LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2247, 11 May 1881, Page 3

LITERATURE.

HOBNSWOGGLED. A Western Plant. ["From "Ijondon Pociety."] There were fonr of us in the party—a Bank manager from St. Paul, two Englishmen going out on the plains to hunt, and myself- and we occupied a section in a car on the train bound for Glyndon, in the Bed River Valley. That was as far as the train went in 'those days. We had been discussing the strange things that happened occasionally out in this western world, and our conversation received the silent atten tion of two other people besides ourselves. One listener was a tall man, in ordinary dress, with a clean-shaved face, excepting in so far as that he wore what the Americans sometimes call "a chin whisker," and over one eye he had a green shade. The other was a small, elderly man, whose dress and general appearance stamped him an baing a frontiersman. The tall man sat in the section ahead of us, on the seat next to us, as if for the pnrpose of better hearing our conversation. Mot in an offensive way, but as men listen ta a general conversation in a public place. The little man sat on the opposite side of the car, leaning out of his seat across the passage in our direction, ' Well, yes,' said the bank manager, in answer to a question put by one of the hunters, ' once I was. It was during the week of the State fair at St. Paul. At that time all the farmers, or grangers, as we call them sometimes, are in the city. The State fair is a good deal like your agricultural shows ; I guess it's the same thing under another name; anyhow, it fills the city with agriculturists of every kin l !, and every kind of bueintss man that has to do with them. On the Thursday afternoon, just before the bank was going to close, I was standing inside the counter, near the teller's drawer, when in walked a regular old prairie hay-reed. The town was half-full of them, and this fellow was a type of a certain class of them. Ho had on an old pair of trousers tucked into a pair cf boots that probably had never seen blacking since they were bought, and a buffalo coat thrown back, exposing a flannel shirt without any collar, but set off with a brand-new green satin tie. Ho had, I supposed, nought ".this, and the new bat he wore, to fix himself up a little for the fair. He wanted polishing up badly enough. He were also a pair of large spectacles with broad horn rims. To look at him, you could see at once that he was one of those everlasting bores, that talk yon to death about crops, and argue all night about the merits of rival mowers. He lounged up to the teller, and said, in a voice that sounded like a clap of thunder in a vinegar-jar, 'Say, mister! are you running this yere bank P ' ' What ia't you want ?' askei the teller curt'y, who was about to check his cash and get away. ' Waal. I'll tell you how it is ;' and then he turned and addressed his conversation to me. ' You see, tquire, I've got some animals d->wn to the fair here. There's two on 'em is the finest steers out of the hull crowd, and they han't given me no prize for 'em neither ; bat I'll be goldoned if you or any square man won't say as my two steers mind you, I'm speaking of the two red BtecsrH —ain't the best in the hull lot.

They are, squire, and you'd ioetter believe it.' * Well, I haven't got anything to do with awarding Jthe prizes,' I said impatiently; 'a!<d we're going to close the bank now, office hours are up ' ' You ain't got nothing to do with them, I know, squire, 1 know that well enough ; but don't crowd a man. Lookee here, I've sold them steers, nnd six more, to a Chicago buyer, for a matter of five hundred and fifty dollars. It's dirt cheap, squire, and you'd say it if >ou saw them steers of mine. Mebbe you've been down to the fair ?' ' Yes, yes ' I said, anxious to get rid of him, ' I sa - the steers, and the cows too.' ' Why, them uin't cows ; them's Durham calves,' ho began, when I struck in, and said.

Look here, I don't know anything about your steers or your animals anyhow : what's your business with me ? ' ' "Waal, squire, I hearn y< u was the handiest chap at your business on the hull street, and I want you to go slow a bit, for I ain't much up to your business-folks' ways, and I'll tell you what I'm a-runnin' for.' He j;nlled a long greasy-looking pocket-book from the depths of an inside pooket, and began to untie the twine that fastened it up. ' This yere Chicago man has given trie this yere cheque. Now I ain't much on the count myself, and I want t i know if this is a square deaL He »ays that's tho aauie thing as five hundred and fifty dollars in greenbacks. Now I want to know if that's so, for no man ain't going to takeaway them steers if theie's any shenanaghin about this yere cheque ; you can bet. your eweet life on that, squire.' ' I examined the cheque, which was drawn

on the first National Bank, Chicago, and signed "W,R. Chitty." It appeared to be in dne form; but though I had heard the drawer's name, I did not know him, and to I told my granger friend.' ' Waal, I don't know a heap about him myself,' he said. 'I sold him some cattle last fair time, and he paid me part in cash and [art in one of them cheques, and I got the money all right; bnt the cheque worn't the same color as this yere one, and didn't say nothing about no National Bank on to it. It had two men's names on it, and one of their pictnrca in the corner, so as folks could know him, I guess, if he didn't act square up to the handle with them.' ' A different bank, that's all You say the cheque he gave you was paid ?' ' Yen ; yes, it were paid O (i.; and if yon say this yore's all right, why, I guess I'll let him take them steers away on Monday. ' ' I don't know that it is all right; I only suppose bo. I can't cash it for yon if that's what you're after.' ' No, no ; go slow, squire. I ain't asliiog you to do nothing that ain't reg'lar; but mebbe yon could do something with this yere thing, in a day or eo, if I leave it with you, as would fetch the dollars and cents out of it, eh, 3quire ? How's th»t ?' • I'll send it to Chicago for cilleotion, if you like;' and I couldn't help laughing at the scared look he put on the proposition. •Send it to Chicago! Hold, up there, * quire. I don't suppose but you know your business ; but I have heard they're a mighty slick lot down to Chicago.' ' O, that will be all right, you needn't be afraid ' I said ; for he evidently thought the people of Ctioago were on the look-out for greenhorns. ' Waal, squire, if you're satisfied, I am ; but be mighty ketrful them Beats down to Chicago don't hornswogglo us both out of them five hundred and fifty dollars. It would come mighty hard on me just now, for I'm going to put up a new house on my place down to Kandiyohi County, and the old woman's on the build too for her cheese fixings.' ' 'i hen ho invited me to come down to the fair next day, to look at his two red steers, and offered to stand the drinks there and then if I would oome out ; and then he went off I may tell you that, when I told him to indorse his cheque, he first wanted me to do it because it wasn't much in his way, and he'd had to get a neighbour to do it last year ; bnt finally he wrote "Sed Bird. Kaadiyohi County, Minno-ota," across the back of the cheque, making one line of each small word,_ and two of Kandiyohi and Minnesota, in letters of about a quarter of an inch long. ' Next day he was in again to ask how that affair was getting along, and to show me a shawl he'd bought for his old woman. " Married her twenty three year ago down to Wisconsin, squire,' he said; " and she can hitch up a span of horses quick'rm than any woman, and most men, round the plase," He had to tell me, too, that a neighbour of his had also sold a Bteer to this same buyer, and had been paid in cash, and he wanted to know whether I didn't think this suspicions. I told him it was not, but rather the contrary, as|l supposed, the amount being small, the Chicago buyer preferred settling in cash. No driubt, I said, his own cheque would be paid in a few days, by return of maiL He said that was all right, he worn't in no hurry. Then he offered to introduce me to his friend who had sold the steer, but I promptly declined. One of that crowd was enough for me. ■ Soon after the bank opened on Saturday, he was in again, to tell me that he had met another neighbour from Kandiyohi at the hotel, who had sold to another Ohioago man, for a cheque ; and that he advised its being brought to me to be fixed. I thanked him, and again declined an invitation to oome right along and see them steers. He left, saying he had to get a few fixings for the old woman right away, as he calculated upon getting up the line home that evening. Jut before the bank was going to olose, however, he was back again.

'He had bought a span of horses from a man who was exhibiting in the fair, and had ugreed to give two hundred and fifty dollars for them. The man wanted his money down, because be had to take his animals oat of the fair-ground; and my granger also wished to get home for Sunday, the fair being over. Had I got the money from Chicago yet ? No, there wasn't lime. I couldn't reoeive it till Monday morning. ' Well, he'd heard *t the hotel he said, that the Chicago buyer was a square mai and did regalar business round the State ; but his fear was that the Chicago Bank might hornswogglo me about the money. I told him there was no danger of that, and he then asked whether I couldn't pay the man for the horses, and deduct it out of the amount of his cheque. This was not usaal, of course, and th*re was no time to make inquiries about him, as the Bank was just going to close for the day, it being Saturday ; but there seemed to be no danger about doing so. He was evidently one ef the granger crowd that filled the town ; he had pressed me on several occasions to accompany him down to his stalls at the fair; and his story generally hung so well together that, after a littla hesitation, I said I would do so. 'J knew the Chicago mm were in town buying, and I had old hay-seed's endorsement ; to I handed him a cheqne, and told him to make it oat for two hundred and fifty dollars. It ended in my having to fill up the body of the cheque, and he signed it. He counted his money, held out his hands to shake hands, and, inviting me to call hi whenever I came down to Kandiyohi, departed. I never saw him again. The cheque was returned from Chicago, marked, "Not W. B. Chltty's usual signature." And as I read it I knew that a confidenceman had gone through me for two hundred and fifty dollars.' ' One of that c-owd was enough for you, then, evidently,' said one of the Englishmen. 'Good enough !' Bald i he manager, smiling. ' The worst of it was that, thinking over the matter that evening, it all of a suddea flashed across me that the hand I bad shaken was not that of a regular granger. It wasn't rough enough. That shaking hands was the only weak part of the cuss's whole gamo It was too late, however, the*, to do anything, even if I had been sure.' ' r'retty rough on you, sir, said the oarconductor, who had stood by to hear the end of the story. 'Yes,' said the manager, 'I used to get mad about it for a long time ; but I've got over that now.' ' Couldn't play it on you again, sir ?' ' No, not worth a cent.' ' There's tome fellow playing the confidence game along the line now,' the conductor said ; ' scooped a granger out of a hundred dollars yesterday, and went through a Canadian emigrant, on his way to Garry, for all he was worth. I guess he'll get away, though, before we strike him. He 11 have a rough time of it if any of the boys about Glyndon lay hands on him. I'm told there's an old prairie- ornsher along here somewheres, that he went through last fall, that swears he'll raise his hair if he catches him.' I had noticed that both the fellowtravellers near us had listened attentively to the story, the long man smiling as the manager related the way he had been taken in, and the old frontiersman leaning further and further over tne arm of his till his head almost reached across the passage of the oar. When the conductor had ceased speakiug the old man broke into the conversation with a burst that was almost a yell, " And by the Eternal, I'll do it!' We all turned to look at the old fellow, who had worked himself into a great state of excitement, thongh we had not paid much attention to him. 4 Jumping Judas !' he continued, 'if ever I sot eyes on that all fired skunk agin. See here, mister,' he said, pointing at the bank* manager, and getting off his seat the better to ask his question, * did you take note of that white-livered hound's eyes ?' 'Not particularly,* said the manager. • He wore spectaoles, but I noticed a scar running back from one eye almost to his ear.' ' It's him !' said the old man, and forthwith he delivered himself of a string of ingeniously blasphemous invectives. Indeed, It struck me at the time that in this particular he was quite equal to any Western stage-driver I had ever met with. ' Went through you too, did he ?' ' Did he I see here, I'll tell yon." ' Wire In, old man,' said the manager ; ' but look here, there's a parson and a lady at tho other end of the oar, so lot u» a little on those ornaments of speech cf yours,' (To be cvntiwed.)