The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1869-12-10

Uut tohuy pooE uCsi uh0 u JuUuco on
the strength Of that luok, and among
was no particular Eeasons Tor it, but Jim
by bbuying the youth a horse and cab.
hold furniture soon followed, and that
Dolly and the cabman, long conscious of
the misery Of living apart. concluded to
be miserable no longer. For six happy
months the supply of beefsteak anu
onions was unbonnded. The attractions
OF the new outfit seemed irresistible, and
vague thoughts of O cottage of their
own stole upon the minds of the simple
pair. It needn't be supposed in this
prosperity the half sovereign was ne
elected. The talismanic figures C x C
oue, The 1887, might mean nothing or
something, but they'd held on to it too
long ever to give that up. Alas! for the
iatuiiiy OF human wishes, though they
kept their luck, Jim Scarbold didn't.
A man don't break bank every day
in the year, and don'e pluy each one of
the 365 without some times being
CLEANED out" He "spouted his spark, :"
"shoved up his ticker" and even left
with his "uncle" more articles of cloth
ing than was comfortable iii winter; but
it was 10 use. When fellow strikes q
run of bad luck he must stick to it. He
had given Shappy the nag and wagon,
80 the lad must ''come down." and that
was all of it. 1t might be mentioned he
came down accordingly; that first by
Gfties. then in twenties, and, finally, in
tens and fives; their little savings rapidly
melted away. Beefsteuk and biscuits
put the best face on it, and held out
bravely for time; but there came an
era when even bacon and green's trem-
bled; when the cheapest of necks and
soup-bones looked nervous, and the
grocer's pass.book itself shrank back
aghast. There came time-that very
night-when the last ten-dollar note was
swallowed up, and Jim Scarbold that
very minute-was losing it ut faro. Los
ing it? Of course he was. Twenty
minutes ago, with the note in his hand
and a Derringer in his pocket, the gam
bier entered the saloon. He was bent
on money or blood. There would be
row, sudden putting out of the lights.
and call for the police; and Shappy sat
on his box, unconsciOusly to himself,
awaiting that result. The fracas didn't
prove 30 very startling after all. There's
like being used to them; it saves
noise and awkwardness. Men at their
games, twenty steps away, didn't even
move, and as for the people in the keno
room up stairs, not one in twenty ever
heard of it. There was an oath, q cry,
q table turned over, q couple of pistol
shots-and Jim Scarbold, with q Der
ringer waving above his head, and n
bullet through his lungs, reeled out on
the pavement. Little Dolly, who half
an hour afterwards opened the door for
them, and who, Mortified at the blood,
streamed candle grease from the collar
to the hem of her night gown, felt more
dismay than all the others put together
There was little sleep in the Sbappy
that night, and littl' work for
the Turtle the next day. When n great
man. with great white
breast and round red hole in tho mid
die of it, lies trembling between life and
death, there's but little other work for
any one. AS for Jim Scarbold, no such
change in the luck could ever worry him.
The doctor came and went, took off
steuming applications and put on cool
ones, but not n groan or n stir ever indi-
Gated whether the patient was easier or
not. One can't buy medicine, jellies,
soups and doctors visits for nothing. 1t
costs, even for glass of ice-water; and
when spring chickens, orongesand fresh
laid eggs come into tho bargain, it costs
more. A man can't nurse the sick and
drive cab, too. The Turtle stood idly
eating his head off, and the duly apollo
gics for meals grew meagerer aud mea-
gerer; while relic after relic went in
dainties for Jim Scarbold. The sufferer
was not q man to fret over sacrifice like
this. The food suited him and he ate,
or didn't, and it was roughly showed
away; but not one word of gratitude
escaped those pallid lips. Dolly, occa-
was complimentcd by q grunt
of grin, politeness, but even these courte-
sizes were rare, and finally ceused alto
gether. One dreary day dragged after
another, and the flour in the claimants
bin was reduced to dust. Piece after
piece of the modest furniture passed to
tho keeping of "Moses," but in spite of
the pawnipg, Scarbold, only seemed
longer and thinner, and more ghastly.
The Doctor looked grave, stared savngely
ut the army of creditors and ordered n
bottle of Port wine. There were red
ayes for Dolly0,hat day, and palid face
enough for Shnppy. The ignorant feel
q veneration for trifes sometimes, which