The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1920-06-25

! reckon (sa1d Shorty Plummer, laying
his reins over his saddle horn and roll
ing cigaret in brown paper): but
about the measliest one that ever
punched cows on the Lonesome L was
a fellow I'll call Dawson. Old Tom
Blodgett never did know himself why
he took this hombre on, and after he
got him on, why he kept him. |
guess it must've been because old Tom
was plumb sorry for the coyote, findir'
him roamin' round out here on the
prairie one day afoot and without no
hat nor much clothes and nearly
starved
Leastways Tom loaded him up be-
hind him on old FREELY and brought
him into headquarters and fed him
up, and when the poor nut had got
some life into him again, put him to
work until he could do somethin' for
himself.
He was a sort of little kind of 4
cuss, without no meat on his bones,
and he was always seemin' to be
lookin' behind him without dom it..
He didn't know nothin' about punchin'
COWS and he couldn't ride for shucks.
But old Tom fixed him up with some
clothes he had around the place and
gave him gentle mount and an old
saddle and told him he had to work
it out. Old Tom is queer kind of a
duck thataway, and it looked like he'd
took some kind Of an idea that he'd
take this here worm and make a man
out of him, which there's better men
than old Tom has fell down on that
kind of jobs before.
Right from the first he wasn't none
popular in the bunk-house. He didn't
seem to harmonic none with the boys
He just slept with 'em.
Sleepin' with a man can be done in
lots of ways-I've slept with gam
blers and murderers, and there was a
puncher over on the Rio Madre that
saved my life one cold night by givin'
me half of his blanket. But this guy
didn't do nothin' but jest use the
bunk-house for place to sleep in, and
them punchers was the same as pieces
of furniture to him.
Well, after he'd learned to ride
some, and began to pick up little
bit, old Tom went to him one day and
says:
JEFF" he says, 81 guess you've done
paid me for them clothes and that
grub and such, and l amt got no
more right to insist on your workin'
for me no longer It's up to you about
stayin'. You can take it or leave it.
The job is yours if you want it at 25
dollars a month"
1t was surprisin', but that guy
jumped at the job like starved pup
after hunk of porterhouse. He hadn't
seemed bit interested, but he perked
up considerable, and thanked old To11
and said he'd be glad to stay on with
him without no wages at all, but Tom
won't stand for that
II wouldn't have no man workin'
for me for nothin," he says. ga man
that works for nothin' amt worth it. "
So that's the way jeff Dawson gets
hooked up as a permanent fixture
with the Lonesome L. But he amt
no more sociable as a regular than he
was as transient. He's sort of dif-
fident, l guess, and it shore did seem
sometimes like he was tryin' to do
better, only he couldn't. He jest ma
turally didn't seem to trust nobody.
Most every Saturday the boys rides
in to Bedding to have a little, go over
to the Ruby Light and swap lies with
the fellows from down to the Solite
and over at the old Double r, but
jeff don't never go over there none
for about three months after he comes
to the ranch. BY that time he'd kind
of quit lookin' scared, and some of the
boys has tried to coax a little life
into that carcass Of his.
Come a payday they always has a
little somewhat of jollification, and
that time they persuaded JEFF to come
along.
You know how it most usually is in
COW town on Saturday. Most all
of the outfits are in town, and there's
pizen depots, and in them days there
was usually plenty Of games runnin',
and maybe. dance-hall or two where
a guy could timber up and shake his
spurs around little bit. Well that's
the kind of place Bedding was, and
it was shore real live little town on
Saturday. The rest Of the week 1t
was pretty quiet, with nothin' but the