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DEAR SIR: I am glad to hear that there is considerable interest taken in the forthcoming match. |
A man down to get up inside of ten seconds or be counted out. No hitting in the clinches. |
"Let each club send its best man, who is strictly an amateur, of course, and a member of the club, in good standing, and let the best man win." |
Upon my return I found quite a strong feeling in favor of having the young gunsmith represent us, but, after my conversation with you, could not for a moment countenance any such proceedings on our part." |
There is a great interest taken here in the match, and I warn you our man is getting himself in the very best condition possible. |
Besides a buttonhole bouquet and high collar, he sported an eye-glass, and smoked a cigarette while in the presence of his opponent. |
Some one who is a sure winner, and can punch the stuffing out of this amateur duck from Prescott. |
"Our young man," wrote the Prescott leader, "is doing very well, and I hope great things from him. |
"Let the contest be fair and square on both sides," said Smith, the chairman of the Phoenix committee. |
Things went along merrily, letters were exchanged between the chairman of the two committees reporting as to the progress of their representatives. |
Both were dressed for the occasion, and I tell you they were sights! |
Our population is made up a great deal, as you know, largely of miners and ranchers, and they are inclined to bet recklessly. |
There will be a party of at least one hundred of us go down with him, and I hope you will have front seats reserved for us. |
The men will fight with 3-oz. gloves, Marquis of Queensbury rules, three minutes to each round, with a minute's rest between. |
Several members of the committee hastened to interfere, and put a stop to all further danger of trouble by hurrying the principals off to their dressing-rooms to prepare for the contest. |
He is nervous, of course, this being his first appearance in an affair of this kind. |
"What I want," said the letter, "is the best man you can get. |
There was a great crowd packed into the ring of the Phoenix Athletic Association on the evening of the contest. |
Most of the boys feel inclined to wager a little on the success of our representative, but he himself does not feel very confident of the result. |
"I was mighty anxious to explore the big caves, so off we went to the place, and I tell you the old ruin they call 'Montezuma's Castle' is a dandy, and don't you forget it. |
The curiosity dealer carefully closed and locked the case, and then meditatively rolled a cigarette. |
"But there are fellows in these mountains who say that there really are such animals, and if he wanted to have an ibex, and had to have an ibex, I might as well get him an ibex as anybody else, even if I had to make one. |
At last the rope was done and tied together with various knots. |
The first thing I did when I got down was to run as fast as I could to the river and drink as much water as I dared, then I lay down in the water and enjoyed it. |
"There was another Eastern chap wanted an ibex, which he said was found up in these mountains. |
It was getting late, and the sun had long since sunk out of sight. |
I suffered so with the heat and thirst, that the hope of escape alone kept me from going mad. |
It was not necessary to make the steps very near together, and by cutting notches in the poles and tying pieces of rope across I succeeded in making two very good ladders, one fourteen feet long, with the two top poles--one from each tent; and two small ladders, each about seven feet. |
I had absolutely nothing, not even a string, to aid me in getting down. |
I had a special order from a chap in New York for three hundred snakes--he wanted some big rattlers. |
"In my outfit I had two large tents, nine by fourteen, and the poles of these tents, it seemed to me, would answer very well for ladders if I connected them by pieces of rope. |
I tied the end of the rope to the hatchet handle and threw the other end down, and was mighty glad to see that it reached within four or five feet of the middle ledge. |
Besides these there was a very interesting bit of stone carving. |
I think I sent him some that pleased him; anyhow he paid for them all right. |
It had light-colored horns curved over at the tips like a chamois and striped legs and eyes that stuck out like an antelope. |
I thought and pondered, trying to think of some possible way to get down! |
My first and only thought was to pay Antonio for his treachery. |
It stood out in the sunlight bright and shining, even after the canyon had become quite dark. |
"There was no use hoping for help from any one, for the place was rarely visited, and it might be weeks before any person would discover that I was there. |
I had a customer who wanted a rattlesnake with a very big rattle, and I fixed up a snake for him on this trip and sent it to him afterwards. |
My whole thoughts were concentrated on the one desire--something to drink! |
I had a large pocket-knife and a hatchet, and no sooner had the thought suggested itself than I commenced to undress. |
I reloaded, having plenty of cartridges in my belt, and began shooting at him again. |
It reached him safely, but while he was untying it I carelessly dropped the end of the string. |
For a few minutes it shone a fiery red and then the light was gone like a huge torch which flickers and goes out. |
"However, my Mexican, Antonio, held the ladder, and by very careful work I succeeded in reaching the mouth of the cave and crawling in. |
I glued a lot of rattles together, and by taking off the buttons it was pretty hard to see where they were joined. This rattle was more than a foot long. |
The only way to get up is by ladders or ropes, and it is mighty hard to get there even then. |
The bones are not crumbly enough, and the rags which the real mummies are done up in are pretty difficult to imitate. |
"After being out some two weeks we found ourselves near what is called 'Montezuma's Castle,' up by the Verde. |
I was getting more thirsty all the time, and, at last, I hated to go to the mouth of the cave, hot as it was inside, because the sight of the water nearly drove me mad. |
"Well, it was this way: you see I was out after snakes and other natural history specimens. |
Two small ledges above this, some three feet apart, and a wider ledge four feet higher, allowed me to climb up, without the use of ladders, to another ledge. |
"As the sun sank lower and lower the darkness crept gradually up until only the very top was left a shining point. |
I do not think I really slept at all, but lay in a half-dazed condition until it was light enough for me to see things in the canyon below. |
"No," said the curiosity dealer, "that mummy is not for sale. |
The first thing I did was to take a stout piece of twine from my pocket and fasten the end of the ladder to a piece of rock. |
I went back, however, and gathered up the other relics, intending to take some of them down with me and then come back for the rest if I could not manage them all the first time. |
"Well, then, you know something about what they sound like, and know they can give Eastern frogs cards and spades and beat them easy. |
"Then I began to think over how I was going to get down. |
I went down pretty slow, sparing the rope as much as I could by supporting part of my weight by digging my toes into every little crack and crevice I could find, but I got there at last, and when I did, I sat down on the ledge and cried like a baby. |
"Well," continued the curiosity dealer, "I knew nothing could be done until morning, so I lay down and tried to sleep. |
I was very nervous and could not help fearing that in the night I might walk in my sleep or roll to the mouth of the cave and tumble out. |
Above the mountains there was one tall peak which I could see up the canyon. |
The castle is built on a ledge high up on the side of a mountain which hangs over at the top. |
By the aid of some forked sticks and bagging we succeeded in fastening the snake so that he could not move. |
I believe he produced these gaudy effects with the lighted end of his cigar. |
"The boys begged him to apply his antidote, asking him what was the matter and why he appeared to be so frightened, but all the answer they could get was, 'Don't touch me. |
"Baker proposed that we should see how much faith Miguel had in his own antidote. |
Through this he squirts the poison by the aid of the temporal muscle, which he contracts as he strikes. |
I squandered five dollars of my hard-earned wealth in sending for a bottle. |
He told me how he did it, but the secret is too good to give away. |
The poison apparently acts on the respiratory centres rather than directly on the heart. |
I tried to get a Mexican to experiment on, but couldn't. |
So he manufactured five, all with faked labels on, showing that each species was taken at different altitudes. |
The elder brother rode to the king's court just as he had said he would; and as time went on he won great honor there and was made one of the king's counselors. |
"Try as I would, I must have failed had it not been for my brother, the blacksmith, who shod my horse on the road to-day," he said; "and, if it please your majesty, half of all you give to me I will give to him." |
And the younger brother built himself a blacksmith's shop by the side of a road and worked there merrily from early morn till the stars shone at night. |
Day and night he rode to the duke's castle, and day and night, when his errand was done, he hastened home again. |
cried the elder brother then; and he bowed his head upon his saddle and wept, for where to turn for help he did not know. |
But as he wept he heard a distant sound that was sweeter than music to his ears: |
"Good fortune and a blessing go with you," said the younger brother. "I, too, should like to serve my country and the king, but I have neither words nor wit for a king's court. |
"The bells in the steeple have yet to ring for noon," said the peace-lovers; "and we see a dust on the king's highway." |
Then the two brothers were clothed alike and feasted alike, and each had a purse of gold; and whenever one was praised, so was the other. |
"Only a blacksmith plays that tune!" he cried; and he urged his horse on joyfully, calling as he went: |
By the time the sun was over the hill the horse was shod, and the rider was in his saddle again. |
Then away, and away, and away, through the sun and the dew rode the elder brother--away and away over hill and dale toward the king's palace. |
"Let me, I pray you, ride to the duke's castle," he said to the king, "that we may learn from his own lips if he is friend or foe, for much is told that is not true; and it is easier to begin a fight than it is to end one." |
"Dust flies before wind," said the warriors, "and it is likelier that our messenger lies in the duke's prison than rides on the king's highway." |
"But if by the peal of the noon bells on the day before Christmas you have neither brought nor sent a message of good will from the duke to me, then shall those who want war have their way," he said, and with this the elder brother had to be content. |
The king was well pleased with all the elder brother said, and bade him go. |
Cling, clang, cling! He who does his very best, Is fit to serve the king." |
"If we do not make war upon him, he will make war upon us," they said. |
And to make matters worse, in the loneliest part of the road, the good horse, that had carried him so well, lost a shoe. |
It was not long before he spied the fire of a roadside smithy glaring out upon him like a great red eye, and when he reached the door of the shop he found the smith ready and waiting for his task. |
"Two good servants are better than one," said the king, and he sent for the younger brother that he might thank him also. |
But the elder brother would have none of these things for himself alone. |
Now in those days news came to the king of the country where the two brothers lived that the duke of the next kingdom had made threats against him, and against his people; and there was great excitement in the land. |
The sun had not yet risen and no other traveler was on the road, nor could he see through the dim light of dawn a house or watch-tower where he might ask aid. |
"To serve my country and the king is pay enough for me," he said; and he stood up straight and tall and looked the king's counselor in the eyes. |
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