The herald., 1915-06-17
HARD LUCK IN NUGGET
BY HAROLD CARTER.

Copyright, 1915. by W. G. Chapmanl
Women certainly are queer They
act in the most unexpected ways. and
when you think you've roped them
they're up and away like a wild NAV
erick. 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
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
urday night illustrated lectures on the
wonders of nature had proved a 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 don't 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 a 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 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, holly. Want
ed to see if 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.
Now | 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 a 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
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? I never heard a
girl boiler like it. Jim said afterward
it 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 natter" he
stammered.
1t was so dark some Of US had taken
the opportunity to creep up close, and
tell you it fairly scared me stir to
think a man could be such a coward
The 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"
he 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 a cut lip and Tom was
leaning against the wall with a 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 of
and went back to Miss Rose, and that