Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-09-20

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MfHeH
He soRHowFULLY WATCHED HIS FATHER
OUT OF SIGHT.
Nobody kin hev any luck Of they hang
round saloons 'sted O. huntin' fer it. :"
Bad luck was the pet superstition on
which John Barnacle laid all his fail
ures and misfortunes. For years he
had drifted about the mining camps,
searching for good luck. but always
losing it in the liquor-bottle. His
wife, patient. broken woman. had
died the winter before, worn out by
the hardships she had been compelled
to endure But before her death she
had extracted from him promise Of
reform.
When his father had become lost to
sight around a bend in the trail, Bat
entered the dug-out, swept and busted
it, washed the breakfast dishes and put
things generally to rights. Then he
took the pick and shovel and went to
work in the tunnel. His father had
fired blast the day previous and the
tunnel was half choked with earth and
fragments of rock.
To clear this mass away was hard
work for boy; but Bat labored stead
lily. and by nightfall had accomplished
a large part of the task.
As the sun went down q somber line
Of cloud crept up from the northwest
and the wind shifted into that quarter.
Shortly after dark it increased in vio-
lence, and Bat going out hoping for
the sound of footsteps that would an
nounce his fathers return, found the
air filled with fine, sand-like particles
Of snow, which. shifting his face. stung
and cut it like bits of broken glass.
Chilled and sick at heart. he crept
back into the dug-out, piled tho fuel
higher in the little sheet-iron stove
and endeavored to prepare his simple
meal. His worst fears were realized
The blizzard had come. What if his
father. intoxicated and helpless, should
be caught in it?
He tried to persuade himself that his
father had remained at the camp. He
was an old mountaineer, and, Bat ar
gued, would not be likely to start for
home with the signs Of q blizzard SO
plainly dlscernible. But a drunken man
lacks judgment and caution. fact Bat
well knew; and then he might have
set out early in the afternoon, and,
overcome by liquor, fallen by the side
Of the trail.
Again and again Bat opened the door
and strained his eyes through the
pitchy darkness. Each time the snow
whirled in in binding drifts and
the icy blast extinguished the lamp
that he had placed in front of the pane
Of glass which served for window. in
the hope that it might guide his father
home should he be wandering any
where on the mountain side.
| When the supper was prepared, in
stead of eating it he set it away. He
had been ravenously hungry on quit
ting work. but somehow the coffee had
lost its appetizing odor. the steaming
hap-jacks seemed fat and heavy and
the crisp bits of bacon reminded him
of chips.
Suddenly there came light tap on
the door. followed by a low whine.
Had he not been listening so intently
the bowling winds would have borne
the sounds away unheard. He sprang
to the door and threw it open. Shep.
who had followed his master that
morning, came in with the whirling
snow. his shaggy coat as white as the
drifts outside.
Bat held the door open. needless Of
the shifting winds, and, shading his
eyes, endeavored to pierce the thick
darkness.
: He called again and again. but the
: thunder of the storm drowned his calls
Then he remembered the old musket
: that was always kept loaded in the
D dug-out and left the door to get it The
door swung wildly. then banged to ant
E the suffering lamp went out. plung
a ing the room in darkness. except wher'
0 the fire from the sheet-iron stove sen
7 q rudy glow across the earthen floor
Paying no heed to this Bat dragged
s the gun from its corner and agail
9 pulled the door open. A moment late
he pressed the trigger. The gloon
a was pierced for an instant by the fam
:, that leaped from the muzzle of tn,
9 musket. But the muffied boon" o
the explosion was swallowed up in tn
e roaring OF the winds. Bat istene'
e anxiously for several minutes, thel
y closed the door. showed the bolt int
place and again lighted the lamp.
Of The room was intensely cold and h
!; crammed more wood into the stove
a The dog. shaking in every limb, crep
b closer to him as il for companionship.