Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1888-11-10
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BY CHARLES J. BELLAMY.
Uopyr1Ghted by the Author, and published
by arrangement with him.
BY CHARLES ]. BELLAMY.


"Did I promise thatp He put back his
coffee cup untasted.
Certainly, Philip, and / cannot let you
off"
''But you must" His face drew dark at
the thought that she should put at naught all
his careful plans to secure her present safety.
Bertha pushed back her chair and rising an
grily to her feet, swept from the room with
out another word. Philip tried in vain to
swallow the mouthfuls of food he so much
needed, then he started on foot for the mill
That Bertha should be angry with him
seemed the last intolerable blow. Was he not
bearing enough before9 He had made her
unhappy. Perhaps she was weeping hot tears
of inapaticnce now. She had thought he
loved her enough to grant her every wish
that might cross her heart. Philip was
tempted to go back and explain everything.
Then she would not doubt his love, but she
would have to share his agony with him. 1t
were better to bear his burdens alone-even
to this last burden of her unmerited reproach.
His sympathy for her grew stronger than his
consciousness of his own unhappiness OF
course she would be hurt that he had denied
her anything; if it had been ribbon, it
would have been the same. He was to blame
for letting her leave him in vexation. He
should have forgotten his own grievances
and soothed her with gentle words till she
smiled on him. 1t was not because she
wanted the thing SO much, but it was the
first time he had ever crossed her wishes.
Philip was so absorbed in his thoughts that
he did not observe that he was close upon an
excited crowd of village people, until such
words as these fell upon his ear:
"A noice friend of the poor man he be,
with his four fancy hosses, his silver dishes
to eat his victuals out of, and his house like
kings palace, while we lives and dies i'll dirt
and poverty. Who made him better nor us!
do he work hardera do besleep less! No, but
h. have his vcnison and his game dinners,
while us starves on tea and crackers: he
sprawls on his fine cushions and sleeps in his
soft beds, while we rot in close atticks, and
loafs in dirty saloons, the poor mans only
home. What title have he got to have bet
ter than we and give himself airs over us"
Philip was astonished. The man who stood
ON the steps of one of the tenement houses,
instructing an audience extending quite
across the highway, was no other than the
incendiary who had so nearly caused the ruin
of the Breton Mills the night of the great
fire. The fellows hair was cropped as close
to his bullet head as it was then.
The audience was mostly made up of old
men, women and children, with here and
there an able bodied man, who preferred talk
ing about his rights to deserving anything
One or two had observed the young mill
owner, but they took no pains to spread the
intelligence, and in moment more the aglta-
tor had caught his breath and went on
"Ha feeds his bosses more'n would keep two
poor families. The wines he drinks every day
COST enough 10 keep anouneT t"o
Perhaps the man was right in his TRADE.
Perhaps Philip Breton had only begun to
grasp the first outlines of the great question
he had fanced mastered.
''But We kiss his hand"
'No, we wont.n shouted the crowd. There
stood Thomas Bales, Philips discharged SER
want, in the middle of the street, shouting
with the rest. He could afford to be idle
since his last liberal present.
"Ye will thank him for his bein' so kind to
ye."
mo, no." screamed the women. What a
fool Philip Breton had been to count on graft
tude Human nature is too progressive to be
grateful. Perhaps he deserved no thanks.
He had done more than others for his help.
TIE more fool be was all sides would agree,
unless h. went further. He ought to have
been either a thorough radical or thorough
conservative. All parties abuse the half way
reformer. A vessel of pottery between two
Jars cf iron h. is certain to be crushed.
A carriage was struggling down the street
How slow the crowd were TO give way. They
were so much interested in their orator that
they did not notice they We're obstructlng
thu highway.
''What good is such men as him? our wo-
men is stronger EN- them sort"
The horse seemed spirited, or else not
properly guided. All, the driver ought not
to use whip in such a situation as this
Good heavens! the horse had become un-
manageable. A man, it was Bales himself,
and woman had been struck by the shafts
and rolled under the feet of the horse, who
was now rearing and plunging, while the
crowd scattered in all directions with screams
and curses.
Under the very wheels of the carriage lay
woman stunned and helpless from the olow
she had received Instant death threatened
her. when a mans form rose suddenly out OF
the dust under the horses iron shoes and
caught the excited animal by his bit. The
crowd gathered in more closely than ever,
while dozen hands dragged out the old wo-
man from her terrible situation and wiped
the dust from her white, CHASTITY face. The
orator had ceased his eloquence, and all dan
ger of accident seemed now averted, SO
Philip Breton, was passing on his way.
But Bertha, for the occupant of the car
riage was no other than she, found her way
blocked in all directions by an angry mob.
''Pull her out, scarlet face" screamed the
women. ''Tear her pretty rags off from her.
The barefooted children threw earth at her;
lean, dirty fingers piucked at her delicate
skirts How dared they touch her! she
shrank from the pollution of contact with
such creatures as tneSe, WIN terror .nav a'.
would be inconceivable to man. She saw
them gather around the restive horse, who
seemed as impatient of their touch as she;
they were beginning to undo his harness. In
another moment she would be lost, But the
horse was strong could he not break through
them! She did not care how many he should
trample to death: she would rather, a thou
sand times rather, die herself, than endure
their insulting touch. But rough hand
caught the whip from her grasp; the crea,
lures impaired nails hurt her. another ha
was on her shoulders; and vile words, whose
meaning she only felt, were ON every tongue;
Her heart grew sick; oh, she prayed God
would not let her FAINT; oh, not now; oh, not
now-yet her vision seemed failing, she could
not see the horses head, and the terrible in
suits the people hurled at her grew indistinct,
IKE roaring OF many waters in her ears
But she saw hideous faced hag. reach her
bare, brawny arm into the carriage and clutch
at her feet; they were lifting her out But
hand like iron flung the virago back.
"Stand off. 1t is my wifep The mill own