The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-07-31
lowered as he asserted himself de-


John Proctor put on his hat and went
with him into the yard, where an empty
car was waiting to be filled on an order
from a neighboring town. He showed
the man a small slip of paper tackled
] upon the end, and was about to explain
where he could find the material desig-
mated, when the fellow threw of his
coat and deftly attacked pile of scant-
Ing which chanced to be the first item
on the list.
"Hulloa!' said Proctor. gazing in
surprise. "You seem to know some
thing about this business"
"a little,'' returned the man,
shortly.
The young lumberman took his way
to the Office. A little later the ruddy
visage of Maxon looked in at the door
as he returned from dinner.
go, by the way, Maxon, L have a
new man at work out in the yard. You
might keep an eye on him."
"Now, Mr.. Proctorr' exclaimed
Maxon, in hopeless protest. '.Is it
another of them fellows?'
"Well, you see, he declared he was
willing to work, and it seems only fair
| 10 give Iudu u Cna0ce.
The broad-shouldered young propri-
etor was avowedly on the defensive.
$50 far as I'm concerned, of course
its nothing to me-" observed Maxon,
dejectedly. ''But it puts me out to
have you made a laughing stock all
over town. It's shame-well, it's no
use talking. Yes, you may depend
upon me to keep an eye on him, sir. Those
fellows will bear watching. | say,
though, Mr.. Proctor, haven't you got
mighty close UP to that hundred?'
Half an hour later Maxon looked in
again, his face lit up with mischiev-
Gus smile.
Don't you want to take look at
your new hand now, Mr.. Proctor?
Hes just like the rest of them; sitting
on lumber pile all doubled up with a
pain in"
A flying Spanish conversation book
checked further intelligence and Maxon
lodged around the corner to escape
other missiles. At six o'clock, when
the hands came up to receive pay for
| their days labor, John Proctor saw his
protege standing off at little distance.
The man made no demand for wages,
and his employer took no notice of
him. AS the men filed out the express
agent of the Plumbago City train,
personal friend of Proctor's, came run
ming into the Office with package in
his hand
"Here, Proctor, run them over
quickly and sign this receipt. It's the
five thousand from Juarez 4 Signor. 1
haven't moment to spare"
The lumberman hastily counted the
notes, signed his name to the receipt in
bold, dashing hand, and the agent
hurried off. Left alone, Proctor drew
from his pocket long, Russian-leather
pocket-bOok and laid the notes care
fully inside. As he thrust this into his
breast pocket. he chanced to glance to-
ward the window, and encountered the
hungry eyes of the tramp, sharply fol-
lowing his movements from without
AS the man saw that he was detected,
he paused, seemed about to speak,
then changed his mind and sauntered
carelessly away. A vague anxiety
assailed John Proctor. 1t was long
after banking hours; there was no help
ure until morning.
He sat up late that night The pay
ment of this sum was all that was neces-
sary to make the Eastern trip definite
and tangible matter. There was a pile
of correspondence to be turned off and
a letter to be dispatched to that little
woman in Illinois, telling her to dis |
charge her music pupils and make !
ready for his coming. When he had |
finished his letters he sat quietly for
awhile in his big arm chair. It was |
very late when he rose and, locking
doors and windows, proceeded to the |
little inner room where he slept. He
drew off his coat, and, folding it care
fully, placed it beneath his pillow.
Then he examined the barrels of an
English bulldog pistol, which hung
upon hook beside his bed. Reassured |
by this precaution he sank into a heavy
sleep.
Several hours before, q man had
crawled upon low pile of planks,
fianked by two others of towering
height As he stretched himself at
length, with bundle of shakes for a
pillow, he philosophically reflected that
such bed was not to be despised. He
was not Unqualified to Judge, for his
had been wide and diyersi-
fed, and ne had learned to weigh the
most delicate points of variance with
the fine discrimination of connoisseur.
He had travelled half way across the
Continent without once knowing the
shelter of civilized roof He had
tented beneath the fragrant shade of
orange groves in Southern California,
and in waving fields of golden grain,
passed some terrible July nights on the
Colorado Desert, where the mercury
marks 10 degrees at midnight, parch-
ing for water and choke1 with the hot
dust of the arid waste, waking at day
break to find the delusive mirage mock
ing him in the distance. He had sunk
down exhausted on the barren plateaus
of Arizona and reused to find himself
stabbed in thousand places by the
minute cacti needles, cast upon him bv
the malicious breeze; ever lured on by
the sweet face of child who had smiled
through mist of tears.
The quiet of the place, the gently
stirring air, odOrous with the fragrance
of the pine woods, the sleepy twinkle of
the stars overhead, and the WEAKNESS of
muscles unaccuStomed to labor, soon
lulled him into slumber.
A little later two glowing sparks of
fire seemed to glide down the railroad
track, stole around the Office and dis
within the long drying-s shed
at its rear. During their progress these
sparks of fire occasionally described
curves in the air, in the
of certain rhythmieal ut
in the corrupted Spanish of
the Mexican tonuue The lowest Mex