Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1876-04-21

BY Jove! he muttcred to himself. il
getting little too much. No man like
TO lie treated as if he W, re chilli IN lead
lnC-strin@s; and for one wm,'t stand i,
Why. If l were confirm. d drunk .rd
Ishe couldn't treat me worse.
Hello, Levison! called out hul, cheer,
voice, as Ne passed a knot .f little hn,Ses
tJusr cut OF the village, aren't you gong
to sop and take a social glass. 'p-nisIt
The fellows are all here.
Not tonight. said Lcvison. absentIy.
II The man laughed and shrugged hi,
shoulders.
l thought SO, id he.
Levlson looked quickly up.
Thought what? said he.
Tha. you would back down to-nigh'
Miss !i::wkcs has been reading you a eau
de lecture in advance. has she?
Levison turne abruptly around.
No woman '!oes that to mc! said he
No. I've no objection to just one glass
But haven't a deal of time to spare TO-
night Graves goes off the draw at seven,
and 1t s little past six alreaGy.
Oh, there time enough and plenty!
said the man with the CHEEKY yoic.-; and
they'll all te glad to See you al the Half
Way House.
! So, George Leyison, unstable as water,
weak as the drifting sand, allowed him
self, with Lima Hawkes. plaint warn
ing yet ringing in his ear, to be lurel in
TO the open doors of the little tavern,
which stood always ready, Ike nam
moth spidcr-w, b, to cntrap the weak and
unwary.
| And il was on the stroke Of 8. yen as h,
'ssu' d forth again, with not a very steady
sep and gait, toward the railroad draw
bridge. where i.c kept watch and wa:G
from seven at night unit! seven in iii,
morning
Ii rman Graves, the other employee,
stood in the door as lie udva ccl
Late again! said he, lmpatienlly. Now.
Leyison, look here
II shan't happen again-I give you my
wori 1t shan',! said .LcvlSnn. Il little Eu>k
ly. was unayoitlably de,nin, d 10 Jig LIT.
Graves look. d SHARPLY al him.
Have you been drinking? lie lcman led.
Drinking? No! briefly rctorlcd Levlson
'hs Im 'dd,atAs tlBX. A"n ."y.l.Ms tA.r' for "s'
lie laughed gorl-hnmorcdly as b. too'
the o'her by the st,ou drrs and turned him
u, into the purple dusk of the light.
We're going to have a shower, guess.
added he, looking out upol tic lurid ctou-
which wers' piled up in the west. Well
it will cool thear.
He lighted the lamp. and sat down Il
his newspaper, ganrlng first up at th'
clock, directly opposite.
Oriy seven! The boa: for which it wa
his business to open the draw would no
be along for some ten minutes yet. Plenty
If time!
But George Lcyison had drank more
than he was accustomed to. and the prin,
led lines of tn" paper swan before his IN
certain eye>ight, as he tried 10 fix his a,
tention on th.m.
Pshaw! be muttcred, how poor the ligh
lis!
AMI then. throwing down the paper
he sank into sort Of stupor, from whicl
Ihe was only aroused by voices shouting q
him. and by some dim effort Of c"mpr
hension b. began to understand that tn
, boat was coming down the river, brilli
ant mass ofmoving lights!
How lie contrived to open the bridge. h
never knew; but he did. And standin4
10y, b. watched the majestic craft glib
Ithrough-a thing Of life and beauty, al
instinct with the freight of humanity tia
she bore. Trey shouted something at lin
from the pilot house-he cid not know
!, what.
Aye. aye! he called out. All right!
And then he reeled back again into tn
Idraw-hcuse.
Just five mirutes. he said to himself
. There is drop Of brandy there somewhere
: And all the strength is going out If III
; somehow. Just for minute. and the
I'll come back and draw the bridge arOun'
y all right.
He felt vaguely in the table-drawer. an
!. on the shelves; but The f1al flask was nc
there.
Confound it, he muttered. though
Ill thought
:, And then he sank heavily down into
!, chair. his face on his folded arms. while
fatal drowsiness crept over him, like ih
!, popped draukht OF Lethe.
The express train isn't due until nearl
!, n.ne. he thought. There's time oil
there 3 plenty of time!
Morning! The flash Of rosy gold a'on
the east the birds singing III the thicke'
i that skirted the river and George Leviso
= started from his drunken doze, with
|. Vague sensation that something wa
i wrong Morning! and the drawhridg
that he Yves to have closed at eight!
It came on him like blow
He dare not look out of the window
/, lest in the valley below he should see Il
shattered cars, the bloody debris Of hums
.. life.
.n He dropped his head on bis hands, wit
u Ia shuddcring groan. Murder, . thOusan
fold. and all through him.
81 George!
The rustle of . woman,s dress-t]
s|soft fragrance Of violets that Lin,
be Hawkes. always carried about with her
Aid he selt the gentle. warm touch of b