Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-09
EDGAR BEECHER BRONSON
Drawings by Wladyslaw T. Benda

BALKAN" { d little Spanish mule
and Texs favOrite mount for range
riding gone lame?'
We'll. then, whatever is the
trouble Tex?
"Hells own plenty O trouble!
That thar OF man Mack on Muskrat Creeks plumb
crazy an unsafe to be loose mong whites. Shore
to do some O. up butt his fool head off ag in
rock. Ought to be escorted back to his folks an
Mack and Peers were Our nearest nelghbors,-small
ranchmen living eighteen miles away whose
quaintance had made shortly before going East in
November Peers was a fine type of Pike County
Mssourian keen, alert, capable all round from
tiersnan and cowman. Mack of educa-
ton and polish plainly we'll bred past fifty carefully
grammatical of speech well could judge
from the little he said for he quiet and reserved,
to the point of downright taciturnty,-a sad faced
man, who tended the ranch while his partner Peers
rode the range evidently nursing memories of some
grief trouble from which he sought exile amid
rude surroundings in which he always remained
pathetic misft.
Thus it was with the greatest surprise that l
queried, " Whatever is the matter with Mr. Mack"
Jest adzactly what tells y'u,-crazy as locoed
steer.
so? Has he been making any warplays?"
Nix, not yet; but he's shore to-that S whatever!
Amt at hisself at all.
How do you know? How did you find it out!
What Was the Matter with Mack
WALL, it's this away. Bout week ago. while
w me an Balaam out sign ridin, we struck
bunch O strays strung out for Muskrat, an it come
night fore got EN- headed and swung back
toward the home range. 1t so late, lowed me
an the mule would if could git to stay all night
at Mack & Peers camp. So up rides an hollers.
Hearin me boiler, out come oil Mack hlSSef an
right off he me to Onsaddle an put the mule IN
the she'd; which all suited Balaam an me special,
for a noreaster BLOWN an we'd had to go
quarterin ag'in that to git home thar was no sort
show to git overhet in. When l got in the cabin,
@1<
cookn' supper He give stool in the chlmley
corner an then toll Peers had went to the fort
for the mail an lowed to stay thar all night, wanted
to tank up few red eye, reckon, at the store.
An that was jst nachay all the news got out O
OF man Mack the hull night,-never said another
dod blamed word but Yes an No until the next
mornn, when, by stranin' his system horrible, he
did git to give up Good by when rode off. She
was mighty unsociable evenn y'u can bet yur
alec that
"Feen vistur it was up to me to be enter
tainn tried to talk, by maxim remarks bout the
weather. an 1nuns, an rustlers an how the Platte
froze nigh solid an snow layin SO thick thar
mighty little TO stock to eat O drink maxim
EN- shore to come out pore an weak in the spring.
But TO all the response it fetched out O him,
might as we'll a been talkln to a bunch o remains.
His listeners peared to be workin all right; TO
times he'd loosen up to the extent O Yes
Nope; but that all.
An yet he mighty kind like,-give
tobacco an papers, an books to look at. Books!
He certainly long books-had the dod
burned little OF cabin full O them, 'nough to
all the deesrct schools in the hull State O. Texas.
Books! He had long an short ones, fat ones
an thin ones, some in leather scabbards an some
jest wropt in paper, lots O them with pictures O.
more queer things never heerd of than could tell