The Grit-advocate., 1905-02-03

on his nina legs klnQ o QUICK. hhu
let the rope fly and took my turns
around the horn-there was no tyin
in mine, you bet! Old Pop-Eye went
by him like shot. If my rope had
! been a cable I guess it would "a broke
he hit the end of it OF about mile
| a-minut> gait. 1t snapped like piece
of twine. and one end whacked nm
! across the rump like the flash OF
four-horse whip.
THE things he did to me was eau
ton. I'd Stacked the reins when !
took my turns, and he'd got his head.
The hoOchee coOchee and the Bone!ess
Mans performance wasn't circuin-
stance 10 the motions he went through.
Say. was beat across the back with
the cantle. The horn flew up and
poked me in the solar pleXus, hard! i
was slammed around like salt shak-
er that won't work. Finally my feet
come out of the Stirrups and l sailed
through the atmosphere much the
same graceful way Il sack of potatoes
| does when you chuck it out of the
mess wagon. Then the earth rose up
when l came to l was lyin' in the
shade of some cottonwoods. somethin'
wet drOppin' on my face. l was kind
o dazed at first. and then l remem-
bered the bear. l looked up and Tony
was standin' over me, iiggln' water
out of tin can on TO my head. There
| was a girl stanSn' there, too, loOkin'
at me sort of anxious. couldn't make
it out at all.
''Where in blazcs Gid she come
from?' thinks l.
Then l says to Tony. who'd quit
sloppn' water on me when | opened
my eyes: Well, what about it?
How'd you make out with that bear:'
THE girl "igglcd then. and Tony's
face looked like you'd slapped tit
got SO red.
Il sat up then and looked around. !
thought was drcamn'. Tony's horse
and Il couple of other cayuSes-one of
'em with 4 side saddle On--was stand
in near. A little piece away-not
moe than fifty feet--was our bear.
sittin' contentcdly on his launches
watchin' us: little kid about ten
years old sprawlcd on the grass hold
in the end of Tony's rope, which was
still around Brownies neck.
Il began to ask questions then. and
there was explanations till further or
dcrs. The girls folks had settled on
the lower end of Sun Dance that
spring. One day there comes Dago
down the river with a dancin' bear
and Il hand organ on & scow. He was
headed for North Dakota. but his
plans and his scow was both upset
when he struck Sun Dance.
''"hc rapids was too much for him.
He and his bear got out, with the AS
sistance of the girls father ant. broth-
ers. and the scow and the hand organ
stayed in. Havin' lost part of his
stock III trade he sold the bear to the
girls father and went overland: he
didn't banker to keep his hand organ
company.
"The bear was regular pet-just
like n big OvergrOwn dog. They used
to let him run around most of the time
and once in a while he'd rambe off
up the fiat huntin' roots and berries.
1t was him we'd been havin' such Il
rip-roarin' time with: and that's him
You see now, sashayin' around at the
end of the house.
''Tony rounded up old Pop while
was recOverin', and then we hit the
trail for camp. We told the Professor
a little tale of woe about not 1ndiE'
any horses. and how my horse got
mean and fell with me-to account for
me bein' skinned up so. 1t went all
right at the time. but that little broth
cr of her's-measly little cuss.-gavc
the whole deal away to one of the boys
who strayed down that way few
days after Maybe you think them
horse iinglers didn't guy us. The
roastin We got was sOmethin' to be re-
mcmbereh.
Tony took his horses home when
roundup was over. and then come
back and went to work for the Pro.
fcssor. He like to rode good string
Of horses TO death runnin' down to
un-Dance: but he got the girl. all
right. all right. She says she married
him out of pure sympathy; he felt so
blamed mean about ropr' n bcar-a
bear that was called Cupid at that"
1T seems to me- l ventured to sug-
Cest. that you deserved a little sym
pathy yourself"
Il did, Jack aSsenteG, mourrfnlly.
''but Tony-the sOn-of-a gun.-hc beat
me to it."-San Francisco ArSonaut.