TUGG MARTIN.

Tugg Martin's tough.— No doubt o’ that!

And down there at

The town he come from word's bin sent

Advisin’ this-here Settle-ment

To kindo’ humor Tugg, and not

To git him hot —

Jest pass his imperfections by,

And he's as good as pie!

They claim he's wanted back there.— Yit

The officers they mostly quit

Insistin’ when

They notice Tugg's so back'ard, and

Sorto’ gives‘ em to understand

He druther not!— A Deputy

( The slickest one you ever see! )

Tackled him last — “disguisin’ then,”

As Tugg says, “as a gentlemen!” —

You‘ d ort o’ hear Tugg tell it!— My!

I thought I'd die!

The way it wuz;— Tugg and the rest

The boys wuz jest

A-kindo’ gittin’ thawed out, down

At “Guss's Place,” fur-end o’ town,

One night, when, first we knowed,

Some feller rode

Up in a buggy at the door,

And hollered fer some one to come

And fetch him some

Red-licker out — And whirped and swore

That colt he drove wuz “Thompson's” shore!

Guss went out, and come in agin

And filled a pint and tuck it out —

Stayed quite a spell — then peeked back in,

Half-hid-like where the light wuz dim,

And jieuked his head

At Tugg and said,—

“Come out a minute — here's a gent

Wants you to take a drink with him.”

Well — Tugg laid down his cards and went —

In fact, we all

Got up, you know,

Startin’ to go —

When in reels Guss aginst the wall,

As white as snow,

Gaspin’,— “He's tuck Tugg!— wher's my gun?”

And-sir, outside we heerd

The hoss snort and kick up his heels

Like he wuz skeerd,

And then the buggy-wheels

Scrape — and then Tugg's voice hollerun’,—

“I'm bested!— Good-bye, fellers!”...‘ Peared

S’ all-fired suddent,

Nobody could n't

Jest git it fixed,— tel hoss and man,

Buggy and Tugg, off through the dark

Went like the devil beatin’ tan-

Bark!

What could we do?... We filed back to

The bar: And Guss jest looked at us,

And we looked back “The same as you,”

Still sayin’ nothin’ — And the sap

It stood in every eye,

And every hat and cap

Went off, as we teched glasses solemnly,

And Guss says-he:

“Ef it's‘ good-bye’ with Tugg, fer shore,— I say

God bless him!— Er ef they

Aint railly no need to pray,

I'm not reniggin!— board's the play,

And here's God bless him, anyway!”

It must a-bin an hour er so

We all set there,

Talkin o’ pore

Old Tugg, you know,

‘ At never, wuz ketched up before —

When — all slow-like — the door-

Knob turned — and Tugg come shamblin’ in,

Hand-cuffed’ —‘ at's what he wuz, I swear!—

Yit smilin,’ like he had n't bin

Away at all! And when we ast him where

The Deputy wuz at,— “I do n't know where,” Tugg said,—

“All I know is — he's dead.”