The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1881-04-08

It was Ben Smith who answered, and his
answer indicated sarcastic incredulity:
I've heerd tell that sperrits do come
back to their fren's."
I'll be here in the flesh"
eyes," replied Ben, "you'n be mighty
likely to get back from . squar meal In civil
lied parts to place whar squar' meals are
at discount an empty stomicks at pre-
MUM. pve heerd tell o. SIGH things, as
t We'll a : sperrits' but 1 never seed none O.
Stoddard took one step forward. and draw
ing himself to his fullest hight, exclaimed in
. voice that rang through the surrounding
rafters, voice that cut the wailing of the
storm like the clarion note Of bugle sound
ing the change Of battle.
It's lie, Ben Smith. Pm a soldier OF
scimiter of the Greek. pve fought for the
liberty of q glorious nation, and never
shirked my duty or fOrsoOk . friend in the
hour of need. And tell you here, in this
tomb of destruction, that the race to which
belong Is race Of knights, as proud, as
pure, as faithful as any that ever couched .
lance in the cause Of honor. l am the Oldest
my escutcheon, and when am untrue to the
traditions Of my house may my right arm
palsy at the socket and my tongue cleave to
the roof of my mouth. am the Marquis of
Nithsdale by divine right, if not by human
entail. The blood Of Bruce is in my veins,
and the highlands of liberty-loving Scotland
can boast of no prOuder name.'
Nothing more was said-nOt even sug-
gestion that he wait until the storm abated
somewhat. When Stoddard had finished
all his preparations, Smith mentioned the
Tuolumne River.
"There's no ford, no ferry" he shouted.
"I'll swim it, replied Tom.
The men looked at the speaker with min
gled feelings OF respect and amazement.
They knew that old Tom Stoddart bore the
reputation Of harboring |" q bee in his bon
net" His actions in the present crisis, his
heated and theatrical reply to Ben Smith,
his claim to a doubtful nobility, had all COM
bined to confirm their suspicious Of his in.
sanity.
"Good-by, Tom. God speed you, old
boy" shouted the men, as the mad hero
passed out of the cabin and disappeared in
"We'll never see him again." said Ben, as
they forced the door back in its place and
barred it.
'.Who knows" muttered Jerry Homer.
And yet when, half an hour later, the
howl, Sam Billings, who had burrowed his
way out, returned and announced that no
snow was falling, and that the clouds were
beginning to drift, strange wild hope
sprang up in each mans heart.
CHAPTER III.
Gloomy, dispirited, and on the verge of
starvation, the denizens OF Eureka Valley
crOuched in front of the burning logs when, a
week later, the day dawned cold and sleet-
ing. Two more unfOrtunates, Roger Martin
and Jack LinstOck, had succumbed to the
terrible distemper prevalent in the camp,
and with CLASSY eyes and shivering frames
sat gazing languidly at the flames. During
the past week the weather had been eX-
tremely moderate. The storm seemed to
have spent its force in that last terrible out
burst, and the sun had shone with cold yet
cheerful rays upon that vast eXpanse of
drifted snow. The blue smoke curling heav-
lily from the tall chimney of the cabin half
buried in the snow, told where despair
lurked in this whited sepulcher of desOla-
ton. Ben Smith, the stanchest of the little
band of unfOrtunates, was a second time re-
viewing the terrible situation. A cruel
irony, that cut like the keen lancet of sur
geon who steeled his heart to his duty, per-
meated his realistic speech:
81 don't s'pose you fellers feel a sort o.
yearning fur them fiesh-pots of Egypt, eZ
the sam singers call 'em. Oh, no; you'd
ruther fast an mortify yer f1esh-not cause
wouldn't tech a rib o. roast OK eff it was
hangin' 'ithin half an inch o. yer noses; ye'd
die fust. -
$50 on, Ben," groaned Sam Billings, ego
on; it's like feast o. reason to hear ye.
Did We say all tibet fried coyote was Out?'
"oh,. no, Sam; there's plenty, o. fried
offur coyote to-day. We're goin' to fill up
on turk. OF Tom Stoddart, tibet Markss o.
BIifdale, er wa'tever he calls it-'lowed tibet
nothin' but turk ID do us fur to-day, an
he'll be 'iong in bout an hour or two, or
mebbe week or so-it don't matter; so ven
hev to tighten up an wait till the dinner
Martin, eZ eff We thought the Markiss was a
lynn Wen he promised us a chicken roast
squar. Markisses don't lie, not much! An
the Markiss of Snifdale is morc'n the regular
breed O. tibet style o. pups. Oh, he'll be
here; don't you never fear"
"He is here" The words sounded like
an echo; they were so low and weak.
an ecstacy OF joy, as he sprang to the door
and unbarred it.
..Derned eff he hezen't KEEP his promise ~
laughed Sam Billings, hurrying to assist in
opening the door. AS soon as this was &C.
complished, shapeluss form, covered from
head to foot with flakes of snow, staggered
into the room. The form stood for an in
slant rigid; then it wavered, reeled, and
fell prone A low murmur. s'I've made
the trip, thank God" and darkness gathered
over the understanding Of the ''Marquise Of
Nithsdale."
s.He's tainted, boys" cried Smith, spring.
ing to the side of the PROSTATE man. "Here,
some o. you galOots rub his hands. Sam,
take off them boots. Strip yerselves, some
o. We, an give the OF man somethin' dry to
put on" While issuing these orders, Ben
was rapidly reducing the shapeless form to
something like humanity.
"Turkeys, by the hide of a grizzly!' he
exclaimed; ''three of 'em. Derned eff he
hezn't packed them birds nigh onto sixty
mile; am pertatOes an oniOns-them's fur
the scurvy-an' bread, by jingo! an coffee,
or Pm liar. An'-boys, handle Oh Tom
gently. Git right down on yer knees an
thank him. He's an angel come down from
glory, and we're q lot o. mean, mis'abIe
hounds to ever doubt his word. Pm wuss'n
a coyote-I'm Chinaman. Hullo! watts
this? Whisky, by the holy smoke!. Here,
hold on thar!-pry open them teeth, an
chuck in a pint or two o. this. Thet'll fetch
him. Every drop o. tibet whisky is with a
twenty dollar gold piece to ev'ry one of us,
but eff one swig' d save ev'ry life in this yer
Shebang. not one o. We should hev q smell till
we fetch Oh Tom through"