Omaha daily bee., 1883-05-05
TALBOT'S KIDS.

+. W. Townsenl n San FIR ancisco c all.
Old Smally was n ''no good" No
slang ever suited his case until Zinc
Barnes applied mo good" which he
had picked up during a visit to the
Bay. That's Just what Smally Is,
boys, I'm telling you; mo good and
nothing else goes; but that goes, even
II he hears IT,"
"But what stai ted yer on old Smally,
Zlne2' Mr.. Rsddy asked, oheerfully
enough.
When Reddy put this leading ques-
ton to Zinc the men around the bar
drew closer together, and the players
at the faro table half turned toward.
Zinc, chipping In four.bit pieces list.
lessly on the layout, the dealer max.
Ing the turns slowly and picking up
his winnings or paying his losses with
an added professional indifference that
allowed him equal chances with his
patrons to listen to Zinc's reply.
"Wsll, I'll Just tell you, Rsddy,'
Zinc began, meditatively kneading
some plug smoking tobacco In the
palm Of his left hand with the right,
"when l wss down to the Bay who'd
yer think l seen2"
Mr.. Rsddy and the crowd looked
their inability to guess who, of all the
people In San Francisco, 1t had been
Mr., Barnes peculiar happiness to see,
and waited In perfect silence while he
emp'ted the tobacco from his hanG
Into his uipe. Carefully lighting the
latter, q no sent forth a big ring Of
smoke, took, a speculative squln'
through it, and then said, with tn,
satisfaction of a man who knows hi
has a sensation on hand, "Parsor
Talbo!
1t was sometime before any on,
spoke. Finally Rsddy got his amaze
ment spread mouth sufficiently closet
to exc'aim: "The Q 9 deuce!'
"Heerd he'd gone back to tn
states
"Where's he prospectin' now!"
sod Parson Talbot; well, yer die
strike 1t rich, Zinc"
elbows his folks2 DON'T yer re
member them kids of his'n, and tina
hmart little womsn2"
While this shower of remarks wa
pattering down on Zinc, two younI
men who had been talking quietly ii
one corner Of the room, went ovel
and Joined the party at the bar.
One was dressed In the rough min
er's garb worn by most of the crowd
the Others little better, but not on
of keeping with his surroundings
The latter, addressing Barnes, said
"You don't mind my listening,
hope; I know Parson Talbot"
"ADy mans welcome to hear wha
Zinc Barnes says about Parson Talbot
stranger, for l amt got nothing bu
good to say of him"
!. "Im glad to hear It," the younI
man said, smiling pleasantly. "Bu
! ! before you 90 on, take somethin
. with me-" He nodded to the entir
crowd In a manner perfectly unde,
r stood, for everyone faced the bar, an
!; Mr.. Reddy produced a line of glasse
u which exhausted his stock, the far
: dealer and case keeper being obllge
7 to nee n glass between them.
This important and imposing GER
mony finished, Mr.. Barnes continued
"Yes, Parson Talbot; and he look
a sight older than he did when he lei
Hangtown in the winter of '56, bus
ed. But ye asked me, Reddy, whs
+ started me on old Smally, that's wins
n I'll tell you. 1 ran right agln the p,
son one morning at the Bay, BIT
wouldn't know him, only he braced U
to me and says, holdin' out his han
d In that easy way of his, 'Ain't
= speaking to Zinc Barnes2' Eye ar,
stranger I said, and then he smile
In that way ye remember, whoev,
y knew him, and I yelled out Parse
Talbot, BY I think I was goir
= to say gosh but the parson dldn
run no chances, ceein' as how he kue
my way, and Clipped In before 1 fiji
ished. Well, he asked me out to h
house, ssyin' 1 would meet the oil
lady and have dinner with him tn.
8 evening, 1 found cut the parson W,
d preachtn' as a stiddy lay out"
swell, l went out to his houae, an
iT pears they don't pay much f,
~preaclia', even from a regular parsol
n in some OF these districts at the Bay
He seemed to be located pretty mel
the edge of the camp, for we were
hour gettin' there In a boss car, ar
=, HE little house didn't show no sIgl
that he had struck IL over rich. b
the old lady didn't seem to mind /
- for she wss rs clipper as ever, al
how she did enjoy talking about o
tlmesl Well, after dinner the pars,
had to GO to the meetin' house.
"When the parson was gone, IL
old lady told the whole of the stol
about that deal old Smally gave Il
parsen In Hangtown in 80. l nev
y heard the whole story before and ne
er knew how bad old Smally play,
ths parson. l tell you gentleme
Re old Smally's no good. 1t seems tn
q the parson had saved nearly $50, O
!, out OF the rich strikes he had mad