Ellsworth American., 1877-06-07

! ceedingly.
s4rhe Doctor. meanwhile, had gone for
Mrs. Sharpe, who presently entered, and
| invited the stranger TO 'hev little tea
She was "A small fair woman. with a
washed.out look, and a mouth not inno-
cent OF dipping. but she looked and spoke
kindly. aud the stranger was glad enough
to answer, "les." and followed her into
the dining room. The crowd fell back as
she approached, but only enough to give
her room to 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 at once,
aud a Scenre of excitement cusued only
equalled 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| in-
quired Mrs. sharpe.
Marian Kingsley" was the faint reply.
Miss or Mr., ma'amI" pursued Mrs.
Sharpe, glancing at the shapely, white,
Iiugless hands.
The stranger gave slight. impatient
twitch. 1T doesn't matter" She said.
call me Marian. That will do a, well as
anything"
Mrs Sharpe was q washed-out woman.
Many OF the natural AMI laudabie instincts
remained, perhaps being fast colors, but a
horror of the class to which she now sup
pu.ed Marian to belong was one which had
faded out Of her nature. She gave 4 slight
ly superciiious look, which fell upon the
woman like moonlight on ice, and pur.
sued her inquiries
Game from Frisco
Il came through there. didn't see
anything of the place"
''Whar did yer come from:'
Philadelphia" The tone was some
what changed. She evidently ielt the im-
Z pa,pab!c rudcnc,s OF the faded oman. aud
/ knew how to resent II 10 the same Ny.
More conversation cn,ucd, In the course OF
which Mrs. sharpe discovered that Marian
/ had a little money-enough To pay her
board for few mouths-and that she bad
come there TO find james Courtney VIII
mrr."
Mrs. Sharpe had Information 70 give a.
well as TO take, for She knew something of
/ jim.
AZ called him Jin,." she said, a little
scorulully. He didn't sit no Counting
+ rom we"
/ Poor Marian gave faint smile. "rh~ge
might he other james Wilmcrs." she said.
/ Il wanted TO be sure
/ Mrs. Sharpe didn't think ihi. could be
/ the one.
! He rough, ragged crecter," she said,
I and : had the shake, fur weeks a, a
/ time"
/ Marian shrank and covered at this, with
/ pitiful look OF pain on her beautiful face.
He'd money lett tim7,' a,ked Mr.
/ Sharpe.
Marian nodded.
/ "'rwon'r do him no good. Soon a. he
! hearuS of #, he'll drink himself into snakes
! Alters d'd when they struck good lead on
I the Banderiia. Circus Jack, he lose, an
| hisn's AT poker; 50 thar they 90"
Ia the course OF an hour Circus Jack.
/ scrubbed and fixed up" TO 4 degree which
/ made him almos. unrecoguizabic by his
/ comrades. appeared, escorted by Scp.sf.
( also prepared by a choice toilet to eutr-
4 the presence of THE ladies"
'Scuse my not comm aforc." said Scot
| ". Hoses must be tended to, aud them
/ of mine wus about dead beat"
Marian smiled 2raciou-ly, If absently,
T and turned her clear, hazel eye. 10 Circus
/ Jack, who, with many excuses, circumlo-
I cutions. and proiane epithets, most OF
/ which he apo!ogZcd for Instantly, and
some Of which he was evidently uncon-
/ scious OF. gave her all the information in
/ his power in regard TO the man she had
1 come 10 find.
No one in Mariposa knew him better
\ As Jim" he was almost an integral part
\ OF the city OF Butterflies" The butter
/ flies. by the by, for which the town i
/ named, are not those which soar in the air.
I but "MaripoSas," fastened by long, tough
/ flament> to the ground.
I Many a night had Jim Wilmer crushed
7 his swollen face into them, aud slept a
/ drunken sleep with their soft wings folded
I sorrowfully above him.
There was something's of mystery hung
I above him, which the boys had never
/ been able TO fgthOm. Some said that he
/ belonged TO a wealthy and aristocratic
family, and had left home become a wand
erer and an outcast. because some beau,i-
4 ful woman had jllted him; others said that
he had wife and children. that he had
/ broken his welded faith and his wifes
| heart at the same time, and that grim
| phantom followed him wherever he went.
and gave him no peace. Others told vet
another story; that he had been engaged
to beautiful girl, and had loved her and
trusted her above all telling; that his we'd
| ding day was near, when he had stumbled
! upon some miserable secret which was
dead and buried, but could not rest i'm its
grave; that there was no room left for
doubt, which is sometimes blesse and he
had fled without word; disappeared and
| LEFT TO her own wretched heart the task Of
I telling her the reason why.
Circus Jack did not tell Marian these
stories. though he had heard them all; in
deed. they all had been retold and dis
cussed in the bar-room, not half an hour
since. An average woman would have re-
peated them to her, and thus tempted her
TO reveal the truth; but a chivalrous heart
beat under Jacks flannel shirt. and he
pCttl1 k..a fn I,.r. - 4.
could have crushed little bird to death
with his hand.
II any OF the stories were true, and She
yet loved poor jim, he told her enough to
wiring her heart and haunt her dreams for
ever.
The winter that he spent in the hollow
OF great pine tree. on the rim of Yose-
mite valley, was perhaps his happiest and
most peaceful. Every Yosemite tourist
stops to peep inside this tree and TO
wonder If a man really lived there. 1T
was comfortable enough. says the hale
old pioneer of the valley below. He had
plenty OF room. We both slept in it one
| night
At which the tourist peeps in again. and
wonders if the long limbed Texan was not
bit cramped by the foot-board.
When Circus Jack told Marian the story
IL dc IicsutE anu ltss WOuttFIul IUdD
now.
WAS the snow very deep?' she said.
Was there no danger of his freezing to
deathg
Il never hearn much about il anyhow
said Circus Jack, "cept that he lived thar
alone cuttin' shingles. 'spect the snow
was bout four or five foot deep up thar
whar he lived. He's a close-mouthed one,
tell yer. Never git nothing outer him,
and when he's drunk he don't tell nothing
whatsomdever!
This, with glance half plying, half
reassuring. as though he would promise
her that the secret. whatever it might be,
was safe.
One comforting doubt beat at the wo-
mans heart all the while that Jack was
talking. Perhaps this man was not the
oDen
She mentioned this at length, and asked
Jac.; what his quandam partner was
like.
He was slight built feller, rayther