The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-03-20
HARD LUCK IN AuesET
BY HAROLD CARTER

Women certainly arc yucca |
act in the most unexpected ways, anu
when you think you've roped tnem
they're up and away like WHO NAV
erick. Now there was Miss Rose
Crawford, who kept books for !m
Riley, First he thought he'd got nei
and then he thought he hadn't. anu
then, Just when he thought ne nao-
well!
We'd heard a new preacher was
coming to Nugget. and naturally .ne
boys were interested. Doctor Hadies.
who had been with US six years, naa
been thought q good deal OF. his sa.'
urday night illustrated lectures on the
wonders Of nature had proved q i've
wire. Jim Riley had won the prize
Doctor Hadley offered for the best col
lection Of lizards and Tom buiien
wife got the prize he gave for tine pest
cake baked for the church sociaoie'
and 30, with the parson gone, we saw
all our innocent pastimes nippeo 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 SO queer we see
something is wrong. He looks about
him surprisedlike.
where's your outlaws he asks.
There amt been none here foi
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 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
butting.in feature. However. Miss
Rose went with him.
He didn't talk about nothing but
outlaws" she said 10 us. He thinks
we're hiding the vice Of Nugget from
him to prevent his breaking 1t up
He says il he spots it he's going to
smash it,"
so that's why he come nosin
round my back door on Sunday before
church," exclaimed Jim, holly. Want
ed to see II was violating the tenn
pcrance 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 t.
Nugget in an understanding spirit
J Moreover, he was bothering Mis-
| Rose. and we didn't like that.
"Now l tell you how 1t is, boys,
says Tom Bullen. What he wants il
| to prove himself. He's like a younl
horse that hasn't been broke. He
like a soldier going into battle. VIII
; thinks he's a hero and has to lear
, that it will take all his heroism t
I. keep from running away. II once h
!. gets up against what he's looking 70
he'll sing pretty small and possibl
turn out to be a good feller.'
: And then he outlined his plan to vi
: We we're to stage an attempted al
duction.
It was three nights later, before tn
. moon come up. that we carried out tn
plan. Jim and Tom lay in wait at tn
parsonage corner, about the time whe
j. Miss Rose used to walk home frol
- the store. We knew the parson wou
. be waiting for her, to say good ev
!. ming and to offer to escort her, ar
. the rest of US was hiding in Ephraim
;. store across the street, to see the flu
~ Just as Miss Rose was passing Il
parsonage Jim and Tom leaps out ar
!, grabs her. Scream? I never heard
= girl boiler like it. Jim said afterwa
= 1t scared him into thinking he vi
!. really trying to abduct her.
!. Help! Help" she cried at the t,
" Of her voice.
-, Suddenly the parsonage door open
~ and Mr.. Cunningham came out.
"Wh.wh-what's the natter"
stammered.
" II was 20 dark some Of us had TAX
" the opportunity to creep up close, a
I tell you It fairly scared me stiff
think q man could be such a cowal
" The parson was positively shaki
with fright. and he looked 40 II
" was going to turn tail any instant.
you leave that young lady alon
he mumbled; and then he caught sir
70 Of Miss Roses face.
- Next instant he had landed like
..s catapult right into the pair of the
l.e Before he knew 1t. Jim was lying
". the road with . cut lip and Tom v
leaning against the wall with brui:
=. eye. But the parson was at tn
ase again. and there wasn't nothing to
'ss but to turn tail. We ran, the lot
20 u. and We was afraid every inst,
OF the parson would land one Of us bic
ING across our necks. But he tailed
~ and went back to Miss Rose, and I
was the last we saw, except that
IN heard he took her home and told
she wasn't never to 60 out alone al
dark In such vicious town again.
Miss Rose wasn't 1t the store n
Iex. day, and by nightfall everybody kr
ose she was to marry the parson when
avs banns had been read. He got nor,