The Lakeland evening telegram., 1914-07-06

staggering up, and just as a big blach
goat was disappearing down the road
The colored woman was Aunt Tilda
the cook, and the goat was goat un
known.
"Oh, Miss Ruth" gasped the cook
as she fell on the grass
For the lands sake. Tilda, but
what Is it,"
1T was a grissly bar, Miss Ruth,
and he was gwine eat me up!"
"Tilda!"
II declar' to goodness it was!"
II saw black goat fleeing down the
road"
wall, n,ebbe it was a goat, but it 10
the same thing as grissly bar. Lem
me git up to de veranda an III tell
you all about It, Now, den, went
ober to Morton's didn't II"
Yes"
ITO see Hammer, de cook?"
"Yes."
well, saw her. She was in good
speerits. She axed me when you was
gwine to git married"
"The impudent thing!"
Oats zactly what | said to her.
She said she wasn't, but she had had a
dream dat you was gwine to fall in
love wild somebody and git married.
She said dat sunthin wild horns on
was gwine to bring it about. And
goats have horns, and dar you ami"
Go to your kitchen!"
Two hours later Miss Ruth Parsons
took little saunter up the highway
She had not progressed over ten rods
when she heard snort and saw that
black goat bearing down upon her.
She had just got inside the gate and
swung 1t to when the horns of the
goat struck it. She had screamed
once or twice en- route, and the cook
was on the veranda.
'Befo' de Lawd, but dar's de sunthin'
wild horns dat de Hammer woman
dreamed Of"
At ten o'clock next forenoon Miss
Ruth had caller. He was a young
man who gave his name as Charley
Ashley, and he explained, bis errand
by saying:
i am at my sisters, eight miles
away, on my school vacation. She is
rather eccentric about pets, and has a
hip hlack uht L.
He broke the rope with which he was
tied the other day and disappeared,
and | am looking for him. We have
heard that he was seen this far away
yesterday"
Yes, he was here" was the reply. '
He wanted to kill me, but was for.
tunate enough to escape"
i am sorry II he annoyed YOU"
i was going to have him shot II he !
hung around here"
Very proper. OF course, you don't
know which way he went?"
I was too frightened to take no.
tice"
The conversation began at the YER
anda steps and ended at the gate,
where the young man had his auto
waiting. With the remark that he
would go on a mile or two further. he
raised his hat and stepped outside the
gate, and there was the goat! He had
been In ambush He came for the
gate head down and heels up, and
snorttng like grampus at low water.
Mr.. Ashley exclaimed. "Thunder!"
and leaped into his machine.
Miss Ruth yelled "Oh, my" and ran
for the veranda.
by all the rules of logic this goat
ought to have sprung into the auto
after the young man, but he did moth,
ing OF the sort. He took after the
girl instead, and half way to the house
she went down under his catapult.
Mr.. Ashley was not man to beat
a retreat in the face of the enemy,
but just the man to rush to the rescue
OF forlorn damsel He rushed. He
Gldnt have gun handy in his hip
pocket, and so the goat had the adyan-
tage. He turned from the PROSTATE
maiden and met the hero half way
1t was bad for the hero. A ton Of
brick struck him in the solar plexus,
and after a grunt and a gasp he re-
tired to the land of nothing and no.
body. When he recovered conscious.
ness he was lying at the foot of the
steps, whittier he had been dragged by
Miss Ruth and the cook.
81 hope the goat didn't do you any
serious injury" he said
No, not serious" replied the girl.
Are you much hurt?"
only the breath knocked out OF
me for the time being. Do you happen
to have firearm in the house?"
81 have a revolver, but no car
tridges for it."
"Then | will wait to get him home
to kill him. Sorry to have brought
about this annoyance"
But it jest had to be brung about"
the cook.
MIR. Ashley called three days later.
The goat had been shot.
AS Tilda put 1t when he went away
after long call: ]
Now. honey, you hain't got nuthin'
n do but fall i'm love and git married,