The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-01-04
JUST THE TEXANS WAY

stagser under the weight of those
BASKETS.
sam. said Colonel OchiItree to me
down there in that stuny little hall.
I've had a powerful hard quarrel with
John Characterization and 1 are al
ways fighting, anyhoN-and he vows,
John does, that he'll never have an
other mOuthful cooked for me as long
as he lives-just because I told him
last night that a terrapin 1 saw in one
OF his terrapin barrels wasn't a dia-
mond-back. And so. Sam. I've just
brought a little stuff UP here-heard
You were still in town only today-and
I'm going to ask the little girl to cook
it for me. Sam I'm just naturally
starved, that's what 1 am, and your
wife sure knows how to cook Texas
style. Dye think she'll cook me
steak. Sam?' ne asked eagerly and with
a great air of solicitude.
''Of course. 1 saw in an instant that
that was only the coloners knightly
way of doing il, and I'm a-telling you
that l had a mighty tough job TO crowd
back the guip in my throat when those
darkieS brought the two enormous bas-
kets upstairs. But the wife couldn't
hold il in, and when she began to dab
at her eyes a bit with her little wad of
a handkerchief, Colonel Ochiltree-he
was her godfather-pretended to be
tremendously angry, and pretended TO
believe that she didn't want TO do any
cooking for him, and all that. That
brought her around all right, and then
the unloading of those market baskets
began
I couldn't begin to tell you what
they contained. The colonel pretended
that the most important contents of the
baskets were a big three-inch six
pound steak and a lot of mushrooms
that he wanted cooked for his supper,
but they were only a side issue. Those
two baskets held enough of the very
finest stuff the market afforded to
frame up magnificent Christmas din
ner for twenty peOple-huge bottles of
queen olives, cans of the finest veg
etables, preserves and condiments, five
pounds Of the choicest candies for the
wife. a mammoth turkey, a pair of red
headed ducks-but, as l say, l couldn't
even begin ~ mention what those bas-
kets contained. Down in the bottom
of one of them there were half a dozen
quart bottles of champagne and the
colonel dug two Of these out for the
supper.
My wife was soon busy with the
steak and mushrooms and green peas
and such like that Colonel Ochiltree
had brought along in one of the baskets
to give cOuntenance to the yarn that
he wanted something cooked for him
self. Inside three-quarters of an hour
we were around the table, talking Tex
as and Texans. and anybody who ever
had the privilege of sitting at a table
with Thomas OchiItree can imagine
how merry meal that was. We sat
and smoked. the colonel and 1. until
midnight. while the wife attended to
her darning, and then he rose to go.
He had mentioned in a very casual
way a mutual friend. a Texas man,
whom he had met that day. and the
thing was. of course. clear to me-the
mutual friend had told the colonel that
things weren't exactly coming my way,
and his visit was the result.
There was A guilty sort of look on
the cOlOners face as he slipped an OBJ
long box out of his fur oVerCoat Just
before he started to go. and placed it on
the table. He didn't say word about
it, and l knew that he wouldn't want
me to mention it. He said that he was
going to Texas for New Years, and,
with CHEEKY goodnight and a Merry
Christmas, away he went. humming to
himself
The box contained a handsome gift
for my wife. Beneath the gift was a
long envelope with my name on il. The
envelope contained three new 800 bills,
and this scrawl in Colonel Ochiltree's
weII-known hand:
My Dear sam: We can't all Of us
have the best of luck all the time. can
we2 There wouldn't be any fun in
that-the sunny days wouldn't feel so
good then, l am sure. I inclose a little
remembrance You must not mention
this matter to me when we meet again.
Sam. SON If you do. I shall be reduced
to the necessity of cutting you dead the
next tiue thereafter that YOU cut my
s. trail. Merry Christmas -