The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1908-08-27
with a red bandana ham,

| y
EFF Miss Fannie an Miss Jennie
goes ODER de cut, ole Jim goes too"
He paused moment and looked at
the two men expressively. Il reckon
Dc Ave hundred bucks doan' grow on
many % Do trees roun' ysre. 70 ole
Jim's goin' to make hay fer shore
while do sun Shines"
He smiled broadly. and in spite OF
the mixed metaphor involved the two
seemed to understand him perfectly.
That's the business" affirmed the
man with the gun. I'VE don't want
to have no shootin' or nothin' like
that in this job. DO we, Joe?"
Again the horrible grimace spread
over the face of the man with one eye.
He shook his head by way of answer,
clambered into Little Betsy and
stretched out at full length on the
sacks of grain. The other man fol
lowed and seated himself on the pile
OF hay, the shotgun resting across his
lap.
Now go ahead" he commanded.
Jim whistled to the leaders and the
outfit moved forward once again with
| the jingle of trace chains and hame
bells and the rumble and rattle Of the
| tandem wagons.
1t was almost dusk when they
| reached the point where fuckers Cut
| branched off from the main road. This
cut was a short route over the noun
tains to Goodalls Landing and was
| little used because of the heavy grades
and poor condition of the roadbed.
which in some places was even dan
gerous. A stream crossed the road
here and jim got down to water the
| animals before the long ascent The
man with the gun had been nodding,
but as the teams came to a standstill
he woke up with a start and gripped
his weapon alertly After the thirst
of the animals was satisfied Jim
looked over the harness and spent
considerable time adjusting the coup
lings which bound Little Betsy to her
ponderous sister. Joe slept soundly
on the grain sacks, the empty socket
where his eye once had been staring
upward into the gathering gloom.
Again the bells and chains jingled
and the team began to climb the cut.
The road became rougher and wound
in and out along the sides of steep
ravine. 1t was almost dark now, but
the leaders picked the way, avoiding
washouts and other distractions with
marvellous sagacity. Above them the
oh of hn OF eli 10
sloped upward to the stars. On the
other side. so near sometimes that the
outer wheels crumbled the edge
yawned a steep canyon. Along the
bottom, several hundred feet below,
a small stream flowed over a bed Of
stones and boulders
Several times Jim looked furtively
back over his shoulder at the two men
in the rear wagon. Joe lay out
stretched on the sacks, slumbering
heavily The man with the gun sat
on the hay, his chin dropped forward
from side to side, as the wheels
bumped over the ruts and stones in
their path. He, too, was sound asleep
Jim peered through the darkness for
some time at the limp figure, then
stopped and quietly wound the jerk
line around a cleat on the footboard
The mules remembered their training
and continued their steady pull up the
grade. Noiselessy the negro climbed
down from the high seat and crawled
over the iron TASKS to the rear of Big
Betsy. Here he paused and listened
ntently. He could hear the heavy
breathing of the two men only few
feet away. In a moment he slipped
over the end Of the heavy vehicle and,
clinging with one hand to the tail
board, deftly unwound the chain that
fastened the tongue Of the smaller
wagon in place. Again he looked back
into the darkness and listened. He
could see the faint outline of the man
sitting upright and back of that the
dark figure on the sacks. With quick
tug he loosed the last loop of the
chain and showed the tongue back
ward and outward with all the
strength in his black arm.
LlItle Betsy nONeTeu lOT all instant
on the edge Of the descent and then
with a creak toppled over into the
| CANYON. An awful shrek came up
| through the darkness, and then the air
was filled with the sound of breaking
| wood and metal as the mass shot,
end over end, down the rocky decliv
| ity. A miniature avalanche of stones
and dirt ratified down into the creek
| bed. and the surrounding mountains
and ravines sent back an echo of that
| blood curdling human cry Then all
was silent.
The mules stopped, trembling in
their tracks Black jim slowly mount
ed to the high seat and mopped his
forehead with the red bandana.
Il reckon old Jim amt goin ter get
hung TO dom his duty by de boss"
he murmured refectively as he
glanced down into the backness Of
the canyon. The jerk line whisked
sharply, the hame bells and trace
chains jingled and Big Betsy moved
w the grade again into the night.