"Tell us about it."
"Well, it was this away: About two year ago last Chrismus I wuz punchin'
cows over on Coburn's ranch. Chrismus Eve ther boys got some cagy, an'
we all decided ter go inter Cut Bank, ther tradin' town some ten mile
away, an' cellybrate. It wuz a bad night, with ther wind blowin' out o'
ther nor'west, an' ther promise o' a bliz.
"Wallace Coburn balks some at ther boys leavin' ther cattle, fer he sees
thet thar's some danger o' their driftin' in ther night. But yer don't
can up a lot o' cow-punchers Chrismus Eve when they wants ter go, so
finally he grunts out that we kin go, an' off we starts.
"'Fleshy' Wheeler, so called because he wa'n't no bigger round nor a
lemonade straw, kep' a saloon in Cut Bank, an' thar wuz ter be a day.
Well, we-all went ter ther dance, which progressed beautiful, when one
o' ther boys come in an' announces that a big herd o' cattle had drifted
through ther town while we wuz trippin' ther light fantastic toe, and
that one o' ther critters had fallen inter ther town well.
"Naturally, ther town people objected ter havin' range cow mixed in with
their drinkin' water, an' hinted strong that it wuz up ter us
cow-punchers ter git it out, at ther same time emphasizin' their
invitation with a lot o' shiny six-shooters.
"Well, we goes inter caucus, an' decided thet ther cow belongs ter ther
Coburn outfit, an' that we're too humane ter let a pore critter stay in
a well Chrismus Eve, when joy an' peace an' merriment is reignin'
everywhere.
Pages:
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314