Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-08-17
CHEERFUL HARRY.

Z LNO
CHEERFUL HARRY.
Whenever Eel River Dan went on
tear CONSERVATION reigned in Pilot
City. AS soon as his str1dent whoop be-
gan to resound through the redwoods sur
rounding the village the citizens hushe6
their murmurings at lesser evils, and 81.
lently skulked to their cabins, there tc
listen, with bated breath, for the first
sounds of warfare sure to follow Dams
arrival in town. Oftentimes the guileless
stranger, unacquainted with the truculent
rutfian's ''record, was the victim; but as
a general rule it was some obstinate lum-
herman, who sacrificed himself for more
timld men. 1t was a singular fact that
no matter how peaceably inclined Pilot
City might be, at the moment Eel River
Dan came down from his mountain home
ION time" somebody had to suffer.
He was "bad' in the most literal sense
of the word, and there were but few who
dared approach him after he had ode
clared' himself and '''turned himself
loose" But on this particular occasion
this bleak, windy day in February, when
the principal inhabitants of Pilot Citv
had gathered around the glowing stove
that warmed the somewhat contracted
limits Of the Rats mans home
the gaily chattering congregation
had received no intimation
of the approach Of the mountain despera-
90. Not single whoop had he uttered
as he strobe through the signing pines,
not yell announcing his coming had
been heard by the peaceful residents of
Pilot City, and when the gigantic frame
OF the "terror" darkened the door of the
home, thunderbolt would not have pro-
duced as much genuine surprise, not to
call it astonished apprehension, in the
breasts of those present, as did the an.
pearance of Eel River Dan. For an in
slant the assemblage sat petrifed. Then
there was fluttering movement, and Big
Mike, the boom hand, made break for
the rear door. The others only waited to
satisfy themselves that Dan was 'turned
loose" This important doubt having
been dissipated, and the conclusion ar
rived at that the mountaineer was in an
unusually disagrceable frame of mind,
the remainder of the company withdrew
rather preclpitately, it must be con-
fessed-but with sufficient order and reg
ularity to escape injury in the crush at
the side door.
AS soon as the last boot heel had
passed over the threshold Dan smiled
it was not very seraphic smile, to be
sure, but Notwithstanding its sardonic
charactar there could be no mistakine
1t tor frown or a scowl of displeasure.
| With the ordnance still irradiating his
bloated features the desperate passed
behind the bar, and with a freedom
peculiar to his loose habits, grasped the
demDohn containing an unusually ardent
article oflumberman' s sulace. Throwing
the jug deity into the hollow of his
right arm, he poured the yellow distiu-
ment into glass which he held in his
left hand, allowing the liquid to mark
four fingers before he threw the muzzIe
up and returned the jug to it's shelf
beneath the bar. He contemplated the
contents Of the glass for a moment,
held it up to the light, smacked his
lips in anticipation Of the joy it was
about to confer upon HIM, and then
placed the edge of the tumbler ginger
ly to his mouth as if he would
prolong the delight Of feeling it trickle
down his copper-p plated throat into
his sheet-iron stomach. Inch bv
inch his ruby nose went upward, drop bv
drop the whisky flowed downward. The
last globule had just passed between his
teeth, when his fiery red eyes, glancing
through the bottom of the glass, fell up
on an object, the sight of which seemed
to paralyze him. He could not believe
his senses. He imagined that some de-
tect in the glass through which he was
taking his observations must have pro-
duced the vision that greeted his gaze.
1t could not possibly be the form of a
man standing there beside the stove
What an ideal What mortal Individual
would have the hardihood to remain
when he, Eel River Dan, the terror of the
entire lumber region from Mendocino to
TRINITY, saw tit to enter a place of resort |!
An! no, it certainly could not be a real,
living flesh and blood, human being; it
was probably straw dummy set up bv
those cursed hulks that had Just left, and
the insult thus offered would afford an
excuse for general cleaning out of the
whole internal town.
SO he placed the glass on the bar, and
leaning upon his elbows, levelcd his gaze
still more intently upon that dummy"
Great CAESARS ghost! it moved. Was it
the wind swaying bundle of clothes
stuffed with straw? Or was it-Bv the
great boom that swings over the Jordan !!
Never before, during career checkered
by almost daily surprises, had Eel River
Dan ever experienced such a sudden
shock OF establishment. For ten seconds
by the bar-room clock he was powerless.
speechless, we'll nigh lifeless. Then he
raised his hands to his face, and leaned
his cheeks upon them while he studied
the apparition beside the stove.
1t was little man, hollow-chested.
cavern-cheeked, mild-eyed, meek-lookino
man. Pity had never been a distinpuisR,
ing trait in the composition of Dams ma
ture, but as he gazed upon this ragged,
forlorn-looking being feeling akin to
sympathy began to usurp the place of
surprise in his breast, and it was in a
tone almost tinged with kindness that he
addressed the sickly vagrant.
"Bin var iong?'
"Eh2''
The reply sounded like the gurgline of
blood through the sink-pipes Of dis
secting-room.