Merely Nitro-glycerine
 | Scans of this work are available at Internet Archive identifier: americanmagazin15unkngoog.
If this work (and the scans) are in the public domain, or under a compatible licence: Please see the Beginner's guide to Index: files for details on how to upload the scans and create an Index page for them. If you would like to assist once scans have been uploaded, please see Help:Match and Split and Help:Proofread. |
MERELY NITRO-GLYCERINE
BY CARROLL WATSON RANKIN
AN enthusiastic hunter, having lost his way, wandered Helplessly about in an apparently endless cedar swamp until dark, when a distant light attracted him to a log cabin near a new mining location. The cabin's sole occupant proved to be a stolid but hospitable Swede, who obligingly consented to share his supper and his bed with the tired and hungry stranger.
After a hearty meal the men sat quietly smoking their pipes beside the fire. Suddenly they were startled by the sound of stealthy footsteps, followed by sharp, scratching noises, which seemed to proceed from the lean-to shed at the rear of the cabin.
Cautiously opening the door, the Swede held his candle aloft; and the hunter, who had hastily seized his gun and loaded for bear, peered eagerly over his shoulder. The flickering beams disclosed a fat porcupine, sharply outlined against a background of square pine boxes, in the act of helping himself to the Swede's potatoes.
"Guess I'll shoot him," whispered the hunter, swinging his rifle to his shoulder. "But say, Ole, is there anything in that stack of boxes that a cartridge would be likely to damage?"
"No," replied Ole, imperturbably, as he steadied his candle to aid the hunter's aim. "There's yoost notting at all in dem boxes but dynamite."
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1945, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 78 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse