Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1874-10-01
THE FOOL OF FIVE FORKS.
BRET HAIR E's LATEST STORY.
IRON the New YORK Times


He lived alone. do not think th'= popularity
arose from any wish TO withdraw his fOolishness
from the rest Of the camp, nor was Il probable
that the combined wisdom OF Five Forks ever
drove him into exile. NJ impression IL that he
lived alone from ChOiCe-a choice he IN ale long
before the camp iuiu gsd in any criticism Of his
mental capacity. lie Wss mach given 70 moody
re .icence, and, although u outward appear
aucss sIOng man, was always complaining OF
Ill health. In Iced, one theory OF his isolation
was that Il afforded him better opportunities
for taking medicine, OF which he habitually
consumed large quantities.
His folly first daEned upon Five Forks
through the pest Office windows he vas Tor
long time the only man who wrote home BY
every mail. MS letters beiag always directed to
the same persona WON IN. Nov u 50 hap
pened that the bulk OF the Five Forks cores
YOndencu was usually tue other WAY; there wsrs
many letters TeCeIyed-tuC maj lTIty b5iug In
the fem Ale hdud-bur very fcS ans s-er IL.
The N Il received them in differently, or "a
matter OF course; a few opened and read the n
on the spot with barely represS5t smile OF self
CJnc5it, ~ quite as frequently glanced over
them with uudisguIssd impotence. Some of
The letters began with NV dear husband, ;" and
some were never called for. Bat the fact that
The only regular correspondent Of Five Forks
never received any reply became az last quite
notorious. Consequently, when an envelope
Wa5 received bearing the stamp OF the .'D5a1
Letter Office" addressed to the Fool, under the
more conventional title Of "Cyrus Hawkins"
there was quite a fever Of excitement. do not
know how the secret leaked out, but it was
eventually known TO the camp that the enve-
IOpe contained Hawkins's Own letters returned.
This was the first evidence of his weakness; anv
man who repeatedly wrote to a woman who did
not reply must be fool. think Hawkins sus-
peCted that his folly vas known to the camp,
but he took refuge in symptoms of chiils and
fever, which he az once developed, and affected
diversion with three bottles OF Indian cholO-
g0gue ana two boxes OF pills. At all events, At
the end or week he resumed a pen, stitfsned
by tones, with ali his OLD episrOlat0ry peril
dress.
In those days popular belief obtained in the
minds that Luck particularly favored the foil
i~h and unsCientifc. COuseq uen-ly. when Hsw-
kins struck pocket IN the hillside near his
solitary cabin, there was but little surprise.
''He viii sink it all in the next hOls,' was the
prevailing belief, predicted upon the usual
manner in which the pOSSes$Or of "nigger luck
disposed of his fortune. To everybOdy's as
tonishment, Hawkins, after taking out about
eight thousand dollars and eXdsusung the
pocket, did net prospect for another. The
camp then waited patiently to see what he
would do with his money. think, however,
that it was with the greatest diff Guilty their in
digBatiOn was kept from taking the form of
personal assault when il beeams known that he
had purchased draft for eight thousand dol
this. il was finally whispered that the draft was
returned 10 him rs his letters had been, and
that he was ashamed to reclaim the money at
the.eXpress Office. "ltwOuldn't be bad specu-
lstiOn to go East, get some smart gal for a hun
dred collars to dress herself up aud represent
that bag, and freeze on that eight thousand"
suggested far seeing hnancier. I may state
here that We always alluded to Hawk mss far
unknown as "The Hag" without having, 1 am
confident, the least Justification for that cpl
thet.
That the Fool should gamble seemed emil
nently fit and proper. That he should occa-
sOnally win a la=ge stake, according TO that
popular theory which have recorded in the
preceding paragraph, appeared also a not i'm
probable OF inconsistent fact That he should,
however, break the faro bank which Mr.. John
Hamlin had set up in Five Forks, AMI carry of
sum vsTiOusly estimated az from ten to twenty
thousand dollars, and not return. the next day,
and lose the money at the same table, really
appeared incredible. Yet such was the fact.
"A day or two passed without any known invest
ment OF Nr. HaWkins's Tecently-acquired capt.
tai. OFF be allows to send il TO that Hag," said
one prominent citizen, "suthin ought to be
done! It's jest ruinin' the reputation of this
yer camp-this slOshin' around o. capital on
non-residents ez don't claim it," 'sIts settia'
IN example O. extravagance," said another
f'eZ is little better swindIe. Tnais MORN
I've men in this camp thet, hearin' tibet HaW-
kins he'd sent home eight thousand dollars muss
jest rise NJ and send home their hard e4rnin's
too. And, then, 70 think tibet that eight thou
saDd was only bluf, after all, and thet It's
lyin' there on call in Adams * Co.'S bank! Well!
tee Oughter look intOI"
when there seemed no possibility Of this rope
ttion OF Hswkins's folly, the anxiety to know
what he Iad really done with his money be
came intense At last a self-aPpOiuted com
mtttee OF four citizens dropped artfully, bat to
outward appearances csrelessly, upon him in
had been exchanged, and some easy vitupera-
ton OF backward season offered by each of the
Iarties, Tom Wingate approached the subject
''SOrter dropped heavy on JACK Hlm,in, the
ether night, didn't ye?' &c allows vou didn't
give him no show for revenge. / said Won wasn't
no such id fcOl-dldn't T. Dick?' continued
the artul Wingste, appealing ID a confederate.
'Ne s," said Dick promptly. ''YOu said
twenty thousand dollars wasn't glin' to b.
thrown around recklessly. You said Cyrus haI
suthin' better 20 do with his capital" supsrai-
Ced Dick, with gratuitous msndacity. 81 dis
remember nov what psrticker Investment YOU
said he was gOin' to make with it :" be cOntin-
ned, appealing with easy indlfsrence to his
of course wiugats iii not reply. but looked
az the Fool, who, with troubled fAes,
rubbing hI5 legs sOttly. After a pause he turnsI
deprecatingly toward his visitors.
Eye didn't emmy o ye ever hsv a sort Of trsub-
lin in your legs-a kind o. shakiness from the
knee down? Snthin,'" he continued, slightly
frightening with his topic, 'suthin' thet begins
like cbills, and yet amt chi.ls. A kini o. san
satiOn of gOBeness here. and kind O. feelin' As
if yOu mig BIT die gu 1dent! When Weights Pills
cont somehow reach the spot, and Quin.ne
dOn'tfetch yOu?"
"NO!" said winEate with curt iirectnsss
and the air Of authOritstively responding for
his friends. "NO, neverhad. You was speakin'
OF this yer investment"
"And your bowels all the time Irregular"
continued Hawkins, blushing under Wingats's
eve, and yet clinging despairingly TO his theme
like ship-wrecked mariner 20 his plank.
Wingste did not reply, but glanced siguif-
cantly AZ the rest Hawkins evidently saw thIs
recognition OF his mental deficiency, and said
aPologeucally, "fou was saying suthin' about
YES" said Wingate, so rapidly as 70 alm0s.
take HaW kins's breath sWay-"the Investment
you made in"
s.RafeTty's Ditch" said TIE JOl timidlY
For moment the visitors could only stare
blankly at each other. ''Rafferty's Ditch, j" the
one notorious failure OF Five Folks! Ransrtv's
Ditch, the tmpracticaole scheme Of al utterly
Impractical man; Rtftetty's Ditch, q ridiculous
Plan Tor taking water that could not be got to a
place where IT wasn't wanted! Rsffsrty's Ditch,
that had buried the fortunes Of Rafferty, ami
twenty Wretched stockholders in its muddy
depths,
land thet's tits ito, said winyats. after
gloomy pause "rhet's II! | sea il all nov
boys That's how ragged Pat Rafferty went
down 10 San Francisco, yesterday, in store
clothes, and bis wire ard four children went of
IN kerTidge. Thet's Why them ten wOrkmea
who hedn'- cent 70 bless themselves with was
playin' billiards, last night, and eatin' istsrs.
Thets vhsr that money KUN frum-One hun
dred dOllars-tO paw for thet long advertisement
OF the new issue Of Ditch stock in the Times,
yesterday. Thets why them SIX strangers were
Booked at the Magnolia hotel, yesterday. Don't
you see-lt's that mOney-and thst FOOli'
he Foo sat silent. The visitors arose with
out a word