The Washington herald., 1915-10-17

What nerve" said Red. and
reached for the shotgun we had with
Amt that a shot for YOU" said
he. and whaled away. The coyote
never moved.
"Whoomp," said the ten-bore again.
And again the coyote didn't move. Mr..
Saunders gave forth winged words. re-
loaded. and sent more ounces of shot
into space Almost immedia tely the
coyote wavered. like a reflection in dis
turbed water. grew dim-and dis
solved.
What the devil" said Red. and
then. ''HHnh, Shooting at a mirage.
l wonder if I'll ever grow up" Sure
miracle of a mirage. but a strange and
eerie thing to see.
As we drove along in the blackboard
and silence for space. Red was Wis
IDLY thinking. One only had to wait.
Amt it funny" said he. how one
thing will remind YOU of another: Me
shooting at that ghost of a coyote
makes me think of the time the Senior
Don come out to revise and refiX this
country. He hit the Territory in the
early eighties with no comets nor any
other strange appearances in the sky.
A Spaniard from Cuba was the Don.
the son of rich but nervous parents.
and Dakota looked as simple a PROPOSE
ton to him as that coyote did to us
just now. Yet he was a good little
cuss. too. and amusing plenty. while
he lasted. He stood about five foot
and a finser-nail tall; had a set of
muss-tacheS that would have looked
we'll on the head of a Rocky Mountain
goat; had the style to his shoulders
and the military bearing of a Dutch
general entering a brewery. coupled
with the dignity of a niger drum ma =
jor two drinks to the queer. Some
folks stand on their dignity. because
it's their only visible means of sup
port. While it weren't quite that with
the Don. yet if you pared his dignity
away from him the rest wouldn't much
more'n make a mouthful for the cat.
providence provides for all things.
Amt you never noticed that the prim
old gal is always on the spot when the
worst kind of bad break is exploding ::
Sure, Providence amt got any use for
such. So with the Don. Things had
been quiet so long a sort of moss was
gathering on our intellects. The merry
village chestnut-peddlers were near
nutty from idleness. When. 10! here
stops the express train. and off gets
the Senior Don:
Those aforesaid chestnut-peddlers
gave a loud yell of JOY. jumped seven
foot in the air, and took the Senior
Don to camp.
II have seen tenderfeet in my time {:
I have seen the unbelievable happen
three times the same day. and l knew
a Teller that used to hunt up impossi-
bilries for the mere fun OF doing them.
but l never guessed that there was
such a proposition the Senior Don.
Talk about what man will swaller,
He'd take a boX-car down in one gulp
if YOU told him it was a gum-drop. 1t
was simply terrible to sit and look at
the things them fellers did to him.
Twas a scandal and a parody on hu-
man nature that he stood for it.
All the ordinary things were sprung
on him. They took him out baSging
snIpe. way. way down on the Slue.
And there sits Mr.. Don with his gun
ny-sack. waiting for the birds until
sunup. Then he chased the side-hill
gouger. that fierce reptile that makes
the queer trails around the sharp
buttes. him having legs on one side
shorter than the other. and hence
enable to ever leave his native hill.
He sat out in the dew. waiting for the
alarm of the chronometer rattlesnake.
who always springs his rattle at half
past two in the morninC-rain, shine.
or cloudy weather. Then come the
badger pulling contest. You know the
game don't you? All excitement. in
the biggest hall you can get. little dog
barking furious at a barrel. cord COM
ing out of barrel. attached TO the
bloodthirsty badger. Stranger Is al
lowed to pull the cord. from respect
Well. Jack Teasdale and me sprung a
new one on them. We had the stage
arrangements-the contest was held in
the Emerson Institute-and we run a
FIRE hose up through the floor and hid
II in the barrel: tied the string to the
cock on the nozzle and waited in
pleased anticipation, the poet says
There they "ere' the IItle Ion all up
in the air. the rest of the crowd with
their mouths puCkered for the grand
ha-ha,
Pull yells Fatty Subtle
The Don yanks the cord. and a
three-inch stream with 100-pound
pressure behind ii plowed its way
through the audience. As Jack and me
had a previous engagement uptown.
We didn't stay to see how II affected
the company. But we was told after
ward they was quite put out. and had
considerable difficulty deciding who the
joke was on. so the proper party could
pay for the drinks.
Even the kids of the town cut into
the game with the Don. There was one
pair-Harry and Dan. What one of
those little devils couldn't think of was
a cinch for the other. They actually
got something new.
Mr.. Doh comes to me and invites
me to Join in the chase OF the grass
hopper rabbit. to come off that very
evening This is the first time l ever
heard of that little birdie. but when
the Don tells me Harry and Dan are
to be his guides. philosophers. and
friends on the occasion. | recall the
brute at once. and am eager to hunt
him to his lair.
After managing to part from the
Don, / hunts up my two young friends
in the favorite hang-out in Tommy
Adams blacksmith shop and demands
an explanation. AS an evidence of
good faith, they produced a stuffed
and moth-eaten jack-ra bbit. bought of
winky Burroughs. the curiosity shop