The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1906-12-22
TIE 6eocber
And the RuSflers

man said he was loOkin' for a con-
venient place for his daughter to open
a school and wished to know if
Scratchgravel wanted one. He added
that the settlement need not be at any
expense, since his daughter would ask
for tuition only what the parents felt
able to give. We wanted school
mighty bad, not that the children
needed parnin', for there wasn't no
use for it at Scratchgravel, but their
mothers liked to talk across lots with
one another. and the children bothered
'em while they was doin' it. So the
schoolmarm was engaged, her father
drove away, and the children was kept
cooped up for FIVE hours day while
their mothers was a-gossipin'.
1t was about this time that the boss
stealin' commenced. Not that we
hadn't had boss stealin'. We had.
But somehow the rascals had found
way O. gittin' inside our corrals and
stampedin' the stock. We organized
a watch, but as soon as we did the
boss stealin' stopped. We dropped the
watch, and it begun again. Then, the
watch bein' too hard on the men O. the
settlement, we took in the wimmen.
Nobody saw nothin' till it come the
teachers turn, when the hull gang O
boss thieves come down on us to oncet,
and she lit after 'em, firm at 'em.
and saved dozen bosses they had
loosed ready to run off.
This made the schoolteacher mighty
popular, and, since she was good
looking gal with pink cheeks, several
o. the bachelors O. the settlement want
ed to marry her. But she wouldn't
have none Of 'em, sayin' her heart was
with the dear little innocents she was
teachin'. Another thing that lifted the
schoolmarm in our affections was that
she put us on to somep'n that we
didn't think of before. She said that
some one was loosenin' the bosses and
the thieves would swoop down and
drive 'em off, This some one must be
one Of Us. We all looked at each other
suspicious-like, every Teller wOnderin'
If he wasn't suspicioned. It wouldn't
do to put any of us on watch for fear
o. putin on the man that was dom
the business. At last two or three of
us got together and after talkin' the
matter over allowed we'd ask the
teacher to do little detective work
to find out who the traitor was. This
was natcheral, SEEM she'd got on to
the fact that there was a traitor. She
said shed keep her eye skinned for
him, but unless she could ketch him in
the act we wouldn't believe in his
guilt We swore we would and wait
ed for her to work up the case.
While this was a-goin' on the rustlers
had got away with most O. the bosses.
Fact is there wasn't but half a dozen
on 'em left in the hull settlement One
stormy night we heered clatterin' O
hoofs and went out to try and save
the stock The boss thieves had start
ed the hull lot of 'em, but two had
got away and turned back. Ben Hath
away and me got saddles on to. 'em
and lit out to try and save the other
four. We chased 'em purity lively and
was a-ketchin' up with 'em when the
boss one of 'em was ridin' struck a
deep mudhole and fell. We was goin'
right on, but he stood in the middle O.
the road pumpin' lead at us, and we
drew up. 1t was so dark we couldn't
see him, and he couldn't see US; there
fore he couldn't hit us nor we him.
Suddenly there was a big flash O.
lightnin', and there in the middle O
the road stood a woman. But, though
the flash was only instantaneous, both
of us saw for the miiliOnth part of a
second, plain as at monday, the school
marin.
Before we had a chance to say any
thing to each other there come another
flash, and three shots rung out after
it and before the thunder. One O. 'em
was from the SchoOlteacher, and t'Other
two was from me and Ben. We heer-
boss to Ben and walked to the mud
hole. 1 held my shootin' iron cooked
before me, for there was plenty of
lightnin', ana l didn't want to git
plunked while lighted up by a flash.
But the first real bright one that come
showed the woman layin' in heap
across the mudhole.
My conscience troubled me for
shootin' a woman, even if she was in
league with boss thieves, and l went
on, calm to Ben at the same time to
come on, too, hopin' the gal might not
be dead and we could save her life.
When we got to where she was she
groaned, and we knowed she was
alive. We couldn't do nOthin' for her
out there in the dark. so we put her
ON one O. the horses, hoidin' her ON,
and walked back to the settlement.
When we got there everybody was
outside, some O. 'em with lanterns.
What do you suppose the gal had the
gall to do? She pointed to Ben and
me and gasped:
"These two done it. They loosened
the stock for the rustlers."
Well, there we was convicted o. boss
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