The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-09-10
The Tramp
BY LUCY K. wYNKooP

wild west and looked at a girl stand
ing in the doorway.
! Gould get bite?" he asked.
WAL, we don't generally feed
tramps here, but l reckon l mought
give you piece of corn bread"
The young man smiled. A tramp
Well. surely that was change from
what he had been, for the year be-
fore he had graduated with honor
from an eastern college. The field
there had seemed 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 big
hunk Of corn 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 go by here lately?" Then.
without waiting for a reply. he fixed
his eyes on 'the tramp"
by jingF' be 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 shortl"
If you take me for horse thief"
said the young man. you are mistak-
en- I'm George Catherwood."
what gall! Didn't / see you when
the committee had you just before you
give 'em the Slip"
"The committee. What committee|
what ignorancel You know well
enough that / mean the vigilance CON-
mlttee that's bound to stop this horse
stealing"
"Fm not a horse thief nor any kind
of criminal I've come out to this
country from the east to get start.
Keep your he ads of me-"
The sheriff-for such he was-de-
clined to argue the question, but,
horse. started away with him.
Where are you going to take himT'
asked the girl.
ITO Rocky Gulch."
"In 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
sect away? hain't been Token"
"Ain't you the Teller the sheriff took
away from here to Rocky GulchT'
"No: reckon the sheriff's after me.
but he hain't got me yet. Did he take
a MANI"
"Yes, he took Teller he thought was
Joe Dixon. He looked enough like you
to be your twin brother"
"You don't mean it! Well. IL that's
so don't need to hurry. Can you give
me somep'n TO eatf"
The girl got out another hunk Of
corn bread which the horse thief ate,
then went his way.
BY this time night had come on. The
girl was thinking about the tramp who
had been taken away, and it occurred
to her that the sheriff would produce
him at Rocky Gulch and he would very |
likely be hanged the next morning.
There was something In the young
mans smile that had appealed to her,
and she did not like the idea of his be-
ing strung up on account of mistake.
Her father came In and she told him
what had happened.
II don't see what you're going to do
about H." he said. There's no way
a. gettin' any word to Rocky Gulch
without some ones carrying 1t there,
and / don't know anybody about here
that would be willin' to do 1t without
gittin' well paid for the job. And since
you say the man was purity well run
down there wouldn't be much into it."
With that he sat down to the meager
supper his daughter set before him,
after which he smoked his pipe and
went to bed.
As soon as all was quiet In the
house the girl slipped out to shed
where horse was kept and, putting
n mans saddle on him, mounted and
sped away in the direction of Rocky
Gulch.
The night was dark, and the road
was bad, with no guideposts to point
the way. The girl trotted on-her
horse would go no faster than a trot--
making at most Ave miles an hour.
But there was no need for haste. for
the tramp would probably not be hang
ed before morning.
She would have reached Rocky Gulch
by 8 O'Clock, but her horse went lame.
and it was 8 o'clock before she reach
ed the place. Seeing knot Of men
under a tree, she called to them and
waved her handkerchief They paus-
ed In what they were doing, and. rid
Ing up TO them on her limping horse
md noticing the tramp standing
lmong them, she said:
That hain't Joe Dixon. Dixon, he
came along by our cabin after you s
eft. He looks exactly like this Teller :
He seemed a good deal set up when
told him you'd got another man in
stead of him."
She convinced the men of her story.
Ind they apologized to Mr.. Catherwood
Ind told him to go where he liked.
That was with the girl. back TO her
,abin. He told her that his life was
lers and he would from that time !
consider that all his efforts must be