The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1916-01-14
The Elopers'
Curious Pursuer
By John Y. HARMED

DIX CA&16Ct -
"You bet!"
"Gal's old man after your
"No."
"Brother?"
mo"
"MotherT' =.
"No."
another feller?"
mo"
1T wasn't a bar, was 1T"
"No; it wasn't any kind Of a man or
beast-nothin' livin'."
what was it, then, II it wasn't
alive? Couldn't nothin' dead git after
you. Did It ketch you?"
"It come pretty nigh ketchin' u.s..
1.-TWO legs Dr. fourT'
"No legs at all; it rolled"
"You must "a been runnin' down.
hill"
"No; we was runnin' on pretty nigh
a dead level"
"Was you on foot or a-hossback?
Neither; in an automobile"
II don't know nothin' that would roll
after you except a SEAL"
II tole you it wasn't alive"
well, what was it?"
"Gimme a segar and I'll tell you."
The curious man produced the cigar.
Jim lighted up and told his story.
That was the way he got his tobacco;
he excited some mans curiosity, then
gratified it for n small consideration In
the shape of q weed.
MANDY and l done our courtin' out
in the Rocky mountains. Mandy was
fond Of ridin' hossback till she heard
Of what they called in them days boss
less carriages, and as soon as they
come to be common in the east she got
her father to send for one for her.
1t didn't take her long to Farm to u
it, though she got spilled several times.
and the machine had to be sent down
to Denver for repairs oncet a week.
"Well, when 1 come courtin' Mandy
her dad had jist struck a vein turnin'
out 5000 to the ton Of ore, and it
wasn't to be expected that he would
look at a galoot that hadn't 200 cents
to a ton Of gall. Mandy didn't see it
in that light. She argyed that her dad
would be rich and she could afford a
poor husband. The ole man jist tole
her that the next time ! come round
I'd git the contents Of his gun.
There didn't seem to be nothin' to
do but for me and Mandy to light, out,
and we did. The ole man was away
at the time, and we didn't have nothin'
to do but put our buds in the auto, git
In ourselves and chug-chug away. 1t
was a hot day, with clouds lookin' like
a mans coat that had passed through
q mowin' machine. We was g0in'
down to a settlement in the foothills
to git married, and, since it looked
like rain, instead of takin' the longest
road we TUX the shortest. that run
through Devils canyon.
1--WE was joggin' along in the can
yon, takin' u time and thinkin' what
q tame runaway match we was havin',
ed like low thunder. Mandy lowed 1t
was thunder, but somehow l didn't
think it was. In a few minutes we'd
made up u minds that it vas a tor
rent comm down the canyon. There'd
been a cl0udburst up In the mountains,
and the flood was on the way in
direction.
"Mebbe we wasn't skeered! There
vas no outlet from the canyon till
there was a break in Its perpendicular
side miles below where we was. The
canyon; wasn't an average of m0re'n
twict as wide as the road, and when
q good. healthy cloudburst come down
the food was from ten to forty feet
high, accordin' to the width of the
walls holdin' 1t in, and it come like an
express train. IN
'Mebbe Mandy didn't put on all the
power, and mebbe we didn't shoot
along that canyon like a cannon ball!
But we couldn't git on as fast as the
food. and we knew that IL we didn't
reach the break below before the wa
ter reached us we was goners. The
trouble was we couldn't keep up fast
time, the road was so crooked. It
wasn't long before the head Of the
water was in sight l looked back
just In time to e It strike one side of
the cliff where there was a turn in
the canyon. It was like the head Of a
tremendous sea serpent, aingin' out
logs and stones, sometimes a whole
tree, agin the rock. as much as to say:
Git out Of the way! Don't you see
I'm tryin' to git them lovers ahead?
1T was the worst sight l ever see.
l wouldn't let Mandy turn to look at
II, for she had the wheel, and it she
saw It she'd likely collapse. Every
time there was a turn we had to slow
up. But the food had to slow up, too.
and in that way we gained on 1t, we
turnin' faster than It. About a mile
above the break we was runnin', for
the canyon was purity straight and we
knowed it was nip and tuck with 10.
"Down this mile we cavorted. the
head Of the food hollerin' at us and
throwin' logs at us to stop us, but we
kept right on. When we had about q
quarter Of q mile to 60 to reach the
break I began to calculate II we'd
have time to climb the incline leadin'
out Of the canyon. ! looked back, and
It seemed that the devilish thing was