The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1907-01-10
The Oeocber
And the RuSflers
fOriginal.l

man said he was lookin' for con-
venient place for his daughter open
a school and wished to know if
Scratchgravel wanted one. He added
that the settlement need not be at any
expense, since his daughter would ask
for tuition only what the parents felt
able to give. We wanted school
mighty bad. not that the children
needed rarnin. for there wasn't no
use for it at Scratchgravel. but their
mothers liked to talk across lots with
one another, and the children bothered
'em while they was dom it. So the
schoo.marm was engaged. her father
drove away, and the children was kept
cooped up for i've hours a day while
their mothers was a-gossipin'.
1t was about this time that the boss
stealin' commenced. Not that We
ha4n't had boss stealn'. We had.
But somehow the rascals had found
way O. gittin' inside our cOrralS and
stampedin' the stock. We organized
a watch, but as soon as we did the
boss stealin' stopped. We dropped the
watch. and it De sun again. Then the
watch bein' too hard on the men o the
settlement. we took in the wimmel.
Nobody saw nOthin' till it come the
teachers turn, when the hull gang o
boss thieves come down on us to oncet
and she lit after 'em, firm at EN-.
and saved a dozen bosses they had
looSed ready to run off.
This made the schoolteacher mighty
popular. and. since she was a good
looking gal with pink cheeks, several
O. the bachelors O. tie settlement want
ed to marry her. But she wouldn't
have none of 'em. sayin' her heart was
with the dear little innocelts she was
teachin' Another thing that lifted tie
Schoolmarm il our affections was that
she put US on to somep'n that We
didn't think of before. She said thai.
some one was lOosenin' the bosses an:
the thieves would swoop down and
drive 'em Off This some one must be
one of US. We all looked at each other
susDicious-like. every Teller wonderin
if be wasn't suspiconed. 1t wouldn't
do to put any of us on watch for feai
O putin on the man that was doin
the business At last two or three Of
us got together and after talkin' the
matter over allowed we'd ask the
teacher to do a little detective WORK
to fad ont who the traitor was. The
VS. nItcheral seem she'd got on to
the fact that there was traitor. She
said she'd keep her eye skinned fol
him. but unless she could ketch him il
the act we wouldn't believe in hi.
guilt We swore we would and wait
ed for her to work up the. case.
While this was a-goin on tie rustle.t1
had got away with most O. the bosses.
Fact is there wasn't but half a dozen
on 'em left in the hull settlement. One
stormy night we heered a clatterin' O
hoofs and went out to try and save
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 81
and lit out to try and save the OtlN.
four. We chased em purity lively AMI
was a-ketchin' up with 'em when the
boss one of 'em was ridin' struck
deep mudhole and fell We was goin
right on, but he stood in the middle o
the road pumpin' lead at us. and we
drew up. 1t was so dark we couldn
see him, and ne couldn't see us; there
fore he couldn't hit us nor we him.
Suddenly there was a big flash
lightnin'. and there in the middle o
the road stood woman But. though
the flash was only instantan' Gus, both
of us saw for the millionth part Of &
second, plain as at monday. the school
marin
Before we had a chance to say any
thing to each other there come another
flash, and three shots rung out after
it and before the thunder One o EN-
was from the schoolteacher, and t'othel
two was from me and Ben. We heer-
ed yell. and 1, dismountin'. give II.
boss to Ben and walked to the mud
hole. / held my shootin' iron cooked
before me, for there was plenty O
lightnin'. and l didn't want to 6
plunked while lighted up by a fasl
But the first real bright one that come
showed the woman layin' in a heap
across the mudhole.
MY conscience troubled me for
shootin' a woman, even If she was i'll
league with boss thieves, and | wen
on, calm to Ben at the same time to
come on, too, hopin' the gal might not
be 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 nothin' for her
out there in the dark. so we put her
on one O. the horses, holdin' her on
and walked back TO the settlement
When we got there everybody was
outside, some O. 'em with lanterns.
What do you suppose the gal had the
gall to do? She pointed to Ben and
me and gasped:
'These two done it, They loosened
the stock for the rustlers."
Well, there we was convicted o. boss