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!
II.
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!
III.
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!
IV.
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."
V.
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 couldn't
Jest git it fixed,—tel hoss and man,
Buggy and Tugg, off through the dark
Went like the devil beatin' tan-
Bark!