The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-01-28

and worse He had a case of ingrow-
ing affection; IL cut his weight down
to ninety pounds. With him leaving
himself at that rate, you could take
pencil and paper and figure to the min
ute when Alexander Fulton was
booked to cross the big divide. And
we liked the kid. In spite of his mag
nificent feet and his LONELINESS and
his Observation-Disclosures, I got to feel
sort of as if he was my boy--though
If ever I have a boy like Aleck I put
in my vote for marriage being a fail
ure and everything lost, honor and all.
Probably it was more as if he was a
puppy-dog, or some other little crit
ter that couldn't take care of itself.
Anyhow, we got worked up about the
matter, and talked it over considerable
when he was out of hearing. 1t come
to this-there was no earthly use in
trying to get Aleck to go back and
make a play at the girl. He'd ha' fell
dead at the thought Of ii. That left
nothing but to bring the girl to Aleck.
You see, we thought If we told the
young woman that here was a decent,
honest man-hurrying over the rest of
the descriptton-just evaporating for
love of her, that she might be per-
suaded to come out and marry him.
We weren't going to let our pardner
slip away without an effort, anyhow
We couldn't do less than try. Then
come the problem of who was the
proper party to act as messenger. The
rest Of us, without bothering him by
taking him into our confidence. decided
that Scraggs was the proper man, be-
cause if he didn't know woman and
her ways, the subject belonged to the
lost arts.
But man! Didn't he r'ar when we
told him!
Me go after a womanp says he.
Nell Take another drink But we
labored with him. Told about what a
horrible time he'd had-he always liked
to hear about it-and there wasn't any
body else fit to handle his discard in
the little game of matrimony-and
what was the use of sending a man
that would break at the first wire
fence? If we was going to do the
thing, We wanted to do it, and so forth
and so forth, till we had him saddled
and bridled and standing in the corner
of the corral as peaceful as a soldiers
monument. for he was the best-hearted
ole Cuss that ever lived.
All right says he. I'll do 1t. and
it's Get there, Eli" when I hook dirt.
Poor old Aleck is as good as married.
and the Lord have mercy on his soull
But there's one thing I wish to state:
I'm running the job, and run it my
own way. I don't want any interfering
nor no talk afterwards that under
stood?'
''It was. He was to cut loose.
g All right says he. Poor Aleckt
So that night E G. w. Scraggs took
station, bound east.
''Aleck had give us full details. We
knew all about his little town and |
about that house in particular; just /
how the morning glories grew over the /
back porch. looking out on the gar /
den patch, and where the cistern was. |
which, with his usual good luck. Aleck
had managed to fall into while they
were putting new cover on it, Yes, |
sir. We knew that little east Dakota /
town as well as if we'd been raised /
there; but we were some shy on de-
tails concerning the girl. I swear I /
don't believe Aleck had ever looked
her full in the face. She was medium I
height, plump. blue eyes, brown hair,
and that ended the description
We suffered any quantity from i'm
patience before z. G. w. showed up
You sec, there amt such a lot that
happens to other people occurrin' on
a ranch, and we was really more ex-
cited over Aleck and his girl than a
tenderfoot would be over a gun fight.
and for the same reason-it was out
Of our ordinary
''Scraggsy didn't keep US on the anx-
ous seat. He was the surest thing
ever saw. Often I've watched him
rope a critter; he never whirled his
rope, even when riding-always snap
ped. And never made a quick
is, a move that looked in
4 hurry; all the same, every time he
ct go of the rope there was his meat
On the other end Of it. Women was
the only thing that did E. G, w.
Scraggs, and that's because he whole
sailed the business. That ambition of
lis wrecked him. When he trotted
around the track for fun nobody else
n the heat could see him for the dust. Il