The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1904-03-10

w
derfoot looking fellow over thereI" in
CURED a passenger of the stage driver
during a change of horses, pointing to q
man standing in the door Of the express
Office
"That? That's Joe Eggcston. He
amt so meek as he looks .Jist We get
up alongside Of me on the box for the
next relay, and III tell you somcthin
about him"
In a few minutes the driver got the
reins in between his fingers, tie man
holding the leaders let go aId-they
flung away down the road
"Waal, as to Joe Egglcston," said the
driver when the pace had settled down.
II always thought Joe a quiet, inoffen-
sive chap with no great spunk till his
affair with Jennie Robbins. Jennies
people were poor enough to eat gopher
meat, and as Jennie was as purity as Il
pictur' and had all the men III the
neighborhood in love with her they
wanted her to make good match.
Jennie was only fourteen ut the time
they set their hearts on her marryin
Phil Steere, big cattleman, but she
had all the monkey shines of woman
of twenty. She wasn't havin' much of
time when Steere asked for her, so
she didn't object, thinlin' that with his
money she might make things hum.
He was forty, crossgrained and mean
as sawdust.
"She hadn't much moren said yes
when along comes Joe Eggleston, nine
teen years on and as fair lookin for
man as Jennie was for a gal. THE
men didn't think much Of him. He
seemed timid sort Of Teller and
most Of the time didn't even carry
gun. He was a clerk in the express
office, and man that dabbles in ink
isn't ginerally much good for blood.
But the wimmen all seemed to cotton
to him. He had a way of lookin' at 'em
out of them blue eyes of hisn. At any
rate him and Jennie jist went together
like two magnets. Joe knowed that
she was laid out for Stecrc, but that
didn't keep him from bein' about with
her hull lot.
zone day Joe SEE to her, seq he,
Jennie, there's goin' to be weddin'
down at the City hotel in Park City,
Park City was a relay station for the
stage line, and, as to parks, they was
on the maps of the town that was to
be. What dye say seq Joe, to us
goin'? After the pair git hitched there's
to be dance
"I'll go with We, Joe, she seq, but if
Mr.. Steere finds it out he'll put holes
enough in yer body to make culender
of We. Have We got a gun?
There's plenty of guns in the office
seq joe I'll take couple along in
case Mr.. Steere gifts on to u.s.
"They lit out after dark, but, as bad
luck would have it, one of Steere's cow
boys saw 'em and went off to tell the
big cattlcman that his little bird had
flown. Steere was kind of paralyZed at
fust, but the more he thought about Il
measly clerk takin' his gal away from
him the madden he got. He mounted
the fastest horse he could find and dug
out in the direction Joe and Jennie had
started. He followed 'em all right
enough till lie came to where the road
forked; then he took the wrong fork.
This is why they got to Park City long
before him. If they was gon' to git
married, they'd "a had time enough
for a dozen hitchin's before he come
up, but Joe hadn't no money to support
a wife. They was jist follern' the in
stincts of two children of nature. 1t
beats anything the way sich will run
their heads into moose jist for little
fun!
"Waal, the weddin' was over, and the
guests was all a-slingin' lively leg in
the uinin' room, the tables bein' piled
up agin the wall. A fiddler stood on
bar'l scrapin' away and callin, Ladies
changer 'Alaman left! and all that.
Joe was a-slingin' Jennie in turn cor
ners' when all Of student Steere rode
up to the open door and begun to pump
lead into the room. The change that
come over that dance was remarkable.
There was q screamin' of wimmen and
a swearin' Of men, though none Of the
men raised gun, for they never sup
posed Steere would be shootin' that
away onless he was backed by dozen
or more of his cowboys back in the
dark holdin' the drop on the crowd.
"Then was when Joe showed up.
Catchin' sight of Steere outside and
KNOWN well what was up, he draWed
with his left hand, for Stecre had
winged his right, and begun shootin',
movin' for'ard at the same time. Jen-
ME she got out his other weapon, and
as soon as he had emptied the first
handed it to him, and he kept on pump
in,
zone of Joe's shots Knocked the big
cattleman off'n his horse. Then one OF
the men said to Joe, Ac little fool, git
out of this while We have a chance
Some on 'cm hurtled Joe and Jennie
but a back door, and they made tracks
for home, leavin Steere to be carried
upstairs to a room, where he lay for
month not KNOWN whether he was
r-goin, to turn -up-his toes permanent
tr not
Meanwhile some Of the people told
him if he ever shot into dance agin
they'd give him a chance to dance HIM
self where the grass was too short.
The express company, hearin' about
the incident, put Joe in charge of their
treasure in transportation, givin' him
big salary, and he married Jennie
six months after they went to the we'd
din at Park City Since then Joe has