Rocky Mountain Sam — page 148: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 139 tains,” explained the professor, ‘‘and Sam could not resist the opportunity of yanking them up with his lariat and stuffing them in a meal-sack. Then, as I hadn’t tried my old parachute for a long time, and wanted to see whether it was in order, I fell in with his plan of giving you all a sur- prise, Isn’t it a beauty?” he added, picking up the para- chute and holding it over his head. | “And would that exaggerated umbrella let you down to. the earth easily, in an emergency?” asked Mollie. ‘Indeed it would—and Sam and I together,” said he _ professor, furling up the parachute. A hurried examination of the balloon was made, a few trifling repairs completed, and then Mollie and Fayaway, with Sam and the prefessor, were once more aloft, on their way to Colonel Chapman’s ranch. . It would be a more painful than pleasant task to particu- larly describe the meeting of Colonel Chapman and his lovely daughter. There was no end of celebration over the “lost returned” at the ranch. The old gentleman had not lost so much stock by the Indian marauders that he could - not spare a few head of beef and mutton for the festivities of a week or more, and he always furnished plenty of the ‘real stuff’ wherewith to wash down such substantials. The miners and border speculators flowed up again from Silver City, which was rapidly regaining its prestige under the comparative security afforded by the recent Indian de- feat; the squad of soidiers who had come to the assistance of the place from the fort still remained in their camp on the border of the stream; Lieutenant Dutton and his party ar- rived at the end of the second day after their departure from Miry Fork, to join in the festivities; and there was a reign of jollity‘and good fellowship generally for a number of days. : The professor had retired, with his balloon, to his moun- tain fastness to receive the congratulations of ‘Teddy and old Minnetrapa, plentifully rewarded with everything which the happy father had to give from his store of this world’s _ goods, leaving behind him Rocky Mountain Sam, who was, of course, the hero of the hour. Besides this, his little Fayaway was constantly at his side, and rude tongues were busy with rumors of a two-fold marriage when the chaplain should arrive from Fort Benton to celebrate and sanctify the wedding of Mollie Chapman and Charles Dutton, which (ee) comicbooks an) i.