The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1877-06-08

fell back as she approacheu' put ohiy
enough Ia give her room 10 pass. Some
stealthily touched her dress as she swept
by them. and when she had disappeared,
and the door had closed. forty tongues
were loosed az once. and scene Of ex-
citement ensued only equaled BY the one
which followed on the shooting Of " the
Judge = by {. Little Jack, /" over game
Of poker. In that very bar-room OF the
Grand Hotel.
..Mought Ak your name, ma'am?
inquired Mrs. sharpe.
..Marian Kingsley" was the faint re-
ply.
Mrs. sharpe, CHANGING at the shapely,
white, ringless hands.
The stranger gave q slight, impatient
witch. 1T doesn't natter she said.
:. Call me Marian. That will do as well
as any thing
Mrs. Sharpe was a washed-out wom-
an. Many Of the natural and iaudahle
instincts remained, perhaps being fast
colors: but a horror Of the class TO
which she now supposed Marian to be-
long was one which had faded out Of her
nature. She gave slightly supercil-
ious look. which fell upon the woman
like moonlight on ice, and pursued her
inquiries.
.Came from 'Frisco?"
II came through there. ] didn't see
any thing of the place"
.Whar did yer come from?"
Philadelphia. The tone was chang
ed. She evidently felt the impalpable
rudeness Of the faded woman. and knew
how to resent it in the same way. More
conversation ensued, in the course Of
which Mrs. Sharpe discovered that Mari
an had little morfey-enough 70 pay
her board for few months-and that
she had come there to find "James
Courtney Wilmer"
Mrs. sharpe had information to give
as well as to take, for she knew some
thing Of Jim.
I've called him Jim," She said, lit
tie scornfully. He didn't git no
..Courting' from re-"
Poor Marian gave q faint smile.
"There might be other James Viii
mers.r she said, IL wanted 70 be sure. =
Mrs. Sharpe didn't think this could
be the one
"He's a rough, ragged creetur," she
said, :. and's had the shakes fur weeks
at time"
Marian shrank and covered at this,
with pitiful look Of pain on her beau
tiful face.
HAD money left him?- asked Mrs.
Sharpe.
Marian nodded.
..'Twon't do him no good. Soon as
he hearns Of ii. he'll drink himself into
snakes. Alters did when they struck A
good lead on the Banderita. Circus
Jack, he loses all his'n at poker; 30
thar they GO
In the course Of an hour Circus Jack,
scrubbed and fixed up to degree
which made him almost unrecognizable
by his comrades, appeared, escorted by
Scotty, also prepared BY choice toilet
to enter the presence Of the ladies.
"'Scuse my not comm afore," said
Scotty. s.Hosses must be tended to,
and them Of mine was about dead beat. Y
Marian smiled graciously, if absently,
and turned her clear hazel eyes to Cir
Gus Jack. who, with many excuses. cir
cumlocutions. and profane epithets,
most Of which he apologized for in
stantly, and some of which he was EVIL
IDENTITY unconscious Of, gave her all the
information in his power in regard e
the man she had come TO find.
No one in Mariposa knew him better
As "Jim- he was almost an integra,
part Of the city Of Butterflies The
butterflies, BY the by, for which the
town Is named, are not thosewhich soar
in the air, but Mariposas,'i fastened
by long, tough filaments 10 the ground
Many a night had Jim Wilmer crush
ed his swollen face into them, and slept
drunken sleep with their soft wing
folded sorrowfully above him.
There was something Of a mystery
hung about him, which the 'sboys" had
never been able to fathom. Some said
that he belongedto a wealthy and aristo
cratic family. and had left home and be
come a wanderer and an outcast, be
cause some beautiful woman had Tilted
him; others said that he had wife and
children, that he had broke his welded
faith and his wife's heart Ut the same
time, and that a grim phantom followed
him wherever he went, and gave him NJ
, peace. Others t6ld yet another story
that he had been engaged to q beautiful
girl, and had loved her and trusted hel
above all telling; that his wedding-da,
was near, when he had stumbled upor
/, some miserable secret, which was deat
1 and buried, but could not rest in III
grave; that there was no room left foi
Q doubt, which il some times blessed, ant
he had fled without word. disappeared
! and left to her own wrctched heart thu
! task of telling her the reason why.
Circus Jack did not tell Marian thes'
stories, though he had heard them all
indeed, they had all been retold and dis
cussed in the bar-room, not half an hou