The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1880-05-26
our STORY TELLER.
CHEERFUL HARRY.
And How He Imposed Upon n Very mad
MAN.


t [E. a. Clough in the Argonaut1
Whenever Eel River Dan went on
tear" CONSERVATION reigned In Pilo
City. As soon as his stfident whooT
began to resound through the redwood
surrounding the village the citizen,
hushed their murmurings at lesser evil
and silently skulzed TO their cak;ns
there to listen, with bated breath for the
nrst sounds OF warfare sure to follow
Dams arrival in the town. Oftentime,
the gpteless stranger, unaequaintec
win the -truculent ruffian's "reeord. =
w9s the victim; but as a. general rule il
was some OBSTINATE lUnnberman. who
sacrificed himself for more timid men
lt 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, "on a
time, somebody had to suffer. He was
bad''i in the most literal sense of the
word, and there Were but few who dared
to approach him after he had declared
himself and "turned himself loose.
But on this particular occasion this
bleak, windy day in February, when the
principal inhabitants of Pilot CITY had
gathered around the glowing stove that
warmed the somewhat contracted limits
of the Raftsman's HOme-the gayly
chattering congregation had received no
lntimation of the approach of the noun
tain desperate. Not a single whoOp
had he uttered as he strobe through the
signing pines, not yell announcing his
coming had been heard by the graceful
residents of Pilot City, and when the
gigantic frame of the terror" darkened
the door of the Home, a thunderbOlt
would not have produced as much
genuine surprise, not to call it astonished
apprehension, in the breasts of those
present as did the appearance of Eel
RlNer Dan. For an instant the assem-
biage sat petrifed. Then there was a
tiutteTing movement, and Big Mike, the
boom hand, made a break for the rear
door. The others only waited to satisfy
themselves that Dan was "on it." This
important doubt having been dissipated,
and the conclusion arrived at that the
mOuntaineer was in an unusually dis
agreeable frame of mind, the remainder
OF the company withdrew-rather pre-
clPltately 1t must be confessed, but with
suthciept order and regularity 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 avery seraphic smile, to be
sure, but not .withstanding its sardonic
character there could be no mistaking it
tor a frOwn or a scOWl of displeasure
Wifi the grimace still irradiating his
l.,,led features the desperate passed
behind the bar, and with a freedom
peculiar to his loose habits, grasped the
demIohn containing an unusually ar
dent article of lumberman's solace,
Throwing the jug deftly into the hollow
of his right arm, he poured the yellow
distilhnent into a glass which he held
in his left hand, allowing the liquid
to mark. four fingers before he threw
the muzzle up and returned the demi-
John to its shelf beneath the bar He
contemplated the contents of the glass
for moment, held it up to the light,
smacked his lips in anticipation of the
Joy 1t was about to confer upon him,
and then placed the edge of the tumbleT
gingerly to his mouth as if he would
prolong the deIight-o of feeling it trfckle
down his coOper-plated throat into his
sheet-ifon stomach. Inch by inch his
ruby nose went upward, drop by 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
upon an object, the sight of which
seemed to paralyze him. He could not
believe his senses He imagined that
some defect in the glass through which
he was taking his observations must
have produced the vision that greeted
his gaze. 1t could not possibly be the
form of a man standing there beside
the rstoYe! Q What an ideal What
mortal individual would have the
hardihood to remain when he, Eel River
Dan, the. terror Of the entire lumber re-
gion from Mendocino to Trinity, saw
it to enter place of resortl All! no,
it certainly could not be a real, living,
flesh and blood, human being; it was
probably q straw dummy set up by
those d --dahUlks that had Just left, and
the insult thus offered would afford an
excuse for a. general cleaning out Of the |
whole dAd town. So he placed the |
glass on6fhe bar, and, leaning upon his |
elbows, leYeled his gaze still more in /
tentiy upon that dummy" Great
Caesars ghost! it moved. Was it the |
wind swayiRga bundle of clothes stuffed |
With stfaw2s Or was it-by the great |
b0a:u tlat swings over the river Inr,lar |
Il -u.r its hands. Z is nan Nsv-
before. during a. a.career checkered by al |
most daily surprises, had Eel River Dan
ever dek peeted such sudden shock of |
For ten seconds by the
bat-Toonl clock he was powerless, speech
less we'll nigh lifeless. Then - raised I
bis. hands to his face, and leaned his
cheeks upon them while he studied the
beside the stove.
It was a little min, a hollow-chested,
caYern-cheeked, mild-eyed, meek looking
man. Pity had never been a distinguish
ing trait in the composition of Dams
nature, but as he gazed upon this ragged,
forlorn looking being, feeling akin to
began ITO usurp the place OF
suFPI3se isl lhis breast, and it was IN a
tone almost tinged with Kindness that
he addressed the ,sickIy vagrant.
fffBin yaF long,
seEhqD
The reply sounded like the gurgling
Of blood through the sink pipes of a dis
secting room.
The ragged ysgiant must have bele
u &s 4hldfs