The herald., 1912-10-24
The Tramp
By LUCY X. WINKOOP

"OOulO | gel bllrs n' asked
"Waal. we don't generally feed
tramps here. but reckon / mouSht
give you a piece of corn bread
The young man smiled y tramp.
Well, surely that was a change from
what he had been, for the year t,.
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 i'm his pocket 10 take him To
the new country. The result WAS that
he had got stranded. He was now
going to Il new diggiu%S he bad heard
Of, getting what he could 10 eat 10y the
way. But he said nothing of all this
to the girl. He thanked her for biz
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 late!y:' Then,
without waiting for reply. he fixed
his eyes on the tramp"
by jing" he exclaimed. What
luck. You can just come along with
me, young feller. Reckon you won't
get away with any more horses this
season. Well set you dancin' where
the grass is too short
"If you take me for a 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"
1.-THE committee. What cOmmittee|
"What ignorance! You know well
enough that mean the vigilance com
mittee that's bound to stop this horse
stealing"
I'm not a horse thief nor any kind
Of q 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 himT
asked the girl.
'To Rocky Gulch."
an a couple Of hours another mar
| appeared at the cabin door. He hat
been running and was dead tired.
-'Did you get away" asked the girl.
"Get away? hain't been tooken."
"Ain't you the felIer the sheriff tool
away from here to Rocky Gulch?"
"No; / reckon the sheriff's after me
but he hain't got me yet Did he tak'
a man?"
"Yes. he took feller he thought wa!
Joe Dixon. He looked enough like yol
to be your twin brother"
"You don't mean it. Well, if that's
so i don't need to hurry. Can you giv'
me somep'n to eatT
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. Th,
girl was thinking about the tramp VIII
had been taken away, and it occurred
to her that the sheriff would produce
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 her
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 hin
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 Gulcl
without some ones carrying 1t there
and l don't know anybody about her
that would be willin' to do it withou
gittin' well paid for the job. And sine
you say the man was purity well rul
down there wouldn't be much into it. y
With that he sat down to the meage
supper his daughter set before him
after which he smoked his pipe ant
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, puttin
a mans saddle on him, mounted ant
sped away in the direction Of Rock
Gulch
The night was dark, and the roa
was bad, with no guideposts to poin
the way. The girl trotted on-he
horse would go no faster than a trOt-
making at most five miles an houl
But there was no need for haste, 70
the tramp would probably not be hang
ed before morning.
She would have reached Rocky Gulc
by 5 o'clock, but her horse went lame
and it was 0 O'Clock before she reach
ed the place. Seeing a knot Of me
under a tree, she called to them an
waved her handkerchief. They paus
ed in what they were doing, and, rid
ing up to them on her limplng hors
and noticing the tramp standin
among them, she said:
THAT hain't Joe Dixon. Dixon, h
came along by our cabin after 70
left He looks exactly like this felle
He seemed a good deal set up whe
I told him you'd got another man II
stead Of him."
She convinced the men of her stor!
and they apologized to Mr.. CatherwOo
and told him to go where he likeC
That was with the girl. back to he
cabin. He told her that ais life wa
hers and he would from that tim
| comedian that oil hiS offortS fnnSt n