You Bet Bob from Cross Crick — page 5: what you’re looking at

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

You Bet Bob ; —— from Cross Crick, 5 ——————=x et fer granted that we had finished k ov life -leave-takin’, and so we had. ox h Now, that’s what I call plum white yer ° Be “A Cross qther people ov Cross Crick,’ spoke our friend in need—him they called Ww chippee , WV 1son. I might say, our friend, et thee comebody else agreed with him, and iebody else with that one, till purty nd to hav it was clear that we had ther sym- r defunct 2Y OV that crowd all our own way, e occasio: as we had gone, so fur, and me and rettin’ pS sorter perked up a bit and looked ind that ~.2Ctin’ mayor scornful. passion »\¢S: that’s what I call real hand- 1e,” said Mr. Wilson further, and he gosh is, K@ With feelin’. “I think et would bad thet proper fer us citerzens ter ask ther orthy sh¢e'® UP ter take somethin’.” : iccessor,’) /bat’s what’s ther matter!” piped a; but m°very bum in that hull crowd, in a stood mection ov while not worth mentionin’, ‘her moshun prevailed. her ful] ;-2at thar crowd surged to ther bar in ttin’ rem’@y that went to indycate that me and b wouldn’t be in et if we didn’t git ) by geait on. oe r and ~¥@ moseyed with ther rest and fell 1 out in With ther procession, and ranged our pomp, 38¢8 side by side at ther end ov ther ask us (> 2nd thar we all stood fer a few sec- ds, waitin’, ive nervy her bar-keep was lookin’ ter see who d made ther call. nother 1 Whose order is this?’”’ he spoke up. hyer pec. Her silence wuz awful. their gr“Y pard was by this time clean gone - days spurt. 3 . rs dropy 4° was spotted nigh about as bad as ter er?Ver seen him in my long ’quaintance th him. oth loof BOted his jug’lar swellin’, while that nted. ar silence prevailed, and when his cha- ever let es got up to a sartain pitch he blurted steel Ther town oy Sawbuck is goin’ ter s, and Fd el, or by gosh we. won't serve 28 y ther j/Urmerst Ther camp ov Cross Crick and tant send us over hyer ter be treated hand. g2Pby, yer kin gamble.” ’ “Yas, ov course,” chimed in our friend r his je deed—’cause he was our friend in need. ther q:Vhat aire ye thinkin’ about, Gila ibe, after ther honer this hyer camp b, “yor® shown ter you, not ter ask ther gents ‘ ) ter wet their whistles, after their long echoed. ae Ain’t it ther camp’s treat, fel- g 7 9? said Bo ier dow CHAPTER YV. rer in ti’ SAL CUDDYLOOP CHIPS IN. ity fo Gila Gabe wur flanked. He was ’tween ob. vo fires, ez et wur. ts mat We had him on one hip, so ter speak, ‘ threat2d his towa had him on t’other. den cg Ye see, et wur like this: We had n et wound favor in ther sight ov ther people, rid ther people had done him recent ob, shy? Bor. ; We could see thet he hated us wuss’n lenty m(Zen, ‘cause we wur togged out more orjus ’n what he was, but ther crowd javin’ tooken to us, he had ter swoller is chagrin. ‘Yer pardon, boys,” Gila chirped up uick enough. “I was reflectin’ sadly > fetcfv0n “ther beautiful character oy ther s apieead. I was lost fer ther moment in a ve foyort ov dream ov admirashuh. Set ’em —, Ben, sartain’ set ’em up; what are nd face thinkin’ about not ter?” het thar little speak saved ther actin’ Ob. ye ie W ther yor’s bacon fer him, I’m tellin’ ye et mp Id; ther bottles wur sot out quicker, a%] not a galoot thar but filled three our t2, 8ers. ion ty , or Wilson took nearer four. fuse : r. my hg ~ 2 Ys Loe « ‘ . ve ’ 7 # he +e c - ath er eae re to ates bis = é “8 ; - - . . 4 A *e . Se ity ~ ' 4 Shy wf a of ae P< , iy é ] ig an 8 > Ie a » y . x acy ‘s fs p Ss mh Pe ses 7 ‘ orter say somethin’, and somehow they all looked at me and Bob. I looked at Bob, and he looked at me, a way we had, and it gen’ly didn’t take but one look, in ordinary matters, ter: come to a clear onderstandin’ in ther af- fair in p’int. Bob was ter make ther speak this time. “ Hyer’s to ther health ov Gunsight John,” he said, holdin’ up his glass ov jig-juice and takin’ a squint through et. “May his repose be sweet, may his fu- cher be bright, and may his recepshun over thar be ov ther warmest kind.” “Them’s my sentymints, too,” said I. “ May ther fires ov eterraul friendship ever blaze tright fer him.” And with that we crooked and drunk. Et was movin’. Bob then wiped his mouth on one of his black furbelows in front, me doin’ ditter, and we drawed away from ther bar to ’low ther second edition ter form in line. In backin’, Bob’s hoss touched ther cofin and kem mighty by gosh close to turnin’ et over and spillin’ its contents, but some fellers that stood near grabbed holt onto et and saved what mought ‘a’ been a shameful castatrophy then and thar. “ Keerful, Bob!” said I. “Let him git out ov growled Bob, soter vashay. “This hyet mob would lynch us in a minit, ef anything wur ter go by der- fault,”’ said. I. : “Ther crowd is all right,’ said Bob. “All we have got ter do is ter keep our off eye on Gila Gabe. He is feelin’ sorter ring-streak an’ speckled in our behaff.’’ “ We'll try ter even up with him,” I allowed. Jest at that minnit we heard a woman’s falsetter voice in ther region ov ther doors. “ Whur’s them iwo fellers?”’ she piped up, like a parrot that had been sufferin’ with ther croup. ‘‘ Whur’s them two galoots from Cross Crick— Ah! thur ye be, hey? ”’ And she havin’ spotted us out, made straight fer our direction. Me an’ Bob looked at each other. “Who is she?” asked Bob, skart. “ Blame ef I know,” said I, mebby some Skarter. We're both mort’ly feerd ov wimmin, is me and Bob, I'll admit right hyer. “Who is et?” Bob asked ov our friend Wilson, him thet had took four fingers on ther treat, and thet looked as if he could take four more on sight. “ That? Y said he, “ why that’s Sal Cud- dyloop.” “What kin she want ov us?” Bob asked him. ‘““Mebby wants ter marry one ov ye,” intimated ther feller. “ Jumpin’ Gilroy!” gasped Bob. “ Jeeruzlum and Antiock!” said I. Thar was no chance ter say more. Sal Cuddyloop was by that time right onto us. “ You aire ther fellers I want ter see,” she was a-sayin’ as she kem. “ You aire jest ther chaps that kin help me out, ef ye only will. And I know that ye won’t refuse a pore widder—” “ Bob,” said I, hoarse to ther lips, “ she’s goin’ ter p’pose! ” “She by gosh needn’t,” skart. . We looked to ther rear, ter see ef thar was a way out, but thar wasn’t, onless ther way!” sorter cried Bob, | we took ther winders. “Et is only a small favor that I want en all wur ready, thar was a pause | ter ask ov yer,” she continnered, “and I /if et was ’spected that somebody had ; know that ye can’t refuse.” ‘ ‘ Fw ; 4 . ’ tom be ce Vt ASR TESS i wes ~ eP ood ; +. At ant \e ug} -s, “ - x rt ‘ei e,. + ee " “ Sa Fd > “% a A: d - 4 * “2 = ge OED Sa Pate 3 . 7 ime : a) rea Finke aes She had by that time gained ther spot whar we stood. Everybody had made way for her; we had noted that. : She looked every inch a Amazon, I’m tellin’ ye. She was big and strong, had her hair twisted up in a big knot behind, out ov which stuck a switch about a foot long, like ther brush ov a cow’s tail. Her face was big and freckled, and she had a mole on her chin half as big as a pecan. She was none too clean, and thar was a sort ov a gin blear in her off eye as she looked us in ther faces. “What kin we do, fair lady?” says I. I lifted my tall hatias I said it, and you'd orter seen her smile. Et was like ther sweet grin ov a hyener. “That is ther proper question, fair belle oy Sawbuck!” chipped in my pard, comin’ bravely to my support. “ You have only ter say ther word, and so shall et be unto ye.” I thought that was goin’ too fur. We didn’t know what her request was goin’ ter be. “That is ter say, if it is anything that we kin do in reason,’ I made haste to amend. , “Oh! it is easy and simple; and it will be ther greatest favor ter me,’ gshe chirruped, like ther birdie she wur, “I seen ye when ye rode inter town, and I said to myself, said I—Thar’s yer chance, Sal Cuddyloop, and ef you'don’t go forth and seize ’pon et you aire a fule.” My heart was all a-flutter, and I knowed that Bob’s was ther same, fer ther spots back ov his ears wur a-waver- in’ like ther flickerin’s ov a rorryboral- lus on a winter’s night. We found afterwards, by talkin’ et over, that ther same thought had hit us both at ther same minnit, that she was goin’ ter go fer one ov us on ther strength ov its bein’ leap year, but which one she had her designs settled upon, we couldn’t guess. Likewise, too, we laid it all to our plum gorjus array ov mournin’, an’ thought et was that thet had captyvate her—and so et had, as it turned out, but not in ther way we dreaded. “Say on, fair maid!” said Bob, in faint whisper. “Lisp forth ther wust!” said I. She lisped. “As soon as I seed ye,” said she, “I said to myself, said I—Thar’s salvashun fer ye, Sal Cuddyloop, as I said; and I hastened ter slick up a bit and kem right over hyer to see ye. My name is Sal Cuddyloop, widow oy ther late Lunk Cud- dyloop—as my departed pard was called. Gila Gabe, why don’t ye interdoose me? Whar’s yer manners?” She turned her glance onto Gila in a way that made him turn sorter measley. “Sartain, sartain,” he flustered. “Gents, this hyer leddy is ther widder ov ther mentioned Lunk Cuddyloop, what killed hisself ’bout a year ago ter git rid ov—ov—ov—life—” “Not bein’ man enough ter stand up to ther rack,’ chipped in ther Amazon. “Et was a misfit, when I married him, anyhow. I throwed myself away on him, and when I would take ’casion to remind him ov ther fact, he would git riled, and then I would have ter lick him ter bring him to time. But, that’s nuther here nur thar. Go on, Gila, go on.” CHAPTER YI. WHAL SAL WANTED, | Ther actin’ mayor was plum gaboo’d. He begun ter stutter an’ st e . , ASS i 3 % «+ et "2 ERAS ote Se ge eee ous sys, Uys) fe" . tu | ¥ J ¥ Pet Ody \e * = J ‘ r wapa PP aa 7 ~~ ‘ e - = - ¥ pw e = t stumble wuss’h a young Lockenvar gittin’ down “ “ » ows f 7 " te 4 vl af. Ace # wala iw - a > + cd aev va - Sar rye he comicbooks.com