Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1910-03-10

ANU. vi II III DlS leLleFS. beQlQ0 MIN
was a boy leading two great, savage
looking observation-disclosures, l found
out a~fterWard-by chains. Then come
a pony cart with Little Eva and Eliza's
child in it. Eva was all gold hair and
beautifulness. And astern Of her was
Marks, the lawyer. on his donkey.
The place Booth Hank picked out to
cross was just ahead of the blood
hounds. And the first thing I knew
them dogs stretched out their noses
and took a long sniff and then bust
out bowling like all possessed. The
boy, he tried to hold 'em, but twas
no go. They yanked the chains out
Of his hands and took after that poet
as if he owed 'em something. And
every one of the four million other
dogs that was in the crowd on the
sidewalks fell into line. and such
bowling and yapping and scampering
and screaming you never heard.
Well. twas Il mixed up mess. That
was the end of the parade. Next min
ute l was racing across country, with
the whole town and the Uncle Tom
mers astern of me and a string of dogs
stretched olt ahead fur's you could
see. Way up in the lead was Booth
Montague and the b~loodhounds, and
away aft l could hear Jonadab yelling,
"Stop thief"
Twas lively while it lasted, but it
didn't last long. There was a little hill
at the end Of the field, and when the
poet dove over t'other side of it the
b~loodhounds all but had him. Afore l
got to the top of the rise l heard the
awfullest powwow going on in the hol-
Ter, and thinks l, "They're eating him
alive!!'
But they Want. When l hove in
sight Montague was setting up on the
ground at the foot of the sand bank
he'd fell into. and the two hounds was
rolling Over him, tapping his face and
going on as if he was their grandpa
jest home from sea with his wages in
his pocket.
In a minute more the folks begun to
a~rrive-boys first, then girls and men
and then the Marks came
trotting up, pounding the donkey with
his umbrella.
Here, Lion! Here, Tige!" he yells
"Quit it! Let him alone!' Then he
looks at Montague, and his jaw kind
of drops.
"Why-why, Hanh" he says.
A tall, lean critter in a black tail
coat and. q yaller vest and lavender
pants comes putting up. He was the
manager, we found out afterward.
"Have they bit him?' says he. Then
he done just the same as Marks-his
mouth opened, and his eyes stuck out.
"Hank SchmHits, by the living jingo!"
says he.
Booth Montague looks at the two of
EN- kind Of sick and lonesome. Hello,
Barney! How are you, Sullivan?' he
says.
Hum" says a voice, a woman's
voice, and tolerable crisp and vine
gary. Hum! It's you, is it? I've
been looking for you"
Twas little Eva in the pony cart.
Her gold hair had slipped back SOS
you could see the black under it, and
her beautiful red cheeks was kind Of
streaky. She looked some older and
likewise mad.
Hum" says she, getting out Of the
cart. Its you, is it, Hank Schmults?
Well, p'r'aps you'll tell me where
you've been for the last two weeks?
What do you mean by running away,
you miserable, low down.
But the manager took hold Of her
arm. He'd been looking at the crowd.
and he whispered in her ear. Next
thing l knew she clasped her hands
together. let out q scream and runs I'D
and grabs the celebrated British poet
around the neck.
"Booth!" says she. "My husband!
Saved! Savedw
And she went all to pieces and cried
all over his necktie. And then Marks
trots up the child, and that young one
hollers, Papa, papa" and tackles
Hank around the legs. And I'm bless
ed if Montague don't slap his hand to
his forehead and toss back his curls
and look up ar the sky and sing out:
my wife and babe! Restored to me
after all these years! The heavens be
thanked"
Well, twas a sacred sort of time.
The town folks tiptoed away, the men
looking solemn, but glad, and the wo-
men sWabbing their headlights and
saying how affecting twas, and so on.
Oh, you could see that show would do
business that night if it never did
afore. The manager told us Montague
belonged to the Uncle Toms Cabin
company and that he'd disappeared a
fortnit Oh SO afore, when they were
playing at Hyannis. Eva was his
wife, and the child was their little
boy. The b~loodhounds knew him, and
that's why they chased him so.
What was you two yelling Stop
thief! after him for?" says he. HAS
he stole anything?"
We says "No."
"Then what did you want to get
him for?' he says.
eve didn't" says Jonadab. 1--WE
wanted to get rid Of him. We don't