Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-05
A COWBOYS ROMANCE
Searching for a Kitchen Me-
chanic He Found a Wife.
LUCK OF CHUCK O'MALLON
Fortunate Trip to Kansas City With
Trainload of Steers.
THE PRETTY IRISH WIDOW
Foreman Failed to Perform Mission
for His Boss, but Secured
Partner for Life.
LUCK OF CHUCK O'MALLON
THE PRETTY IRISH WIDOW

ILucE IOI LlIo.
The huge Arizona man-here to observe
the drift of statehood current events In the
Congr ess-gazed refiectively at the large and
promising looking slab of strawberry short
cake on the plate before him
II never see a piece of that" he said.
aiming with his immense forehnger at the
hunk of strawberry shortcake as II he med
itated shooting 1t UP some. that ] don't
think of Chuck O'Mallon. A strawberry
cotnraption of that some general kind. only
better-a heap better-was sure one OF the
factors that helped to get Chuck happily
hobbled.
Chuck was foreman of the old Triangle
T. and before 1t happened the rest of US
used to fritter away a lot of the boss good
time in trying to shame or kid Chuck into
annexing unto himself a long-haired side
partner to take charge of tho neatest fore
mans wicldeup that ever saw on ranch.
All of US In the bunk house regarded 1t as a
sin and shame that that tidy foremane
shack should go to waste, with nobody but
Chuck to hold 1t down and no woman to
train the honeysuckle and the wistaria over
the front and rear trellises and show herself
once In while sweeping down the back
steps with nice. clean towel wrapped
around her hair. and all that. The fore
mans house had been built for Chuck
predecessor. a man with a wife and herd
of young 'uns. When Chuck was made
foreman he had the whole foreman's wickte-
up to himself. rassling his own hash and
doing his own housekeeping after the
round-ups.
"T hain't much Of a bridl e-wise, corral
bred cayuse,' Chuck rounded upon us once
when we got after him on the matrimony
game, and sure need hull lot o stampin
ground-the length and breadth of the range
hot Qfnan fnr trh
want t. roll and buck and hang my heels up
in the air. And hain't mentionin nothin
about the het-up periods when I git the
bunch t hop the reservation-when l feel
like jes' nachully got t pull down a few
honkatonks in the adjoinin' settlements
after gittin' lit up with the purlin' loco
juice. Which hain't reckonin' up, neither,
what a pizen 'Pache L am when the grub
hain't Skated t the center prompt on the
minnit when the chimes is pealin' the hour
and hain't never yit seen the female indi-
yidjool that was prompt in the matter o.
fodderin' her two-legged stock, wimmen
havin' no fdee whatever O. the meanin' o.
time or the value o the same Them IS on'y
some o the reasons why your'n truly hahn
a-jogglin' along t. pole.
In private, though, Chuck told mel was
assistant foreman-that he wouldn't mind
snagging a wife, EFF ony knowed how Z
GIT tn same, he was accustomed to add.
Entrusted With an Important Mission
on the day the boss notified him to prepare
to take trainload of steers to Kansas
City. AS Chuck had never conveyed any
cattle farther east than Omaha, and | had
been to Kansas City, the boss told me that
q better hike along, too. to see that Chuck
didn't step into any ground owl holes or get
dltched or sidetracked in the more or less
perpendicularly built hustle burg on the
Wyardotte.
THE night before Chuck and I were
GC had nd tn cln -oyl tba
boss sent for Chuck. After the talk with
the boss Chuck nudged me into corner
of the bunk house.
"'What-all kind of stunt dye reckon
the old mans got framed up FIR your'n at
fectionately now?' Chuck asked me, nerv-
ously hopping his brow with his bandana
Wants you to keep sober till after
you've delivered the steers. eh?' I sus
gested.
g 'Worse'n that-a - sight worse, re-
piled Chuck. gloomily. The boss has given
me the job O ropin' a pot-walloper in Kan
sas City for his wife. The Dutch kitchen
mechanic they got now is slopin' back east
mex week, and the old man hereby dele
gates me t rope, tie and brand a house
maid and general hash-mlxer down yonder
in Kansas City, and fetch her back on our
return. What dye s'pose-what does the
old man spose-I know bout lassoin' a all
round ranch maiden, when, dod-rot my fool
carcass, l hain't had the nerve or the git
up L lariat a presidn' skirt fer my own
layout yit? And the boss wife has give me
a list as long as a Moquis ride fer water
o the things this we're hash-slingers got
t be able t git by with--cook and wash and
iron and dust and sweep and do plain sewin'
and put up preserves-say, podner. how am
I goin' t git the loop around female able
t. do all o. them things?'
Il told Chuck that had many pressing
troubles of my own when l saw that he
was trying to cook up a job to shift the
responsibility for 'ropin a pot-wailoper'
onto my shoulders
ali
that end of his mission all the way to Kan
sas City. l didn't have any consolation to
offer him. Didn't know much about any
kind Of women myself at that time Since
then I've met UP with several thousand of
'enl-and now I know less.
Chuck was q conscientious foreman and
rafting good one. and after we'd seen the
trainload of steers unloaded he threw a
far into me by solemnly announcing that
the drunk was to be postponed until after
he'd at least made some kind of bluff to
accomplish the task given him by the boss
and the boss wife.
I know it's hull heap hard on Won
all, ombrey,' Chuck said to me- sympa-
thetically-and the rufflan's teeth were leak
Ing good deal worse than mine were-fbut
this yere Is bizness-and a big way O. biz
ness. at that, IL you're askin' me- Now.
what's the openin' break and the pre-.
lin nary move, as Ii were, toward achteyfn'
this yere quest fr a skirted spud-peeler?
Do take stand on on o. them big streets
and at the point of a dirk hold up every
ribbon-wearer that sashays by and asst her
questions bout her 'bility t. cook and wash
and iron and sew and do up the boss wife's
hair, or do l.
Had to Steer Chucl. Right.
well. I could see that Chuck was some
liable to make rockpile finish there In
Karsas City If I didn't get In to the ex-
tent of handing him tip or so as to the
prevailing methods In civilization of en-
gaging serving women. and SO I steered
him to an employment agency and myself
unreeled to the fat woman in charge OF
that plant the qualifications desirable In
rarch-house servant. The fat woman
asked me lot OF shrewd questions about
the ranch and the ranch people, and l
couldn't do any more than tell her that
old Triangle-T was the finest outfit with
the whitest boss and the incest boss wife
III Arizona-all of which was on the level
THAT was lucky fat woman for Chuck
She had the goods all ready in stock 1t
seemed. which was why she was asking me
SO many questions. She had on her list a
widow-oh. woman about thirty-odd, she