Tugg Martin

I. 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!

VI. 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!"

VII. 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 hadn't bin
Away at all! And when we ast him where
The _Deputy_ wuz at, -- "I don't know where," Tugg said, --
"All _I_ know is -- he's dead. "

End of title

Tugg Martin

James Whitcomb Riley

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