Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1914-12-10
|, 4. In
<hiivalry
By DONALD cHAMBERLlN


could hear her and while she read
how Sir Somebody charged upon Sir
Somebody Else in contest for the
Lady What's-her-name noticed that
the farmers eye lit up. and he seemed
to be rapt in Renaissance
"They don't do SIGH things now thst
away" he said when the story was
finished. but it's jist as material fer
men to fight for women today as 1t
was then. But they're ginirally young
felfers. and the gals is young too. !
had scrap like that. when was a
younker. l hearn one day that there
was to be dance in barn six or
seven miles down the road. After sup.
per started to walk it."
What" interrupted. walk seven
miles. dance all the evening and walk
seven miles back!"
"Oh. didn't mind little thing like
that then. was young and tough
needed to keep my muscles active;
there was so much vim in EN-. When
l got to the barn some fiddlers was
putin some boards on barrels to make
music for the people to dance While
they was tunin' up the dancers was
comm in.
Purity soon they began to dance, but
| didn't know any O the gals, and
was afeared to ask EN- to dance with
me. After awhile black eyed gal.
seein that | was left out in the cold.
said to me. smiln', Why don't you.
dance" and | says. Cause | don't
know nobody to dance with And she
says Won't do? And says. You
bet put my arm around her waist
and We spun around that barn floor
like a lywheei of cuttin' machine
with the beltin off
When the music stopped we went off
into dark corner and set till it com
menced ag'in ! aXed the gal if she
she said she didn't mind We was
gittin' up to start off when a Teller
t.ame up and said the gal was engaged
to him for that dance She said she
didn't remember any engagement with
him. 80 put my arm around her, and
we sailed away
Not wishin' to take up the hull of
her time. when the dance was over
told her would go and get a cup o
water list for an excuse. you know
though | would have liked to stay with
her the rest of the evrnin' hadn't
zone far before the fellcr that said the
gal was engaged to dance with hin
come up to me. and he said. says he:
! See here mister if yop want to
| monui,nlize the belle O this we're co,li1
nv you GOT to fight for her
~ don't want to monopolize amy
nne saws 'leastways any one that
don't want to t. monopolized. hut
| don't want none o your sass
THAT want exactly like Sir Some
thine or Other in the story would put
| it. but meant iist what he did. The
| Teller didn't throw down his mailed
glove neither. but he was sp'ilin for
a fight. and first thing knowed he
give me jaw breaker Then some
of the managers O the ball that was
standin by interfered and said we
couldn't fight there: we must go ont
| side. So we went out. and all the men
| follered MS The gals. hndin' their
selves without the men. thort they
might as we'll see the fun and they
come ont too
1.-THE moon was full that night and
shone like Il big round silver dollar
The Teller was to fight they called
him Buck was six feet high to my
five feet eight Ii the gal he was to
| fight for WAS the belle o. the county
he was the bully He'd licked every man
he could get to fight him Just as that Sir
What .ye-call- him in tile story had
vanquished all the other knights. |
wasn't so big MS he was. but was all
ffired tough My arms was like wild
eats fore legs When seen the gals
gatherin' around looked for the one
| that the fight was about | saw her
standin's with her face squared to the
nut enough vim in me to tackle a
grizzly
II couldn't give you much of an ac-
count of the fight cause 1t was TWEEN
ty.five years ago and rough and tum-
ble scrap anyway Didn't neither of
us know how to box. and we just
slammed at each other like two wind.
mills whose wings had got mixed from
Eein' too close together. Onct in awhile
when | felt discouraged under sledge
hammer blow the Teller got in OH me
I'd look for smile from the girl.
She'd give me one. and Id start in
ag'in purity nigh as fresh as ever.
The biz Teller was more ponderous-
like than me. but he didn't have my
steel muscles. and he didn't have my
wind After awhile he began to
breathe kind % hard. and at last he
was hittin' wild | was as fresh as
ever. and when | saw he was givin'
on. | jist waited awhile till he got
well tuckered. then landed blow on
his jaw that sent him sprawlin' on
the dirt
Just then a rooster TUX it into his
head to crow in the middle o the
night and everybody larfed We went