Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1915-06-03
HARD LUCK IN NUGGET
BY HAROLD CARTER

cTlCh. NOW lueTe Was MISS hOSo
| Crawford, who kept books for Jim
Riley First he thought he'd got her
and then he thought he hadn't. and
then. just when he thought he had
we'll
We'd heard a new preacher was
| coming to Nugget, and naturally the
boys were interested. Doctor Hadley,
who had been with us six years. had
| been thought good deal of. His Sat
urday night illustrated lectures on the
wonders of nature had proved live
wire Jim Riley had won the prize
Doctor Hadley offered for the best col
lection of lizards and Tom Bullen's
wife got the prize he gave for the best
cake baked for the church sociable;
| and so, with the parson gone, we saw
all our innocent pastimes nipped in
the bud unless Mr. Frank Cunning
ham turned out a sociable sort of man
like his predecessor.
The minute he steps off the train,
however, he looks so queer we see
something is wrong. He looks about
him surprisedlike.
Where's your outlaws?" he asks
There amt been none here for
these ten years, not since they passed
the antigambling laws" says Tom.
why donJ you carry pistols?" the
parson asks, still more surprised.
'They's taxed too high" ! explains
Times is hard in Nugget"
What, don't you shoot up tender
feet who take drinks of lemonade?"
he demands
Everybody drinks lemonade, mis-
ter" explains Jim Riley This is a
prohibition county"
Naturally this didn't make too good
an impression on US, especially when
he preached sermon against outlaws
from the pulpit the first Sunday. The
boys had another thing against him,
too. He'd asked Miss Rose to go bug.
gy-riding with him on the Wednesday,
and as Jim Riley had been monopoliz.
ing her a good deal. we didn't like the
butting-in feature. However, Miss
Rose went with him.
He didn't talk about nothing but
outlaws she said to us. HE thinks
we're hiding the vice of Nugget from
him to prevent his breaking it up.
He says if he spots it he's going to
smash It,"
so that's why he come nosing
round my back door on Sunday before
church," exclaimed jim, hotly Want.
ed to see if | was violating the tenn
perance laws, eh?"
Well after another week had gone
by things was getting unbearable.
None of us wanted to lay hands on the
parson, but we saw he hadn't come to
Nugget in an understanding spirit
Moreover, he was bothering Miss
Rose, and we didn't like that
Nov | tell you how it is, boys
says Tom Bullen. What he wants is
to prove himself. He's like a young
horse that hasn't been broke. He's
like soldier going into battle, who
thinks he's a hero and has to learn
that it will take all his heroism to
keep from running away If once he
gets up against what he's looking for
he'll sing pretty small and possibly
turn out to be a good Teller"
And then he outlined his plan to us
We were to stage an attempted alb
duction.
1t was three nights later, before the
moon come up, that we carried out the
plan. Jim and Tom lay in wait at the
parsonage corner, about the time when
Miss Rose used to walk home from
the store. We knew the Darson would
be waiting for her, to say good eve
ming and to offer to escort her, and
the rest of us was hiding in Ephraim's
store across the street, to see the fun.
Just as Miss Rose was passing the
parsonage Jim and Tom leaps out and
grabs her Scream? I never heard a
girl holler like it. Jim said afterward
1t scared him into thinking he was
really trying to abduct her.
Help! Help" she cried at the top
of her voice.
suddenly the parsonage door opened
and Mr.. Cunningham came out
Wh-wh-what's the matter?" he
5tammered.
IL was so dark some Of Us had taken
the opportunity to Green nm close and
l tel you 1t fairly scared me stiff TO
think man could be such a coward.
Inc parson was positively shaking
with fright, and he looked as if hs
was going to turn tail any instant.
You leave that young lady alone"
ne mumbled; and then he caught sight
Of Miss Roses face
Next instant he had landed like a
catapult right into the pair of them.
Before he knew it. Jim was lying In
the road with cut lip and Tom was
leaning against the wall with bruised
eye. But the parson was at them
again and there wasn't nothing to do
out to turn tail We ran. the LOT of
u.s. and we was afraid every instant
the parson would land one of us blows
across our necks But he tailed off
and went back to Miss Rose, and that
was tne last we saw. except that we
heard he took her home and told her
she wasn't never to 60 out alone after
uark IN such vicious town again.
MISS Rose wasn't at the store nsyt
0aW and Nv