Cole of Spyglass Mountain

by Arthur Preston Hankins

“We had an ole nut in de House of Refuge named Beaver Clegg. He’s de boid dat put dis star-gazin’ racket in Tony’s head. Him an’ Tony was t’ick as mud all de time Tony was dere, before Clegg bumped off. Well, it seems dis ole Clegg had went to dis ole Peter Henry Florence—dat was de name of Tony’s uncle—an’ tol’ um wot a fine boid dis big Tony was. Tol’ um he was studyin’ dis big astronomy, or wotever youse call it, an’ tol’ um Tony was gonta make a good one some day. An’ he hands de ole uncle a lotta bunk like dat, an’ de ole plug falls for it w’en Clegg tells us Tony’ll need money to keep up dis star-gazin’ w’en dey spring um from de kid-pen. An’ de ole man makes a will leavin’ Tony a hundred an’ fifty thousan’ cold, but he can’t get it till he’s twenty-one. An’ dey say dey’ll keep it dark from Tony f’r fear he’ll lay back an’ rest pretty till he gets his mitts on dat coin. An’ if Tony dies before he’s twenty-one, de jack goes to de younger brudder dat dey calls Lester. He done dat because he’s sorry he’d treated his sister like he’d done all dose years, an’ wanted to do sumpin’ for her kids.

“Well, somehow Tony an’ Lester’s dad gets onta de deal. He hates Tony, an’ knows if Tony gets de jack he won’t see a cent of it. But de kid brudder is diff’rent. Ole Man Cole knows he c’n win’ Lester aroun’ his finger an’ take de coin away from um, like he done wid his mudder. So he tells Lester about it, an’ tells um to give Tony de merry ha-ha w’en dey spring um. An’ de ole man plans to put Tony outa business someway until Lester c’n get de jack.

“An’ so Tony’s jes’ come out w’en Ole Man Cole comes to me, an’ Lester’s give um de cold shoulder. An’ Tony tells Lester he’s goin’ West dat very night. Tony ain’t of age yet, an’ Ole Man Cole wants to know w’ere he is every moment o’ de time; so Tony’s gotta get lost someway, or else somebody’s gotta bump um off.

“Well, Ole Man Cole ain’t any too keen f’r bumpin’ off his own kid, but I guess he’d woik umself up to it if de woist come to de woist, ’cause he was ’way in de hole from playin’ de ponies an’ chasin’ ’round wid wil’ women. But everyt’ing looks jake w’en Tony says he’s gonta beat it West. Jes’ de same, Ole Man Cole wants somebody on his trail until he’s of age, to see dat he don’t flop up in Hat’away again an’ spill de beans. So he says he’s hoid about me in de reports he got from de House of Refuge—dey tol’ about Tony an’ me’s scrap an’ all—an’ he’s looked me up since dey sprung me an’ savvies I’m a crook. An’ he says I’m jes’ de guy to keep after Tony an’ see dat he don’t come back to Hat’away, an’ he’ll gi’me five thou’ to see dat Tony don’t show up until after he’s twenty-one.

“Well, w’en dere’s a hundred an’ fifty thousan’ comin’ to him, youse c’n bet yer sweet life he can’t talk to Slim Wolfgang about any five thousan’. So we go down in a clinch, an’ w’en we come up he’s offered me fifteen thousan’ if I’ll guarantee to keep Tony away. An’ we settle on dat basis, an’ he slips me a piece o’ jack in advance an’ tells me Tony’s beatin’ it dat night, an’ for me to get after um right away.

“So I get into me road clothes an’ shadow Tony from his brudder’s room w’en he starts out wid dat dam’-fool telescope over his shoulder. De nut! An’ I gets De Whimperer to help me w’en I meets um on de road, an’ we gets along well until dat bum spills de beans by swipin’ Tony’s telescope an’ beatin’ it. An’ den I lose Tony on account o’ dat, an’ I beat it back to Hat’away.

“An’ Ole Man Cole is mighty sore, an’ says he won’t pungle up anudder cent—’cause he ain’t got it, for one t’ing,—until it toins out dat Tony don’t come back before he’s twenty-one.

“Den one day de old uncle comes to Hat’away an’ fin’s out dat Tony’s been sprung an’ hit de trail. An’ it’s only a few days before Tony’s twenty-first birthday—see? An’ Ole Man Cole’s all swelled up, t’inkin’ dat now Lester’ll get de jack—w’ich means dat he’ll get it umself finally—an’ den de ole uncle gives um de udder barrel. He says he’s goin’ to his lawyers an’ change de will so dat it gives Tony de jack if he’s found before Lester’s twenty-first birthday. If not, den de jack goes to Lester, like de foist will read.

“Well, Ole Man Cole’s scared stiff again dat Tony’ll show up some day before Lester’s twenty-one. An’ de guys dat he owes money to are after um hot an’ heavy. An’ neider of us savvies w’ere Tony is. An’ den old Peter Henry Florence he croaks, an’ everyt’ing’s in de han’s of his executors. An’ den one day Lester gets a letter from Tony tellin’ um dat he’s in Ragtown, out here in Cal, an’ askin’ um to send his books an’ t’ings to um by express.

“So now Ole Man Cole an’ me know w’ere Tony is, an’ everyt’ing’s jake again, ’cause ole Florence is dead an’ de will can’t be changed. An’ I make Cole promise to cough up twenty-five thousan’ if I’ll go to Ragtown an’ see dat Tony stays dere. So I look up De Whimperer an’ we beat it out. An’—well, Tony’s still here, an’ his brudder’s twenty-first birt’day is de fifteent’ of next June. We gotta stay till den, kid, or we won’t get de jack. An’ now Tony’s t’inkin’ he’ll go back to Hat’away, is he? Well, he won’t—take it from me! Nuttin’ doin’, if I have to— Well, youse savvy wot happened once, Win, w’en youse got to beefin’ about stayin’ in Ragtown any longer.”