New Ulm weekly review., 1879-12-24
CHEERFUL HARRY.

CHEERFUL HARRY.
Whenever Eel River Dan went on :
tear" conformation reiened in Pilot
City. Az soon as his strident Wh0op be.
gantoresound through theredwoods sur
rounding the village the citizens hushed
their murmurings at lesser evils, and
silently skulked to their cabins, there
to listen, with bated breath, for the
first sounds Of warfare sure to follow
Dams arrival in the town. Often
times the guileless stranger, unac-
quainted with the truculent ruffian's
record" was the victim; but a. gem
eral rule 1t was some obstinate lum.
herman, who sacrificed himself for
more timid men. Itwas singular fact
that, no matter how peaceablY inclined
Pilot City might be, at the moment Eel
River Dan came down from his noun.
tain home ON time,'' somebody had
to suffer.
He was s'bad'' in the most literal
sense OF the word, and there were but
few who dared approach him after he
had 6 declared himself aud $. turned
himself loose.'' But on this particular
occasion this bleak, windy day In Fob
ruary, when the principal inhabitants
OF Pilot City had gathered around the
glowing stove that warmed the some
what contracted limits Of the Rats.
mans home gaily chatting con-
gregation had received no intimatiop
OF the approach of the mountain des-
perado. Not single whoop had he
uttered as he strobe through the sigh
ing pines, not yell announcing his
coming had been heard by the peaceful
residents of Pilot CITY, and when the
gigantic frame Of the s terror dark.
ened the door Of the home, thunder.
bolt would not have produced a. much
genuine surprise, not to call it aston
ished apprehension, in the breasts of
those present, - did the appearance of
Eel River Dan. For an instant the a..
semb)age sat petri6ed. Then there
was y f1uttering movement, and Big
Mike, the boom hand, made q 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 arrived at that the noun
taineer was in an unusual disagreeable
frame Of mind, the remainder of the
company withdrew-rather precipi-
lately, it must be confessed with
sufficient order and regularity to escape
injury In the crush at the side door.
As soon a. the last boot heel had
passed over the threshold Dan smiled
it was not . very seraphic smile, to be
sure, but notwithstanding its sardonic
character there could be no mistaking
it for . frown or scowl Of displeasure.
With the grimace still irradiating bis
bloated features the desperate passed
behind the bar, and with q freedom
peculiar to his loose habits, grasped
the demijohn containing an unusually
ardent article Of lumberman's solace.
Throwing the Jug deftly into the hollow
OF his right arm, he poured the yellow
distillment into q glass which he held
in his left hand, allowing the liquid to
mark four fingers before he threw the
muzzle up and returned the demijohn
20 its shelf beneath the bar. He con-
templated the contents of the glass for
moment, held it up to the LIGHT,
smacked his lips in anticipation of the
icy it was about to confer upon him.
and then placed the edge Of the tum-
bier gingerly to his mouth as il he
would prolong the delight Of feeling it
trickle down his appropriated throat
into his sheet iron stomach. Inch by
inch his ruby nose went upward, drop
by drop the whisky flowed downward.
The last globule had Just passed be.
tween his teeth, when his fiery red eyes,
glanc,ng through the bottom of the
glass, fell upon an object, the sight Of
which seemed to paralyze him. He
could not believe his senses. He i'm
agined that some defect in the glass
through which he was taking his OBJ
servations must have produced the
vision that greeted his gaze. 1t could
not possibly be the form Of man
standing there beside the stovel What
an idea! 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 q place of re-
sort! All! no. it certainly could not
be real, living flesh and blood, human
being; it was probably straw dummy
set up by those cursed hulks that had
just left, and the insult thus offered
would afford an excuse for q general
cleaning ont Of the whole internal
town. Il ..&s.F a.z E-a
So he placed the glass on the bar, and
leaning upon Mis- elbows, leveled his
ofS11 Ssntnsnt0~, AA>A
dummy" Great Cesar's ghost! it
moved. Was it the wind swaying 4
bundle Of clothes stuffed with straw
Or was it By the great boom that
swings over the river Jordon! Never
before, during career checkered by
almost daily surprises, had Eel River
Dan ever experienced such sudder
shock Of astonishment. For ten SEQ
onds by the barroom clock he was
powerless, speechless, well nigh life
less. Then he raised his hands to his
face, and leaned his cheeks upon them
while he studied the apparition beside
It was q little man-a hollow.chested.
cavern-cheeked, mild-eyed, meek-look-
ing man. Pity had never been dis
tinguishing trait in the composition Of
Dams nature, but - 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 tom. almost tinged with
kindness that he addressed the sickly
vagrant.
::R5 %Bia y var lons'''
The reply sounded like the gurgling
OF blood through the sink-piPes Of :
dissecting-room.