The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-03-18
HARD LUCK il nussET
BY HAROLD CARTER


ect IN the most unexpected ways. and
when you think you've roped them
aeyre up and away like . wild NAV
ef1ck. Now there was Miss Rose
crawford. who kept books for Jim
Riley. First he thought he'd got her
and then he thought he hadn't. and
'nen. Just when he thought he had
we'll!
wed heard . new preacher was
coming to Nugget. and naturally the
boys were interested. Doctor Hadley.
VINO had been with Us six years, had
oeen 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 30. with the parson gone, we saw
all our innocent pastimes nipped In
the bud unless Mr.. Frank Cunning.
ham turned out sociable sort of man
like his predecessor.
The minute he steps of the train.
however. he looks 30 queer We see
something IL 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 don't you carry pistols!" the
parson asks. still moro surprised.
"Theys taxed too high" l 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 10 q
prohibition county"
Naturally this didn't make too good
an impression on us, especially when
ne preached q sermon against outlaws
from the pulpit the first Sunday. The
boys had another thing against him,
too. He'd asked Miss. Rose to 60 bug
gy-riding with him on the Wednesday,
and as Jim Riley had been monopoliz-
ing her good deal. we didn't like the
buttingin 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 1t up.
He says II 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 II l 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 l tell you how 1t is. boys"
says Tom Bullen. What he wants IL
to prove himself. He's like a young
horse that hasn't been broke. He's
like q soldier going into battle, who
thinks he's hero and has to learn
that It will take all his heroism to
keep from running away. II 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 u.
We were to stage an attempted ab-
duction.
It 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 parson 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? never heard Q
girl boiler Hike 1t. 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
stammered.
1t was SO dark some of Us had taken
the opportunity to creep up close, and
tell you It fairly scared me stiff to
think . man could be such q coward
The parson was positively shaking
with fright. and he looked ~ II h.,
was going to turn tail any instant.
You leave that young lady alone"
he mumbled; and then he caught sight
Of Miss Roses face.
Next instant he had landed like Q
catapult right into the pair Of them.
Before he knew 1t. 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
but to turn tail We ran, the lot of
us, and we was afraid every instant
the parson would land one of us blows
across our necks. But he tailed on
and went back to Miss Rose. and that
was the last We saw, except that we
heard he took her home and told her
she wasn't never to 60 out alone after
dark in such a vicious town again.
Miss Rose wasn't at the store next
day, and by nightfall everybody knew
she was to marry the parson when the
banns had been read. He got perkier
than ever afterwards, and Jim agreed
we'd made . bad mistake in not 40
counting for the power Of love over Q