The Hawaiian gazette., 1871-05-31

A mountain trail--a narrow, tortuous. difficult
Path. Two miners. with their estates tied up in
ropes and slung across their backs, scrambling
YEARLY up it Just at the steepest part the fore
most halted short. turned about deliberately IN
slung his pack, sat down upon il and sighed. As
he looked across the green expanse Of the valley
below. to the brown majesty Of the opposite
range, and over into the faihomless ether beyond,
look not Of earth crept over his eyes, impress
sing bis face with something Of he glory Of the
transii-uration His companion, rough and hard,
though he was observed the change, and appear
ed to have some vague and imperfect idea Of its
nature, for, without word. be grounded his own
baggage and sat himself thoughtiuly upon rock.
For some tine the two maintained a silence
which was intensified rather than broken by the
lost distiugushable mumur Of the river 1000
ieet below. The wind whispered its eternal secret
to the pines, and the sun. flaming grandly above,
flung wave after wave Of light against the hills,
which sent back faint pulsations Of heat as II it
were an echo.
"Jim~-nnd the voice Of the miner was chok-
ed and husky, as if troubled in its lower depths
by some struggling emotion-"Jim, We twoye
been good friends-ain, we! 2"
Whether it was because he did not thoroughly
know what was coming. and so declined to COM
nit himself or whether he had a delicate consci-
ousness that to reply to such question would
imply misconstruction Of It's purport, jim main
tanned grave silence, merely shifting his great
hands GlieTnatively. the one above the other
upon the yerticle handle Of bis nick. The uncer-
tain light in the eyes OF the speaker grew by i'm
perceptble degrees, into positive CLEAN Of IN
tense longing as he continued:
jim, I'm not Z teller 10 ask iavors; you know
that. Ever since we two've been pardners. you've
never knowd me 10 Git / man 10 hold my dast
while ! attend to the cards without my bein' VII
len to hold his'n the same Now pardner feel
that / can't drift no furder on this level and ]
guess I've got to 60 down lower. But fore 60.
] want you to tell me, honest, who twas shot me
that night at the fandaugo over TO Spanish Camp /
The thought that was fired into by some stTan-
ger who wasn't takIu' no hand. and hayin' my light
suuied out by some one uubeknoVn to me, Is not .
good thought to die on. When ] get down .
wonder and they ask me who made this hole in
yer back Ia like to tell EN-, sot they could
spot him when he comes. Taint no case for hu-
man justice; we haven't got nothing invented yet
as "a DO righ, to him. And jim, don't you never
20 Cor him yourself; that mans too mean FOR
kiln The dying man ceased, but Jim bowed
his head lower and lower over the pick handle in
silence. and seemed struggling TO suppress sob.
Finally, he asked, in al almost iuaudible tone:
Bill. are you quite sure you're playin out
fasig~
I'm collin mp my rata jim.
How long mOut you last yet?1
Not more'n ten minutes at the outside"
Jim slaughtered himself upon bis rock with
jerk
-Bill, I won't never get after that feIler-leas;-
ways not tIl commit suicide. fred tina; shot
that's a-ioin Tor you" Then half upologetically:
Il didn't know Won then. Bill, or ! shouldn't a
shot without singin' out to yop that was on IL -
That extremely iho-ibuud miner rose 10 his
feet; more properly, there was vast upheaval Of
his frame. which seemed to expand At every poiut
as it finally lowered aloft Ike blasted cedar.
Jim be famed out, boards fair play; and
ever since We twove been partners You have never
Snowi me to take back card. But in saving ,
what did about human justice, throwei away
! queen when knoWei held bower. jim.
ake back that play; I'm after your scalp, par3-
Der ,r
The spot Is still pointed out to the traveller ;
Jog.1,d N5aillg n