The Brookhaven leader., 1885-12-31

match had taken hold OF the tobacco
he tossed the burning match aside.
jest excuse me fur about two sec
onds, gentlemen, whilst l waltz in
and see eff my little gal is a-hanker-
in for anything that l kin get"
The girl was contentedly cuddled
up in a corner of the green plush
covered seat, fast asleep, with her
head resting on a soft black and
white plaid shawl. With her deli
cate features and beautiful yellow
hair she would have been considered
lovely anywhere, and after seeing
her it was easy to understand the
look of tenderness which lighted up
the old ranchman's face whenever he
mentioned his ''little gal"
well. sirs," he continued upon
gaining his seat in the smOker-and
by this time every man in the car was
listener-"well, sirs, we didn't say
much becuZ our heads had a power
full sight of thinking in 'em and our
feet wuz busy climbing over the rock
towards Pcarson's. 1t wuz a long
time sence we'd a ben engaged in
sich business; but we knOwed Pear
son deserved it, and we meant to
give him such a talking to as lie
wouldn have no chance to foTgit-
But the cards wuz packed agin
us. In the center OF the road, jest
where We meant to leave it to climb
down toward Pearson's. an old
greasly bar wuz campcd as cool as
you please, diggin' among the rocks
fur worms. | hadn't seen DO bar in
these diggin's fur years. and begun
to think that things wuz happening
powerful brisk all at once, and that
it never rains fun but it pores, when.
clip went old man BasSett' S riile and
clip went Pete,s, and the greasly
started down the hill toward Pear
sons with bullet in his forehead
and another in his chist.
You remember | told You that l
could a'most look down Pearson's
chimbly from the road. Wen, that's
what the bar did, an more. He
jest natchelly tum bled down the side
of the mountain and gave one big
bound jest above the shanty and
went kerplump onto the roof, smash
ing in the rafters like they were
straw and knocking the mud CHM
bly, 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.
&" is it Christmas?' she sez. and
is st. Nicholas conner And what
woke me up?'
81 ketched her up in my arms and
wrapped my coat all around her, so
she couldn't see what had walked
her up, and seq, sez |:
1T amt quite Christmas. Wit,
honey seq |; but ST. Nicholas is
come, sure, and he's got whole
raft OF things for 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, but l did, and want it,
''Well, sirs, jest to quiet her. I
found out where she'd hung her
stocking, way up the chimb'y. where
her father couldn't see it, bccuz she
knew powerful well he wouldn't hev
no sech foolishness, and l got one
of the boys to kinder hunt around
for it, jest to quiet her.
'Well, sirs, gentlemen, that thar
little stocking-with more holes and
patches and places where she had
cobbled it herself with cotton string
than stocking a laying in the
ashes jest where the bar had knocked
it when he broke down the chimbly,
and they wuz a nugget of gold as
big as my three fingers right on top
of it. Two or three smaller pieces
wuz scattered around, and it wuz
PLAIN to the meaneSt intellec' that in
falling the greasly's paw had clawed
out pocket of gold in the rocks Jest
above the shanty, and the whole had
Jest natchelly gravitated down with
the bar.
He wuz dead, of course. and
when the boys KEN to lift him. Jake
Pearson wuz under him, smashed so
that he had just breath enough
to tell me where to find the little
gals ma before he went.
The next day-Christmas Day
we sasshayed around there with
shovels, and after some little trouble
n tracing it We finally located the
pocket and dug out the balance of
he gold. l had every crsmb of il
melted into this yer brick in nv
and when We get 10
Il, Losey hands it over TO my little
,ars ma, and | sez, sell:
"Four hundred and two dollars
nd twenty-three cents as a
gift for your little gal n
rom q greasly bar, who was a y
Ehiter Christian than ever Jake =
carson wuz, madam, beggin' your ~
'ardon,' ser l." ss
"Lathrop twenty-i minutes NJ
rspr! sang out the brakeman,
s the train slowed up at the
upper station, four hours and
fteen minutes out of San
ranciscO.-Henry NetOport, ia -
)etr0st Free Press.
.EzS(s