The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-03-31
THE PEDDLER' RUSE.


the landlord of the Long Pack, but
like to tell it sometimes just to remind
myself that the worst thing a man can
have in this world is a hot, obstinate
temper.
You see, / came to this coast soon
after the gold fever broke out and set
tied down in the Santa Barbara valley
below mere, ranching. was widowei
even then and had brought with me
from the states my only child, a daugh-
ter past seventeen. She was a pretty
girl, II l do say it, and being as good
as she was pretty you can imagine |
course l was anxious to keep her with
me, and if not that at least L looked
for her to do something better than
fall in love with a peddler."
And did she -
Yes You see in those days the
country was full of young fellows who
rad struck out for themselves and were
trying to get Il start by CARRYING knick-
knacks around from one mining camp
TO another. Some of them We're lively
chaps enough and we'll educated but l
was fresh from the states with all the
eastern prejudices, and it almost drove
me wild when Nellie told me she want
ed TO marry young fellow who
brought his pack through our district
a good deal oftener than the trade
seemed to require. 1 was a hot tenn
pered fool in those days, so I stormed
threatened, locked Nellie up for week
eand sent word to her lover that 1 had
loaded my gun for wildcats and ped
dlers- One day when l came back from
cattle sale she was missing. 1 chased
her couple of days, but they ha6
taken to the woods, and it was of no
Frisco, and 1 wrote back saying that
dlsoWned her and that he had better
keep out of the range of my rifle.
one evening after a terrible rain
storm peddler came to my house and
asked for shelter for the night He was
thin, weak looking fellow, with his
face covered with huge, ragged beard.
He carried on his back an enormous
hausted with his tramp through the
mire that l hadn't the heart to do more
than order him off the place. He SEEM
ed all broke up when he found ]
wouldn't even give him a bunch of
straw in the stable and no other house
within II miles. Instead of con pla ming,
however,he merely begged that would
let him leave his pack which he said
contained goods of value under shelter
from the rain. L finally consented to
this So. as I had sworn none of his
trade should ever cross my threshold,
carried his pack inside, while its own
er Hmped off to crawl under some bush
or other.
Something about the man reminded
me of Nellie's husband little How
ever, I 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
roooed several ranches. and. as told
you, was all alone Somehow /
couldn't go to sleep when after that I
went~to bed. After tossing around for
awhile l got up and sat by the fire,
brooding over my trouble and trying
not to think of the poor chap shivering
out 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 1 fancied l
saw it move"
Saw it nOVe?''
Exactly. I wouldn't believe my
own eyes at first, but after watching
intently for awhile 1 distinctly saw the
front of a hand pressed against the can
vas from the inside. Like a flash then [
understood the whole thing. The ped
der was one of the road agents gang
and knowing l had considerable money
about the house, they had adopted that
plan for smuggling one of their crew
inside the house. After 1 had gone 10
sleep the fellow inside could let in the
ly across the room, took my gun from
the antlers, knelt down few feet from
the pack, aimed square in the center
and pulled the trigger"
Go on, murmured the listener, with
a shudder.
But the gun didn't go off," continued
the landlord, clearing his throat. 1.-The
nipple was rusty and wouldn't work, so
/ laid down the rifle. Just then / saw
a ghost. The pack opened. and I saw
sticking out of its top the curly yellow
hair of my Nellie when she was a little
tot of four The shock staggered me so
that / sank on my knees. 1 wiped my
eyes and wondered if I had not gone |
crazy. 1 was almost certain of it when |
the ghost stretched out pair of chubby
white arms and said:
. How do, grandpa?
All" said the guest with relieved /
sigh II begin to see. And what did yo,l I
do then?"
II don't exactly know" said the land
lord softly. but if there is anything !
that will bend a stiff. stubborn neck /
quicker than the arms of a little child |
I'd like to know what it is. I 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, 1 guess /
that's the end of my story" And the |
old man wiped his eyes. You must |
excuse ne, but that was a wet evening. |
and somehow l haven't got quite dry |
since"