The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1910-04-08
A WINTER
ROMANCE
BY M. QUAD
Copyright. 1910. by Associated Lit
erary Press.

" years Olu. lie was uneuucateQ. un-
couth and awkward. but he had ro-
nance in his soul He fell in love
with the new schoolma'am ut once. and
as he was the biggest of the boys and
could lick any one of them he felt that
he had the best chance. He was go
ing to marry Miss Seymour or know
the reason why. When he began to
bctray signs of his love his father
took him out to the barn and turned
on him to say:
Now. Jed Smith. don't you go and
make no ding dang fool of Yourself.
1t was plain. sensible talk. but Jed
wouldn't take it that way. He was Il
poor reader, but he had digested so
many love novels that he wasn't going
to let so without try for it. He had
drawn the schoolma'am on his hand
sled, he had skated with her. they had
slid down hill together. he had brought
her the biggest apples of any one. but
t',""" WIS really nothing in these
l..:,gs to arouse her romance. and he
realized that romance must come be.
fore love. After thinking over it for
ten long nights and losing hours of
sleep he got his plan. The school
ma'am must be abducted and he must
rescue her At first the trouble seem
ed to be to find the abductor, but Jed
Smith had way with him. Having
got the next biggest boy in the district
out to the barn with him. he unfoded
his plan and added:
70 f1,o
maam away. and I've got to rescue
her. You've got to turn your coat
wrong side out and wear a mask and
speak in a hoarse voice. In rescuing
her I've got to give you mighty good
licking. but as am going to give you
so cents you mustn't mind that"
Jim demurred He didn't want to
abduct schoolma'am. and he didn't
want to be licked. He came to it in
time. however. Fifty cents in cash
was not to be sneezed at and he would
be licked if he refused to enter into
| the plot. 1t took some little time to
perfect The details. but at last every
thing was ready. Jed's old father saw
fresh "signs." and he took him to task
again.
jed" he said, "if you are going to
make fool of yourself in any way.
then look out for mel"
In winter. especially on cloudy day.
it begins to get dark soon after 4
O'clock in the afternoon. The school
ma'am had often to stay after school
had been dismissed to look over The
work for the next day. She had only
half mile to 80 when ready. Some,
times two or three pupils stayed and
walked along with her; sometimes
she was alone Luck aided the con-
spirators. 1t was young Jim Andrews
who was to do the abducting part.
His fathers barn was near the school
house, and he could both watch and
have horse ready harnesscd. Jed
Smith was to be waiting up the road.
One afternoon the signal WAS given.
and the plot was ufoot. The teacher
had remained until almost 5. She
was just donning cloak and hat when
masked villain appeared before her
and announced in an awful voice:
Come with me. If you scream or
struggle it means death!"
Miss Seymour was properly shocked
She had never seen a masked villain
before. No man. holding a peach
stone in his mouth to make his voice
terrible. had ever thus addressed her
She thought she recognized the figure
and there was something about the
terrible voice that sounded familiar
but she grew faint. her knees weak
ened. and she was about to sit down
when the villain seized her with Z
grip of steel and bore her out to his
sleigh She screamed and struggled
but she had to go Jed Smith ha(
said that it would be all the better fol
the plot if she screamed and strug
gled More credit would be due hin
for rescuing her.
What neither of the plotters hat
counted on was that some one nigh
come driving along the highway at tn
critical moment. Some one did come
He was man without romance i'll hi
soul. He was driving fast horse t
a cutter, and when the masked lxAl
swung the schoOlma am into his sleig
and started off at a gallop the straI
ger followed on and cracked his wh
and shouted to let the girl know tina
help was at band She heard him. an
so did Jim and his horse. In fact, tn
horse ran away. and just as he reachc
! the point where the rescuer stoo'
waiting he SHE'D into a drift an
! things were upset. Jed jumped fol
ward. but he had scarcely roared on
'Die. villain" when he was knocke
silly by the stranger Then the strus
Cling Jim caught ii. The schoolma al
i was pulled out of the robes and blar
4 kets and stood one side. and then he
rescuer went in to have some fun wit
n abductor and rescuer.
He stood them on their heads in tn
drifts; he jnmmed them about; he wa
J. loped them up and down. and whe
they shouted for mercy he walope
y the harder. Then, when tired out. /
g lifted the girl into his cutter aud droy
her home 1t did not break up tt
school: it simply broke up the romano
OF the thing. When Farmer Smit
had got through using the CAD on II
battered Jed he threw it aside an
said:
o. You was after romance. and !
II give you huff of it. There's 200 bus
"a els Of corn to be husked and Shple
q and it's going to be your work fro
"a now on to next Fourth of July. Re
z cuing gal. Why. durn you. you dol
know huff to rescue an old cabba;
head"