Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-07-31

UMWA IOWA JULY
cowboy. Along came the cattle. and
right in the middle of them was Rosie!
Yes, sir, and Alex Trumbull, with a
blacksnake whip in his hand was rid
was driving the cattle. All of a sud-
den began to understand why Rosie
was sold. They were going to take her
to Greenville and ship her off to Chi
cago or somewhere to be killed for
beef. I couldn't see any drove of cat
tie then. All I could see was myself
driving Rosie to the pasture, and
knew it wasn't ever going to be so any
more. felt awful bad. After the cat
tie had gone out of sight past the win
dow slipped up to the teachers desk
and told her l felt terrible sick and
would have to go home, and she said
did look as If something was the mat
ter and to run along home and try to
feel better in the morning She didn't
know that it was the kind of a sick
that didn't have any feel better after
it. 1t went out Of the schoolhouse and
on up home, and ma wanted to know
what in the world brought me home
before school was out. I told her:
"Ma, just saw Alex Trumbull driv-
ing our Rosie down the road to Green
Vile"
Then ma dropped right down In a
chair and put her face in her hands
and began crying. She didn't say any
thing more to me after that. She went
into the kitchen for supper, but when
pa come home she didn't have any
thing cooked. I was out in the barn
sitting on the toolbox. First I would
cry, then would fee1 mad at pa for
selling Rosie, and then l would think
her, and then would cry again. Ralph
and Bonnie couldn't understand very
well what the matter was, but they
cried, too. Pa made us boys come into
the house. and asked ma to hurry and
get supper because he was hungry. She
put the things on the table, but she
kept kind of choking up and wiping
her eyes like she did the day the word
came that grandma was dead. Finally
pa said he guessed he didn't want any
supper. He had been sitting on the
porch looking down street for good
while. He told me he believed he
would go downtown. I watched him,
and he went around the corner. Then
| l followed him. I don't know why l
did it, but I went down-as far as the
corner and looked to see which way he
was going He wenr into the livery
stable. Then went on back home.
Ma made us boys eat, then she put us
to bed. didn't go to sleep, and know
ma didn't come to bed at all, because
their room Is across the hall from ours
and she didn't go into 1t.
1t seemed like I had been laying
there in the bed for week, but 1t was
only in the middle of the night really
when I heard buggy drive up our
alley and someone get out and open
the gate and say: "Hey, there!"
Then I heard something run into the
backyard. and the buggy went out OF
the alley again. l laid there wonder
ing what it could be that had come and
sitter another while I heard pa come
up on the porch and open the front
door. He said something to ma.
think is was:
well, you ought to be satisfied
now"
Then ma kind of laughed and kind
of cried, and | went downstairs, and
she was hugging pa and telling him
how good he was.
whats happened, MAJ" asked
20, Georgia." she salc, tyour pa has
gone all the way to Greenville and
bought Rosie back from the cattle
men"
ran out of the house and into the
backyard 1t was bright moonlight
and there stood Rosie. When she saw
me coming, she put her head down ano
pretended like she was going to hook
me. But l ran right up to her anu
put my arms around her neck and told
her how glad I was. And pa laughed
a little and patting me on the heat
and said:
81 guess it was worth the trouble
, after all."-Wilbur B. Nesbit in Pill
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