Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1912-10-17
The Tramp.
By LUCY K. wYNkooP

wild west IL locke at u girl slaAu-
ing in the doorway.
could 1 get a bitew he asked.
"Waal, we don't generally feed
| tramps here, but l reckon | mought
| give you a piece of corn bread"
The young man smiled. 4. tramp!
| Well, surely that was a change from
what he had been, for the year be-
| fore he had graduated with honor
from an eastern college. The field
| there had semed too crowded for him.
| and he had lit out" with just enough
MONEY in his pocket to take him to
the new country. The result was that
he had got stranded. He was now
| going to a new diggings he had heard
| of, getting what he could to eat by the
way. But he said nothing of all this
to the girl. He thanked her for Il big
| hunk of corr bread without butter
| she gave him and was about to move
on when a man rode up to the cabin
and said to her:
"I'm lookin' for Joe Dixon, the horse
thief. Have you seen any suspicious
lookin' purson SO by here lately" Then,
without waiting for a reply, he fixed
his eyes on "the tramp"
"By jung" he exclaimed. what
luck! You can just come along with
me, young Teller. Reckon you won't
get away with any more horses this
season. Well set you dancin' where
the grass is too short"
eff you take me for a horse thief"
said the young man. you are mistak-
en-. I'm George Catherwood."
"What gall! Didn't I see you when
the committee had you just before you
give 'em the slip?"
1.-THE committee! What committee? p
"What ignorance! You know we'll
enough that l mean the vigilance com
mittee that's bound to stop this horse
stealing"
of a criminal. I've come out to this
country from the east to get a start.
Keep your hands off me-"
The sheriff-for such he was-de-
clined to argue the question, but,
mounting his prisoner on a borrowed
horse, started away with him.
"Where are you going to take him?
asked the girl.
"To Rocky Gulch."
"In a couple Of hours another man
appeared at the cabin door. He had
been running and was dead tired.
Ibid you get away?' asked the girl.
"Get away? 1 hain't been t%ool1en."
Eki:,4 w., &l,o fo1Io, +I@ cLo,,;ff tNo1
away from here to Rocky Gulch?'
'No: l reckon the sheritf's after me
but he hain't got Inc yet. Did he take
a MANI"
eyes, he took a Teller he thought wa:
Joe Dixon. He looked enough like yor
to be your twin brother"
"You don't mean it! Well, if that's
so I don't need to hurry. Can you give
me somep'n to eat?'
The girl got out another hunk O.
corn bread which the horse thief ate
then went his way.
By this time night had come on. TIL
girl was thinking about the tramp VIII
had been taken away, and it occurred
to her that the sheriff would produc'
him at Rocky Gulch and he would yer.
likely be hanged the next morning
There was something in the youn|
mans smile that had appealed to hel
and she did not like the idea Of his be
ing strung up on account of a mistake
Her father came in and she told hir
what had happened.
81 don't see what you're going to d
about it." he said. There's no wa
O. gettin' any word to Rocky Gulc
without some ones carrying it there
and I don't know anybody about her
that would be willin' to do it withou
gittin' we'll paid for the job. And sine
you say the man was purity well ru
down there wouldn't be much into it.
=; With that he sat down to the meage
supper his daughter set before hin
II after which he smoked his pipe an
went to bed.
AS soon as all was quiet in tn
? house the girl slipped out to a she
where a horse was kept and, putin
a mans saddle on him, mounted an
sped away in the direction Of Rock
Gulch.
The night was dark, and the roa
was bad, With nc guideposts to poir
the way. The girl trotted on-he
horse would go no faster than a trot-
making at most five miles an hou
But there was no need for haste, ft
the tramp would probably not be han'
ed before morning.
She would have reached Rocky Gulc
+ by 5 O'Clock, but her horse went lam
TT and it was 8 o'clock before she reacl
lie ed the place. Seeing a knot Of me
under a tree, she called to them al
D. waved her handkerchief. They pau
I'd ed in what they were doing, and, ri
to ing up to them on her limping hors
a and noticing the tramp standiI
among them, she said:
re "That hain't Joe Dixon. Dixon, !
p came along by Il cabin after yc
left. lie, looks exactly like this felle
He seemed a good deal set up whe
1 told him you'd got another man i
stead Of HIM"
She convinced the men Of her stor
and they apologized to MI. Catherwot