Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1884-08-18
ANOTHER VERSION.
fSan Francisco Post. ]


a small tavern. much frequented by COM
mercial travellers, and which bears the odd
title of THE Long Pack. y
docs that mean long pack of cards?"
inquired a traveller, glancing at the swing
ing signboard, which also represented the
weatherworn picture of something family
resembling a soldiers overgrown KNAPP
sack.
No. replied the gray haired landlord
at means a peddlers pack. Nowadays
they call them sample-cases l believe
pointing to the baggage of several COM
mercial drummers that stood in corner
"You see, | have a good deal of that sort
of custom. | try to make the road boys
as comfortable as possible, for was
little too hard on the fraternity once.
-How was THAR"
well :" said the mountain Boniface,
who had waited until his daughter,
buxom matron. had left the ROOM I it ain
very pleasant story, but like to tell it
sometimes. just to remind myself that the
worst thing man can have in this world
is hot. obstinate temper. You see / came
to this coast soon after the gold fever
broke out, and settled down in the Santa
Barbara valley, below here. ranching
was widower even then, and had brought
with me from the states my only child
daughter past IL. She was pretty girl
if do 8 it, and being as good as pretty.
ynu can CINE was quite wrapped up
in her OF course was anxious to keep
looked for her to do something better than
to fall in love with peddler.
And did she?"
"Yes; YOU see in those days, the coun-
try was full of young fellows who had
struck out for themselves and were trying
to get start by carrying knick -knacks
around from one town or mining camp to
tla~ % 81, oIxr ,ls
enough and well educated, but l was fresh
from the states with all the eastern preju-
dices, and it almost drove me mad when
Nellie told me she wanted to marry
young fellow who brought his pack
through our district great deal oftener
than the trade seemed to require l was a
hot-tempered fool in those days, so /
stormed. threatened. locked Nellie up for
week and sent word to her lover that /
had loaded my gun for wildcats and ped
dlers. "
What did Nellie do?"
you might have guessed it, stranger.
One day when came back from a cattle
sale she was missing. l chased her
couple of days, but they had taken to the
tall timber and it was no use. After
awhile got letter from Frisco and l
wrote back saying that ] disowned her,
and that he had better Keep out Of the
range of my deer rifle.
w hat uId you DO tnenT
Suffered, mister-just suffered. l
knew / was wrong. but I'd have died
rather than give in. For four years l
lived like toad in rock, hating
the whole world. All the pleasure
l had was in watching for ped
dlers. The number l chased off the ranch
during that time would astonish you. One
evening after terrible rainstorm, one of
the tribe came to my house and asked for
ola If 60 u nj 10
looking fellow, with his face covered by q
huge, ragged beard He carried on his
back an enormous long and heavy pack
and seemed so exhausted with his tramp
through the mire that l hadn't tn,
heart to do more than order him off the
place.
"That was pretty hard y said the list
ener.
Il suppose it was. The peddler seemed
all broke ,;ap when he foun6 1 wouldn't
even give him bunch of straw in the
stable, and no other house within twelve
miles Instead of complaining however.
he merely begged that / would let him
leave his pack. which he said contained
goods of value. under shelter from the
rain. finally consented to this. So, as l
had sworn one of his trade should never
cross my threshold l carried his pack in
side. while its owner limped off to crawl
under some bush or other.
es; mean and bitter at the same time
for something about the man reminded me
of Nelie's husband little However /
locked and barred all the doors and win
dows as usual. for some road agents had
been around those parts about that time,
and had stood up and robbed several
ranchers: and as l told you. | was all
alone Somehow l couldn't go to sleep
when, after that. | went to bed. After
tossing around for awhile l got up and sat
oy the fire breoding over my trouble and
trying not TO think of the poor devil shiv-
ering out there in the cold and rain some
where. i looked at his pack sitting up in
the corner and wondered what made il SO
long As | watched it l fancied l saw it
move
saw il mover"
Exactly wouldn't believe my eyes
AT first, but after watching intently for a
while | distinctly saw the print of
hand pressed against the canvas from the
inside Like flash then understood the
whole thing. The peddler was one of the
road agents gang. and, knowing l had
considerable money about the house they
had adopted that plan for smuggling one
of their crew inside of the house. After |
had gone To sleep, the fellow inside could
let in the rest and finish the job. |
walked quietly across the room. took
my gun from the antlers. kneli
down a rev feet from the pack. aimed
square in the center, and pulled the
trigger.
GO on. murmured the listener, with
shudder
But the gun didn't go off, = continued
the landlord, clearing his throat The
nipple was rusty and wouldn't work, so I
laid down the rifle and got an ak from the
kitchen. Ii had been newly ground that
day. and when lifted it over my head
counted upon cleaving that pack robber
and all clear 10 the floor. Just as raised
the AK and braced myself for the blow /
l saw a ghost,"
a ghost?H
"Yes. sir. The pack opened. and saw
sticking out of its top the curly yellow
head. blue eyes and rosy checks of my
Nellie when she was little tot of 4. The
shock staggered me SO that l sank on my
knees. l wiped my eyes and wondered if l
had not gone crazy. l was almost certain
of it, when the ghost stretched out pair
of chubby white arms and said.
'Deeynin. drandpar
~Ahlr said the guest. with a relieved
sigh. Il begin TO see. And what did you
do them"
Il don't exsctly know said the land