The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1879-12-26
A MINERS LUCK.
Story OF a LeadviIIe Miner Whose Rich
est Strike Was n Loving Heart.

She was little thing, says the Lead
Vile Herald, with large, luminous eyes,
that, lighting up her features, rendered
positively attractive u face that would
otherwise he passed in crowd without
a second glance, and IL wealth of coal
black hair, neatly arranged except n
single heavy lock, that by its own weight
had escaped its fastenings. She seemed
half frightened ut her position, and her
dark checks and forehead flushed TO the
roots of her hair as she stepped into the
little room where the squire sat dis
pensing justice. She seemed not over
10, and modesty WAS apparent in her very
attitude, as she stood with folded hands
awaiting the commencement of further
proceedings.
Her companion was a grizzly, awk-
ward-loOking man, apparently 80 years
of age, with an ugly scar stretched from
the inner point of his left eye across his
cheek nearly to the point of his chin.
descending i'll an arc, which had left u
wide track bare of an otherwise luXdEiant
growth of grey whiskers. Hair matted
and growing low down on his forehead,
together with the distortion of his eye,
OccasiOned by the scar, gave his cOunte-
nance Il sinister leer positively repulsive.
The ill-assorted pair stood for IA moment
while his honor disposed of some papers
before him, the man fumbling a worn
out felt hat, while the girl nervously
twisted her fingers. AS the justice
turned toward them expectantly, the
man stepped To the desk, and, leaning
towards his honor. said, in cOnfiden-
tial, husky whisper:
esquire, you marry people suppose ="
The official'nodded.
well, l reckon l can give you a little
job this morning"
"WhO are the parties :"
This little gal here an me-"
His honor pushed back his chair, put
an his spectacles and deliberately sur
veyed the man from head to foot. His
inspection finished, he turned to the girl,
whose bushes under his earnest inquir-
ing gaze, chased each other over neck,
cheek and forehead. until she was one
glow of burning color.
See here my man." said the squire,
<'come into my private room a minute
Take seat miss"
Leading the way into the inner room,
his honor closed the door, and turned
fiercely upon his companion. Amt
you ashamed of yourself, you old
.Seoupdrel, to como here expecting me to
marry you to 4 child like that 9"
Now don't get hot, squire. / know
] amt much to look at. I've bern told
that since was kid, and this beauty
spot" touching the scar, ''ain't an inI-
provement. An it's along q this scar
that this ere circumstance has come
about. This was the way of it: You see
what with being so ugly and awkward,
and all that, l amt been the best man
in the world. l never harmed anybody,
but always kept pretty full, and if got
ahead any, why it all went in few days
for liquor; and so l travelled around,
and WAS never anything but u vagabond-
Well, last spring / struck the camp
and saw the men making money, and at
ter big drunk found myself without u
cent This amt no place for man
when he is dead broke, an tumbled To
myself and stopped short. / worked II
month in the Little Pittsburg, an never
got drunk once, an then took my mon
ey an laid in u two months grub stake
AM went up South Evans an took u
claim. There's where | first met Kittie
out there. Her father had the next claim
TO mine, an she kept house for him, an
We got kinder neighborly like. When |
got broke / was down forty feet, an tho
hole looked good / worked for the Lit
tie Chief month then, and then | went
at il again. All that time didn't drink
drop. The second day after / went back to
the hole, Kitty's father sIckened, and in
three days he was dead. Me an two or
three others did all we could for the girl.
but there wasn't many of us up there
then, an we was all poor, an she had NO
money to get away with So 1 just
moved my grub over 10 her cabin, an
told her that if she'd do my cookin' an
struck ii, I'd share even with her. She.
couldn't do anything else, poor thing. an
so went ON working an in n month I
got il. Of course / felt good, an if had
been broke it would have been all right
But / had couple of dollars an I
came to town, an when the money was
all gone / was too drunk to go to that
little gal, an because knew she'd come
over to my cabin, to call me TO supper,
thought I'd go down the shaft and
sleep il of. But drunken man can't
you know, and after let the
rope down and fastened it, / went TO
slide down the rope, an touched the
bucket, which was ON the edge of TIE
hole, an il came down on my face an
left this scar. don't know how | got
down the rope, but l know that when I
got down couldn't get up, an laid
there without KNOWN nothing, and
when came to il was mornin', an there
wss that little girls face lookin' down
the shaft thought it was an angel, an
klldef swooned of again, an the next
tAAAAAE AAlOH eOAllC OuC WAS " Tic
around under my arms. an blessed if it.
want that little gal. When she got.
she just Skinned up the rope an
hoisted me up herself, [ don't know
how she did il, Tut she got me out an'
nussed me an. l am we'll. I sold my
hole yesterday an got enough 10 keeI,
rs both comfortable. and I've got useG
10 her. and don't know how &, get along
without her. an so we want To get mar
ried, an that's the long an short of it.''
But there's such difference in your
ages"
mot so much squire" said the man
with movement of his eye that would
have been n wink, had wink been pos
sible- 'She's % and I'm 52-tlEc sans
figures, you know"
But is the girl entirely wilIingy"
'.YoR can ask her. and rs the old nan
spoke the door opened, and the girl, who
had become impatient at the long con-
ference walked in
There's nothing wrong about this.
Judge" she broke out. "l'm turning o.
and my own mistress. and Jim is the
kindest, best man IN the world. and L
love him, and though he don't say much
know he loves me. and we have got
SO, 600, and we are going TO get married