and would not
get back for a week.
1T were easier than ropin "a blind
heifer ter know wat sent him off,
Miss Minnie" the man said, with
grin. "IIe heerd tibet Zeke was still
hard at work cuttin'-out, an it made
lim look sickish."
Miss Scott raised her head haugtily
and blushed. "Mr. Raglan's affairs
ire not mine," she said. 81 asked for
him merely from curiosity. | don't
know what you mean" Miss Scott
lad been to school in Austin.
Trimble had sense, and he knew it
ras no time to throw his rope when
he maverick was straight ahead of
Tim and in the open. He quadrilled
nth the girl and waltzed with her
nd lancered and schottisched and
and nolkaed. A little