The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1906-12-14

AID re esls.l
5S-e Ssils yel.y IllClel Illellseil ct the
Element when q buggy
SsrtSe II, With 4 man and d girl! The
man said he V,as 1ooklns TOR eons
renient place Ter his daughter 70 open
d school and wished 70 know e
SeratchgraYel wanted one. he added
that the settlement need not be 1t any
expense. since his daughter would AK
for tuition only what the parents felt
able to give We wanted school
mighty bad. not that the children
needed I'arnfR. for there wasn't no
use for It at Scratchgravel. but their
mothers liked to talk across lots Wtth
one another. and the children bothered
lem while they was doln' It 50 the
schooImarm was engaged, her Father
drove away, ana the children was kept
cooped up for i've hours day while
their mothers was a-gosslping
It was about this time that the boss
steaiin' commenced Not that we
hadn't had boss stealth. we had.
But somehow the rGscaIs had found
way o gittin' inside our corrals and
stampedin' the stock we organized
a watch, but as soon as we did the
hoes stealth stopped. We dropped the
watch. and Il begun again. Then, the
watch bein' too hard on the men o the
settlement, we took IN the wfnmen
Nobody saw nothIn' till it come the
teachers turn. when the hull gang Q
boss thieves come down on us to oneet
= f N.
and saved q dozen HOSES they had
Ioosed ready TO run on.
This made the schoolteac her mig hty
popular, and, since she was q 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 Ioosenin' the bosses and
the thieves would swoop down and
drive 'em OF. This some one must be
one Of us. We all looked at each other
suspIcious-llke. every Teller wonderin'
II he wasn't suspIcioned 1t 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 tallkin' the
matter over allowed we'd ask the
teacher to do a little detective work
to ind out who the traitor was. This
was natcheral. SEEM she'd got on to
the fact that there was traitor. She
said she'd 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 EuStIerR
had got away with most O. the bosses.
Fact Is there wasn't but half q dozen
on 'em left in the hull settlement One
stormy night we heered clatterin' o
hoofs and went out to try and snVe
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 EN-
and LIT out to try and save the other
four We chased 'em purity lively and
was a-ketchin' up with 'en WREN the
boss one of 'em was ridin' struck a /
deep mudhole and fell. We was goin'
right on, but he stood in the middle
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 fash o
tfghtnin'. and there in the middle o
the road stood Il woman. But. though |
the dash was only instantaneous. both |
of us saw for the millionth part OF > !
second, plain as at MONDAY. the school
marEl
Before we had II chance to say any
ching to each other there come another
lash, and three shots rung out after
It and before tile thunder. One o EN-
wns from the schooltencher, and t'otller
two was from me and Ben. We heeF.
ed a yell. aud l. diSmountin', give my
boss to Ben and walked to the mud,
hole. 1 held my shoOtin' iron cooked
before me, for there was plenty OF
lIGhtuin'. and didn't want TO gil
plunked while lighted up by fash
But the first real bright one that come
showed the womau layin' In n heap
ncross the mudhole.
My conscience troubled me for
shootin' woman, even If she was iii
league with boss thieves, and went
On, calm to Ren at the, same time to
come on. too hppin' the gal might nor
lie 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 nOthln for her
out there In the dark. so we put he,
on one o. the horses. holdin' her OF
and walked back to the settlement
When we got there everybody was
outside, some o 'e1n with lanterns
What do you suppose the gal had the
gall to do? She pointed to Ben and
me and Easped:
'.rhese two done it. They loosened