The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1874-04-03
FRIDAY MORNING APRIL 3, 1874.


said J. --aai vino woHld have gIesse,
tiiar yo1 .9.I.l hiv,. ~JTr-u.iDs...! To til
. ii-ti- rs.I Eu- H..
No. -.aty. -.:ar amt j.. said h
Tain i.. riII o ieeiin s'-e hear,
t"E gl -. --s must say know moth
in Of T.- cir Of the cgitta-. Bu
gaiut ....- ,s.- fact j.. Sandy. tina
WOIuau ii=7 carries ne back u old Ken
Jucis-more'u cweut- years. Saudy-an,
/ hain't heard "a w0rI froIa thar for then
twenty years or more. Sandy. did vol
have q mother
Without answering, ! Swung 1Hv lea.
out of my bunk. and sitting Oh the edg,
looked 1T him. and wondered whether
tie fellow WAS drunk or crazv. He
IuOraiiziu-, Was J dreaming. There
was a strange iOU, about the man. and
"a strange light in his eye; and his great
chest hcayed with emotion; and the din
light Of the candle served 10 give TO the
scene n wild aspect. pinched mvseli
TO see II was really awake: and finding
such TO be the fact. gave vent as follows:
Had | mother What aiIs vou.
though. kentuck. \ double dose OF
Lies snake poison must be firing M
your blood, and fudd!inC your brain. Or
nave you gone daft after that syrrn oil
/ saw the fire kindIe in kenti.ck's ; ewes.
and checked myself before utJering the
word that was on my tongue.
y don't want to disturb your feelings.
kcntuck. by any disagreeable remark.
but it occurs TO me that yQu have suf-
fered yourself to become swamped in
! love and pocket by a woman who deals
the internal game that wins Your money,
and not only your money. but your good
sense. lOu are infatuated. keutuck-
you would call it clIarncd-and YOU are
made the prey OF these gambling vau-
pires.
Look here, Sandy" said he. Il amt
much acquainted with yoHr ways Of civi-
! Iization: left all that when "a boy lit
/ tie mOre'n a dozen years old. run away
! becacSe | was tlOgged by brute of
| man who married my widowed mother.
! That mother was an angel, Sandy.
I though p'rapS YOU wouldn't think 50
! from the appearance of her booby son.
/ There was one other. q sister. lust tod
! ding round. Wei, Sandy, what I'm
/ afraid Of is tlIis-fOr mOre'n II twenty years
/ J lIain't thought much about home. for
| -OmehOw. that woman jist calls up the
scenes Of childhood, and whether that
woman Is dead or alive, Sandy. | don't
know; bat her image Is pictured here.
striking his breast tho il took the light
of that gals eyes To bring out the pictur'
lifelike. But | spect this is kind o. fool
ish. Sandy; and you viii think ne n
~guaT. p r;lpS-s - We VIII say 10 more. "
lie eNrinEuished his candle and turned
la, leaving me still absorbed in thought.
Another month passed; AID still an
other, and each night found my partner
at the gambling table, depositing lis
nard-earHed dust In that infamous bank
which neither declares dividends mgr
makes returns. He did not seem t. care
whether lac lost or won-he watched the
dealer closer tlian tie game. : strange
intimacy had sprung up between thc
t,yo, though little had passed between
fhem-!itr!c 10 the general observer.
The subject OF that one nights CONVEX
sation had never been renewed between
my partGc" u:ld J.
Tie winter rains had come. Tn" hills
and valleys were decked IN green. ard
blooming in a varirEated car1at of cs,u-
,!y wili-i!owers. such dS oniy California
and the tropics pr0duca. L was in the
with iJs bright. balmy DAYS. in;er-perccI
with sudden showers, and often heavy
;S tiag are sudden. Near our claim. the
short bed Of the river formed an eddy,
. whore tie water circisd round and round
"a If 10Th to leave the quiet pool. Here,
when the river was high collected waif,
0fall descriptions washed down from the
camps above, and deposited upon the
sandy bar; and when the river fell. there
was left high and dry, pieces of boxes,
boards. driftwood, occasionally Il length
of siuce box, old clothes, flOtsam and
jctSan.
For twelve hours the storm had beaten
agains our little cabin, aud the winds
had whistled mournful strains down its
mud chimney. The Iuba began to swell
and roar, and bring down its deposits
Of drift and debris.
Too stormy for work, kentuck had ta-
ken himself TO Old Lies and the gam
bling table, where, in fact, he had taken
up his quarters entirely of late. save du-
ring the hours OF labor and the few
hours devoted TO sleep. seldom visit
the gambling helIs and whisky shops,
and my partner had been less commu-
nicatiye of late, so | was entirely ignO-
rant OF what transpired between him
and her, / considered his flame" and
knew very little OF what was tranSpiriag
at the gambling headquarters.
The dismal day and more dismal even
ing, ! had spent pouring over one of
Dickens last Incompatible works. which
had founnd its way 70 this coast in the
carpet bag of 4 newly arrived gold seek
er, and OF whom had greediiy obtained
a loan Of The book. That night Ken
tuck came home at an early hour for
him-statinC that the game had broken
zap early on account of the indisposition
Of the woman. who was out OF sorts. and
therefore had taken no part IN the game
during the evening He turned into his
bunk. but instead OF quiet sleep, he
rolled about in q state Of nervousness
very unusual for him. His gambling de-
baUchery was certainly telling upon
even his iron nerves and giant frame.
Finally, iie became so restless that was
convinced the man was unweH
Are you sick, partner ! said. lay
img down my book and going to h.> oi.!a.
lie drew 4 long breath, and. sitting
up in his bunk, answered:
sandy, | may rs well Unairth myself
to you, which have wanted TO 90 fo-
some time, and tonight couldn't stand
it without unloadin'. But the fact Of It
Is. / can't get at It Ike. Had [ some Of
OF your eddication, and was only ver-cd
In the way of the settlements. inig,It 10
it-but ther's the stick. Now pardrer.
don't laugh at me nOjwithstaudin's
what ! say may seem foolish like. But
Sandy, | am led TO balieve-aud good
God, I'd sooner be scaiped and tortured
by the worst devils of the whole Apacha
tribe. than to know it TO be so-thar-
now. pardner. understand that it i now.
pardner, striking his breast. that tells
ne what swear. can't be true-no. 10.
it cant be SO, with such a mother. It
can't be.'
what cannot be- asked. in some
what excited manner, for ! began TO
think the fellow insane. and that / had
Il crazy athlete on my hands.
y know this all seems strange to Won.
Sandy" said he my conduct for the
past few months has been somewhat
strange 10 you, can't deny. IL seems
strange to me, dream. like. You re-
member, / reckon, what | told YOU Il
long time ago about this girl-wOlHan-
or, well, you know who | mean; how
that she put all my thoughts on the back
track. and sent me off on a TraiI of Inelu-
ory. more than twenty long years. back
to old hentuck, 10 my mother and my
my sister. and how't | coulden't help IL.
and whats more-I couIden't keep away
from that gal. Well, of late. she has ta-
ken TO me. away from the crowd. and
kinder drawed me out on pints of INV
life. till jist give her my whole biogra-
ply. Then, sir, you ought to have seen
the big tears that shOne brighter than
dew drops in the mornin' sun. in her
two eyes; and she said how it reminded
her Of her life and misfortunes. Well.
this thing went on till tonight. when