The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1910-01-20

An why should l take MS W0Tu lof III
Hercupon the strayman took up the
cudgels, but ], sas noticeable that he APP
preached his suoic-i II a scientific manner
Instead Of debating lhc broad field Of miracu-
lous happenings, he confined his complaint 70
the miracle Of the whale Now this was
manifestly fable, an allcgorica tale, or
grossly exaggerated, argued the strayman,
because his father, who had been mariner
before he took to cooking for ranch, had
informed him that the construction Of a
whales throat precMdol the possibility Of the
passage Of mans body Moreover, having
once seen some Indians cleaning dead whale
on the shore Of Puget Sound, his father was
reasonably certain that any prolragted resi-.
dence in, the interior Of one Of the tribe OF
Mutilates would be Wholly beyond the capa-
bilities Of any man, ancient or modern. That
in substance, was the strayman'S argument
and when he had done the cook regarded
him With awe Ii the little rascal hadn't
knocked the preacher illtter than O aap-jack
to, indeed the parsons voice was,
filed with 4 high pity all I'VE got TO sassio
what your Of man done told you isstIi1t It's
all here in the Book So It MUST be true
What's your name, sr}' ~
"Waggoler I'm slrayfnan iorh Gourd
Straymanl | reckon u. good neue
for you No offcnse, MI Mlggoner. Bet
you catch Strays for yolr ranth, doa' aa'
An.take 'cm back? ~
Ath'rhptis s,pbat ~, ba.e fnt Y
"An' Igather ii strays 10 The Master toll
You shore oughtnt for to be agn me, Mister
Waggoncr. We do the same work, me ahf
you You 20 after cattle, 60 after souls 2
~ reckon you don't hogticp It was the
unregenerate Dick
Upon the cooks invitation, he having
thought over some laundering argiment'
during an afternoon spent in concocting a
stew, shc parson remained for the night. Be-
fore he crawlcd in under Dawes tarp after
hours Of oraiory and debate, the gaunt wage
bond barred his head, and sinking to his knees,
with his face upturned TO the sky, prayed
hereunder the stars Some there were Of the
outfit who would have laughed, perhaps orc
or two were hardened enough to mock, but
the cook silenced them with a sharp hiss as he
reared his head from out the bedding; and
stranger still, the strayman stared wrathfuly
across thc blaze from whore he rou-hed by
the FIRE, 50 that the Lazy / men heard a
prayer Mt last
20 Iofd pluck this brand from Tie
burnin Save this Young man
ere il be 100 late Make him d
strayman on your own range, for TO gather IL
souls An all that We ask y
He was praying for Waggoncr, the gam
bling Waggoncr Of the Gourd In dire con
fusion the gtraymon went 10 his bed, but when
the paysoa rode away next morning, he
nodded to mm in friendly fashion and cycn
shook the hand 50 difhdcnty extended
"Adiosl wish YOU luck, he called
Late in thc afternoon they broke camp and
headed for Big spring, hall oi the Quilt lol.
lowing the chuckwagon, for the days brand
ing wac over As they doglrotlcd IN coupe
Uncle Henry studied The weather There
was rain coming NJ lasl, and II Uncle Henry
knew anything about signs, il would be a
snortcr Away over the rim Of hills to west.
ward black clouds were massing, and once q
spurt oi flame shot from them silently A,
he watched, vast, dark veil dropped down
ward and hung between earth and sky; il
swaycd like curtain, and il was denscsl Al
The top where il joined the clouds.