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.”
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