The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1871-05-05
Very Cool.
From the Overland Monthly.

| very OOOl.
From the Overland Monthly
\ 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 foremost
halted short, turned about deliberately
unslung his pack, sat down upon 1t, and
| sighed. AS he looked across the green
expanse of the valley below. to the
brown majesty of the opposite noun
tain range, and over into the fathomless
ether beyond, a look not of earth crept
| into his eyes, impressing his face with
something of the glory Of the trans
| figuration. His companion, rough and
hard though he was, observed the
change and appeared TO have some
vague and imperfect idea of its nature,
for without a word, he grounded his own
baggage and sat himself thoughtfully
upon rock. For some time the two
maintained silence which was intensi-
fled rather than broken by the just dis.
tinguishable murmur Of the river u
thousand feet below. The wind whis-
pered 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 were an echo.
Jim'-and the voice Of the miner
was choked and husky, as if troubled
in its lower depths by some struggling
emotion" Jim, we two We been good
friends-ain't we?"
Whether it was because he did not
thoroughly know what was coming. and
so declined to commit himself, or
whether he had a delicate conscious
ness that to reply to such question
would imply misconstruction of its
purport, Jim maintained a grave silence,
merely shifting his great hands alter.
nately, the one above the other, upon
the vertical handle Of his pick The
uncertain light in the eyes of the
speaker grew by imperceptible degrees
into a positive CLEAN Of intense longing,
as he continued:
jim, IN not Teller to ask favors
You know that. Ever since we two We
been pardners you've never knowed me
to git a man TO hold my dust while at
tend to the cards, without my bein'
willin' to hold hisn the same. Now,
pardner, feel that ! can't drift no fur
ther on this level, and | guess I've got
to go down lower. But fore / 90, |
want you 10 tell me, honest. who twas
shot me that night at the fandango over
to Spanish Camp. The thought that
was fired into by some stranger who
wasn't tal<in' no hand. and come near
havin' my light snufied out by some one
unbeknown to me. is not a good fought
to die on. When get down yonder,
and they ask me who made this yer
hole in yer back !? Id like to tell EN-.
soft they could spot him when he comes
faint no case for human Justice we
haven't got nothing invented yet as'd
do it right to him. And, jim, don't
you never 90 for him yourself; that
mans too mean for KILN" The diving
man ceased, but jim bowed his head
lower and lower over the pick handle
in silence, and seemed struggling to
suppress a sob Finally he asked, in an
almost inaudibls tone:
Bill, are YOU quite sure you're a
playin' out fast p
. I'm collin up my RATA, jim"
4" How long mout you last yet 2"
Not more'n ten minutes at the out
side"
Jim Strengthened himself up on his
rock with jerk.
" Bill, ! won't never get after that
teller-leastways, not till Acommit sui
eide. | fired that shot that's a-doin
Cor your Then, half apologetically
II didn't know you then, Bill, or |
shouldn't a shot without singin out to
you that | was onst.'
That extremely moribund miner rose
to his feet; more prope rly, there was a
vast upheaval OF his frame, which
seemed to expand at every point as it
finally lowered aloft like blasted
cedar:
jim he famed out. "board's fair
play; and ever since we two we been
pardners you never knowed me to take
back a card. But in sayn' what | did
about human justice, | throwed away a
queen when | knowed | held bower.
Jim, | take back that play; I'm after
your scalp, pardner y
the spot is still pointed out to the
traveller