Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1906-11-29
Borrowing a
Bear
By c. B. LEWIS
Copyright, no, by P. {. Eastment


cattle, and ten minutes later lie had
lost his heart to Miss Rose. the colo
neIs daughter. who was then q girl OF
nineteen aud her fathers houSekceper.
Circle ranch had been great ranch
in IFS day, but the colonel had met
with all sorts of bad luck and couldn't
pay his debts. He had Il few cattle
aud one cowboy left, while coored
woman assisted Rose about the house
work
Rose Meecham had not been educat-
ed In III" east. she had been born in
the ranch house and sent to school
not hundred miles away. and her en-
vronments had been of the plainest.
As the adoriug father said Of her more
than once after his wife died:
Rosie is good looking and honest
hearted ana will make some man Il
good wife. There's nothing of the CO.
quette or hirt about her. She doesn't
know what Irritation means She's
lust Il plain girl. with her heart set on
doing all she can for her old daddy"
That was the colonies way of put
ting it. and it simply shows how little
the average father knows of the aver
age daughter Miss Rose Was good
looking and honest hearted, but she
would fiirt with II cross eyed cowboy.
Any other girl in her situation would
have done the same thing. There
wasn't another girl for fifteen miles
around. wh''2 there were. about fifty
COW boys W .rhin that di,t;ilce. and. be
sides there was the fort only five miles
away and soldiers passing on the road
every day.
Joe Whitman may have been above
the average cowboy in looks and cd
ucation. Miss Rose had decided with
In five minutes that she liked him.
Within another FIVE she was smiling
so sweetly and talking so nicely that
she had Joe stammering out his words.
That was the beginning of things.
He had driven home a bunch of the
coloneFs cattle that he had cut out Of
his herd, and though he wanted to
linger at the ranch and talk about the
price of beef on the hoof, the drop in
hides and the dry summer, he wasn't
equal to the occasion and was almost
buckcd off his pony in taking his leave.
Joe rallied when he got back To his
cattle and began to lay plans and from
that day on it was cold dry when J.
did not bring in some of the colonel's
stray stock.
1t was puzzle to the cid gentleman
why his cattle should wander six or
seven miles after pasture when they
had better ut home. but it was no mys-
terry to Miss Rose Every time a bunch
of the missing cattle came back Joe
had TO stop to explain and to call for
drink of water and to hang around for
a good half hour and that girl, who
didn't know what a Irritation meant,
laughed to herself after he had de-
parted
Jim Taylor, the lone cowboy in the
colonefs employ. was past forty, had
a wife somewhere in the east and was
out of the running, but he was no
wooden head. When those lost cattle
We're driven mp he would go to the
colonel and declare that somebody was
driving them off that he might have
the privilege OF driving them back
again, and that if Miss Rose were his
daughter he would put his foot down
Then the colonel would look up in an
innocent way and eXcaim:
Lord love us, but you don't think
Rosa drives of our cattle and then
drives them back agaln!"
NO. ! don't, colonel, but don't II
strike YOU that Joe Whitman is COM
Ing here mighty often?"
us he? Well, he has TO bring back
TIE strays, YOU know, and it is very
KIND of him indeed. l don't always
see him. hut | hope that Rosa returns
my thanks in "a proper way"
Joe was working the cattle business
for all ii was worth and calling at the
Circle ranch between times with or
anges and boxes of candy sent to him
from Denver, when Il rival suddenly
entered the field
Sergeant Smith, from the fort. came
along one day with squad Of men and
stopped at the house TO make some in
qniries, The sergeant was a good look
ING man. lie had a taking way with
MN. Irritation WAS started almost
nj once. ana when he tool, up his line
OF march again he promised himself the
pleasure OF another call.
Three days later h" ra L. ont to the
l"h'll ana began Iu make love i'm ear