Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1885-05-07

''BuL Cne caTuS WuZ packed aRlu US.
In the centre of the road, jest where
we meant 10 leave 1t, TO climb down
toward Pearson's. an old sgreasly bar
was camped as cool as you please, Dig
GIN among the rocks fur worms. !
hadn't seen DO bar In those diggin q
fur years, and begun to think that
things wuz happening powerful brisk
all at once, and tLet 1t never rains fun
but il pores, when clip went old man
Bassett's rife and clip went Pete's aud
the greasly started down the hill to-
ward Pearson's, with bullet in his
forehead and another In his chist.
"You remember I told you that [
could almost look down Pearson's Is
chimbly from the road. Well, that's
what the bar did, an more. He jest
natchelly tumbled down the side of the
mountain and gave one big bound jest
| above the shanty and went kerplunp
onto the roof, smashing in the rafters
like they were straw and knocking the
mud chimbly seven ways for Sunday.
"When we got there the little gal
wuz in her night dress, standing in the
middle of the floor and rubbing her
eyes.
"sIs it Christmas p she seZ, and is
st. Nicholas come ? And what woke
me up p
81 ketched her up in my arms and
wrapped my coat all around her, 60 she
couldn't see what had walked her up,
aud sez, sez L:
"fIt amt quite Christmas, yit, hon.
ey.' .'sez 'but st. Nicholas is come,
sure and he's got whole raft of things
fur you. up to my ranch.'
"'I want my stocking she sez
kinder struggling to GIT away from me
Father don't know l hung it up, Lut
did, and l want it,
"Well, sirs, jest to quiet her, found
out where she'd hung her stocking
way up the chimbly, where her father
couldn't see it, becuz she knew power
full well he wouldn't hev no sech fool
ishness, and I got one OF the boys Il
kinder hunt around fur it, jest to quie'
her.
swell, sirs, gentlemen, that thar lit
tie stocking-with more holes ant
patches and places where she had cob
bled it herself with cotton string, thar
stocking-wuz laying 10 the ashes jes
where the bar had knocked 1t when b.
broke down the chimbly, and they wuz
a nugget of gold as big as my three fin
gers right on top of it. Two or thre
smaller piecesIwas scattered around, ,ant
it wuz plain to the meanest intellec
that in falling the greasly's paw ha'
clawed out pocket of gold in the rock
just above the shanty, and the whole
had jest natchelly gravitated dowl
with the bar.
"He was dead, of course, and whel
the boys KEN to lift him, Jake Pearson
wuz under him, smashed so that b,
had jest breath enough to tell me wher
to find the little girls ma before b
went.
"The next day Christmas day-w'
sashayed around there with shovel
and picks, and, after some little trouh
le in tracing it. we finally located th
pocket and dug out the balance Of th
gold. had every crumb of il melte
into this yer brick in my handkerchief
aud when we get to st. Loucy / hand
it over to little girls ma, and sez, Sc
I:
"Four hundred and two dollars ant
twenty-three cents as a Christmas gif
for your little gal, from a greasly bal
who wuz whittier Christian than eve
Jake Pearson wuz, madam, beggir
your pardon, sez l."
"Lathrop-twenty-fiye minutes II
supper % sung out the brakeman.
the train slowed up at the suppar sta
ton, four hours and fifteen minute
ont of San Fransico.-DctrOt Ff
Press.