Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1912-11-26
The Evening Story
Mountaineer Tales
b. M QUAD
Copyright. 1s12, by Associated Lit
srary Press.

iii erory Press. III
1--WE had many fout in my time"
began old zeb white. the possum hunt
Or. but thar has never been but one
occasion when I was within to admit
that was licked man. The ole wo-
man was to blame for that. She used
to be In the habit Of sulkin' around
without any cause for II AZ fur a. l
could see. and It allus ended In row
Of some kind.
Zone afternoon cum homo from town
10 1nd my ole woman In the sulks. She
used to get that way now and then.
ana knowed what to expect. when
she began to Jaw I began to whistle.
but arter half an hour ] got mad. I'd
a gone out and slept in the woods.
only It was gwine to be q dark and
rainy night. She sulked and eulked.
and when It cum time to 60 to bed {
sot right yere and never minded the
dime. She didn't offer to make up, and
20 was sittin' yers when midnight
rum. She was asleep and % was
when thar cum q cry from outdoahs.
It was just like the boot Of q woman
lost IN the woods. and It was fingin'
In my ears when the ole woman sits
up in bed and calls out:
"'Zeb White, what on airth was that.
and what ar 20 doing sittin' up thar
like knot on logT
~ didn't hear nuthin' more'n an
owl hootin'.' saysl.
"Then why don% 20 80 out Ind
keep him company
II didn't say uuthin' to that. and pur.
" soon she fell back and went to sleep
again. Mebbe fifteen minits had pass
ed when the cry come ag'in and sent a
shiver over me and brought the ole
woman out Of bed.
"'Befo' the Lawd. but what kin II
ber she gasped.
IA woman hootin' for help seq I.
"'lt can't be. No woman would be
hootin' around we're this time o night
Then II may be an OWL
Then you may b fuler
"Her calm me a fule riled me ND,
and. though was purity sartin that 1t
was the scream Of Z wildcat. ! deter
mined not to Civ in.
"'Shoo! It's one o. them Davis gals
lost In the woods
Then you don't know sugar from
sand! Listen to that! Does that sound
IKE the boot of a woman
"'Jest exactly. I'll bet my ole gun
agin coonskin that it's 4 woman. I'll
open the doah 30 she kin see the light
and then call to her.
"'Zeb White. I'm tellin' 20 it's q
wildcat and not a woman. II yo'
hadn't almost got to be a fule yo'd
know by the sound No woman ever
yeowled that way. no matter how
skeert she was. What 70 gwine to
doY
"'Open the doah. of co'se.'
"'Waal, If 20 open that doah sum.
body's gwine to git clawed and bit.
and yo' take my word fur it.
THAT rled me sum mo-, and was
bound to open that doah or bust.
could even h'ar the critter prowlin'
around. but I want gwine to let the
ole woman blulf me down. riz up
and was listenin', when she SEE:
"This yere cat Il after meat fur
shore!'
"That yere woman Is lookin' fur
our cabin. 20 mean. and yere goes to
let her In
with that I crossed over and open.
ed the back doah. and as did SO the
ole woman made q dive fur the bed
and kivered up her head. ] had just
swung the doah back and opened my
mouth to boot when sumthin' knocked
mo clean across the cabin and uttered
an awful scream. It. was q sure
enough wildcat, and mighty big one
at that He fust jumped on the bed
and scratched ut the clothes. but Al |
got up he turned and tackled me.
was took 50 sudden that the crittel
had all the advantage at fust. but
bimeby I got hold Of stool and sorter
held my own. He kept me mighty
busy. but I saw the ole woman sittin'
| up In bed arter . bit aud heard her
say:
".Zeb White. II that's one o them
| Davis gals, then she's powerfully
changed about since last Sunday. Why
don't 20 ask her to take her bonnit
on and stay al nightr
"'But I hain't AKIN no help from
you says l. though I figured that
couldn't last ten minits mo-.
"'Never knowed the Davis girl wai
30 smart befo'.'
"'You hain't got all the peartnesa
around yere.'
"Just how long that font lasted
can't say. but finally driv the crittei
outdoahs and got the doah shet, and
then l fell down and tainted away
and didn't know nuthin' mo- fur an
hour. ! don't rightly rsmember how
many bites and scratches got, but ]
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