The Taney County republican., 1912-06-20

bheHbth' uo WOulu piCh Iio hANA6 aul-
NAL up bodily. pack aud all--he WAS q
man Of powerful physique-and swing
him around until his head pointed in
the right direction; then with prayer
that the burro would keep It there for
few rods anyway. he would set him
down and start him all over again.
The process Oft repeated became mo-
notonous after awhile Arthur was
slow thinking man, deliberate in ac-
tion he stood It as long as he possibly
could. Kirkby, who rode one horse
and led two others, and therefore was
exempt from burro driving, observed
him with great interest. He and Brad
shaw had strayed way behind the rest
OF the party.
At last Arthur's resistance, patience
and piety, strained to the breaking
point, gave way suddenly. Primitive
instincts rose to the surface and over
whelmed him like flood, He de-
liberately sat down on n fallen tree
by the side of trail, the burro halt.
Ing obediently turned and faced him
with hanging head. apparently con.
scious that he merited the disappro-
baion that was being heaped upon
him, for from the desperate tender
foot there burst forth 80 amazing, 80
fluent, so comprehensive torrent OF
assorted profanity, that even the old
past master in objuration was aston
ished and bewildered. Where did
Bradshaw, mild and inoffensive get
It? His proficiency would have ap.
palled his rector and amazed his fell
low vestrymen. Not the Jackdaw OF
Rheims himself was so cursed as that
little burro. Kirkby sat on his horse
in fits OF silent laughter until the
tears ran down his cheek, the only
outward and visible expression OF his
mirth.
Arthur only stopped when ne had
thoroughly emptied himself, possibly
OF at accumulation Of years OF repres-
sion.
WALL" said Kirkby, you sure do
overmntch any one ever heard wen
1t comes to cursin'; wy, you could
gimme cards an spades an beat me,
an was thought to have some gift
hathaway in the old days"
II didn't begin to exhaust myself"
answered Bradshaw, shortly, "and
what | did say didn't equal the situs-
tion. I'm going home"
Il wouldn't do that" urged the old
man. Here, you take the horses an
I'll tackle the burro."
Gladly" said Arthur. II would
rather ride an elephant and drive
herd Of them than waste another min
ute on this internal little mule"
The story was too good to keep,
and around the camp fire that night
Kirkby drawled It forth. There was a
freedom and easlness of intercourse In
the camp, which was natural enough.
Cook, teamster driver, host, guest,
men, women, children, and | had al.
most said burros, stood on the same
level. They all ate and lived together.
The higher up the mountain range you
90, the deeper into the wilderness you
plunge, the further away from the
conventional you draw. the more
homogeneous becomes society and the
less obvious are the irrational and un.
scientific distinctions OF the lowlands.
The guinea stamp fades and the man
and the woman are pure gold or base
metal Inherently and not by any ar.
tificial standard,
George, the cattle man, who cooked,
and Pete, the horse wrangler, who as.
sisted Kirkby In looking after the
stock, enjoyed the episode uproarious.
ly. and would faln have had the exact
Language repeated to them, but here
Robert Maitland demurred, much to
Arthur's relief, for he was thoroughly
Inundated by the whole performance.
II was very pleasant lounging
around the camp fire and one good
story easily led to another.
ut was In these very mountains"
said Robert Maitland, at last, when his
turn came, that there happened one
Of the strangest and most terrible ad-
ventures that | ever heard Of | have
pretty much forgotten the lay Of the
land, but l think It wasn't very far
from here that there Ia one Of the
most stupendous canons through the
range; nobody ever goes there: don't
suppose anybody has ever been there
since. 1t must have been at least
five years ago that 1t all happened"
1T was four years an nine months
exactly, Bob" drawled old Kirkby,
who well knew what was coming.
"Yes, dare say you are right. I
was up at Evergreen at the time look.
Ing after timber interests, when a
mule came wandering into the camp,
saddle and pack still on his back"
Il knowed that there mule" said
Kirkby, I'D sold It to a feller named
Newbold, that had come out yere an
married Louise Rosser, old man Ros-
ser's daughter. an him dead, an bein
an orphan an this feller bein' fine
young man from the east, not a bit OF
a tenderfoot nuther, minin' engi.
neer he called hisself."
"Wall. ] happsusd to be there. too.