Potosi journal., 1903-07-22

Home Companion.J
TT was mail-day at Waxhaw. The
j narrow street in front of the post
Office was full, and the hitching- posts
each tethered it's saddled horse.
There were high-heeled boots with
jingliDg spurs, Notwithstanding SOM
breros, cartridge-belts and full hol-
sters, as well as leather and befrngcd
lcgginss, but the crowd about the
gray and weather-beaten cottonwood
building was a decorous one. Even
those who came and went through
the swinging doors of the Cowboys
Rest down street did SO in a sub
dued way. Had stranger, expecting
vociferation and reckless shooting.
questioned the state of affairs, Linz
Der Jack, the erstwhile Bad Man of
Waxhaw, would have explained.
Don't talk too loud, er Miss
Ncrvy'll git after yc. She don't like
a racket when she's sortin' the mail"
The men lounged and talked, ex-
changed tobacco, the news of the
range and frequent libations. Sud
denly the post Office door opened, and
there was a hush. An erect, we'll
built woman of about 35 stood there.
The sun caught the ripplcs of her
red hair, turning them to copper; her
mouth was set in a grim line as she
looked sternly across the crowd.
You Samuel Smith" Her voice
drifted commandingly even into the
interior of the Cowboys Rest. "Your
br0ncho's scratching itself against
the south wall fit to knock the house
over. If you men amt more careful
you can't hitch here at all"
A dozen men sprang with aiacrity
In answer to her complaint, and as
many more reproved the owner of the
offending animal, who was Smiling
Sam to all but Miss Merry, and who
meckly led the pony away.
Juno Minerva her father had named
her, and he had fondly hoped that in
his only daughter might be united the
wisdom and the beauty Of her god
dess godmothers. These she came to
possess only in a moderate degree;
also-from Minerva, perhaps-she in
herited temper.
Her father, early widowed, had be-
taken himself and his young goddess
to the plains of the setting sun, where
in the heart of the great grazing
country he established small store
at a trading point on one of the great
stage lines. He died while his daugh-
ter was yet young, the general opn-
ion upon his taking off being epitom-
lied by ST Merristalk when he eail
''How glad the old man must be to
lie good an dead, an whar Miss Nervy
can't boss him fer SPELL
Blamed cf she don't try to regge'
late every livin' one O u.s." Timber
Jack would complain. "Jaws us if we
don't change our shirts, er ef we rur
our hosses er take 4 hand at quiet
little game. Allays two kinds o thingi
IS wrong-them we do, an them We
don't do-so anyway she's sure tt
skin u.s."
Despite their faultfinding, the mel
who frequented WaNhaw secretly adj
mircd and gloricd in the possession
of Miss Ncrvy. The very fcarlessncs:
and the high temper that rendered
tho contraction of her name fitting
one caused them to respect her. Sh'
was neat and busincssike; the goods
in her little store we've irrcproach
able; as pcstmistrcss she was accu
rate; her arraignments, if severe
were usually acknowledged to be wei
grounded, and above all she was
woman.
To-day the crowd that awaited TIN
sorting of the mail displayed, Wit
all its decorum, a suppressed excite
mcnt. After much discussion of way
and means whereby Miss Merry
severity might be lcsscncd. some o
the more daring ones had hit ur"'
the scheme of furnishing their god
dcss with a suitor.
Love" .leclaimcd Timber Jack t
the campfire circlc-''not the phllal
derin' flirtin' that most @ us has don,
but rcggelar, squashy love, tha
means tyin' up to the same post
softcns the hardcst-hearted wlic
means Miss Nervy, to'rds the who'll
world, which means us. Wen choos
likely duck to b'siege our fair post
missis, an trust the rest to him al
Proridencc.'
After much deliberation IoI
Ketehum, who had been Merry iol
until Miss Merry wrested away hi
laurels, was selected as the Horatiu
of WaXkaw.
II spose it might as well be nj
as any one he remarked. in tone
Of resignation. "lll die some tim'
anyway. either by shootin' CT bror
cho-hustin', an ef it'll help the Sau
any to have it come by red-hcade
lightnin', all right"
Hes never baked at propositio
yit, firm n bob-cat up" said Limbe
Jack. exultantly; "an' eff he cause
Miss Nervy to s'render. he'll be goo
f. her. We don't want to s'press he
und"rstar', merely to-er-to init
gate her. SO to speak"
Again the post Office door operc'