Old Cyrus Jones was a gentleman farmer who after serving as a county commissioner,grocery store and gas station owner for most of his adult life had retired to a 20 acre plot of ground just out side of town.
He tended a small orchard on the farm raising apples, peaches and several varieties of imported pears. The pear trees were his pride and joy and he was often seen in early fall at he local farmers market selling his wares to customers who came from far and wide to buy his fruit. The pears usually sold out quickly.
Early one October morning he was awakened by a terrible commotion which seemed to come from one of his pear trees that grew just over the fence outside of his bedroom window.
When Cyrus opened the blind and looked out in the tree there he saw this big ugly gorilla up in his favorite tree. The gorilla was hanging on with one hand and with the other he was tearing off limbs and eating the fruit off of them and Cyrus could see that he was making a mess of the tree.
Well it didn"t take Cyrus long to get on the phone and call the sheriff's office and report what was going on and tell him that he had better get there quick.
As soon as he got off of the phone and put on his bib overalls and shoes he ran outside to await the arrival of the sheriff who soon came flying up the lane in his big white van with the gold and black County Sheriff symbol emblazoned on the door.
He pulled thru the gate and jumped out to greet Cyrus and take a look at the gorilla who now had climbed further up the tree.
"So that's the sucker we've been looking for the last 3 weeks after he got out of his cage at the zoo from the next county over. He's been spotted in several places but always got away before we could capture him."
Cyrus replied"Well we had better do something in a hurry as he has just about ruined my crop of pears."
With that the sheriff went to the back of the van and opened the double doors and out jumps this big brindle and white pit bull and as soon as he spies the gorilla he starts growlin and scratchin the ground and after making a couple of trips around the base of the tree while looking up at the gorilla he stopped and lifted his leg at the base of the tree and left his mark so that the gorilla would know that he was the boss.
" That's some dog you got there sheriff" Cyrus said .
"Yep ,I named him Chester after that fella that was Matt Dillon's sidekick on Gunsmoke a few years back.I don't know what I would do with out him.He's got me out of some bad fixes and even saved my life a couple of times and I'll tell you something if he clamps down on something with those teeth he just will not let go."
'Well what's your plan sheriff?"Cyrus asked .
The sheriff said" Well I'm going to park Chester here right at the base of the tree and I'm going to climb up the tree with this here night stick and when I get up above him on that next limb over I'm going to clout him on the head with the night stick and knock him out of the tree and Chester will get a hold of him by his private parts and that'll take the sass out of him. Then I'll climb down and you and I can throw the 2 of them into the back of the truck and I'll haul em to the zoo and they can worry how to get em apart."
The sheriff called Chester ,who by now couldn't wait to get his teeth on that gorilla, and parked him at the base of the tree to wait.
Then taking out his night stick he proceeded up the tree a few feet. When the gorilla saw this he got upset and started to shake the tree which got Chester more fired up.
The sheriff looked at the both of them and climbed back down the tree and unholstered his chrome plated 357 Magnum and handed it to Cyrus.
"What do you want me to do with this?" Cyrus asked.
The sheriff replied, "Cyrus, your job is going to be to keep your eye on the situation and after I get up there by that gorilla,if he takes this here night stick off of me I want you to hurry up and shoot that dang dog."
Winchester 88....
