Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1888-02-25

much as made Jane single present" Popu-
lar opinion, which regarded Mrs Stiver's at
tention as purely speculative, was not
shocked at this Improbable denouement; but
when Peg refused to give anything to clear
the mortgage Off the new Presbyterian
church, and even declined to take shares in
the Union ditch, considered by many as an
equally sacred and safe investment, she be-
gan to lose favor. Nevertheless, she seemed
to b. as regardless of public opinion az she
had been before the trial; took small
house, in which she lived with an old woman
who had once been fellow servant, on ap-
parently terms of perfect equality, and
looked after her money. wish l could say
that she did this discreetly; but the fact is,
she blundered The same dogged per-
sistence she had displayed in claiming her
rights was visible in her unsuccessful ven-
lures. She sunk $500, 900 in a worn out
shaft originally projected by the deceased
testator; she prolonged the miserable exist
ence of The Rockville Vanguard long after
it had ceased to interest even its enemies;
she kept the doors of the Rockville hotel
open when its custom had departed; she lost
the cooperation and favor of fellow capi-
talist through trihing misunderstanding, in
which she was derelict and lmpenitent; she
had three lawsuits on her hands that could
have been settled for a trifle. l note these
defects to show that she was by no means
heroine. Iquote her affair with Jack Fol
insbee to show she was scarcely the average
woman. -t
That handsome, graceless vagabond had
struck the outskirts of Red Dog in q cyclone
of dissipation, which left him a stranded but
still rather interesting wreck in ruinous
cabin not far from Peg Moffat's virgin
bower Pale, crippled from excesses, with a
voice quite tremulous from sympathetic
emotion, more or less developed by stimu-
lants, he fingered languidly, with much time
OH his hands and only few neighbors. In
this fascinating kind of general deshabille of
morals, dress and the emotions he az
peared before Peg Moffat. More than
that, he occasionally limped with
her through the settlement. The
critical eye of Red Dog took in the singular
pair-Jack volnble, suffering, apparently
overcome by remorse, conscience, vitupera-
tion and disease; and Peg, open mouthed, high
colored, awkward, yet delighted; and the
critical eye of Red Dog, seeing this, winked
u,eaningly at Rockville. No one knew what
passed between them. but all observed that
one summer day Jack drove down the main
street of Red Dog in an open buggy, with the
- InAlr lINsrSf
a trifle shaky, held the reins with something
of his old dash; and Mistress Peggy, in an
enormous bonnet, with pearl colored ribbons
a shade darker than her hair, holding in her
short, pink -gloved fingers bouquet of yellow
roses, absolutely glowed crimson in distressful
qualification over the dashboard So these
two Jared on, out of the busy settlement into
the woods, against the rosy sunset. Possibly
it was not pretty picture; nevertheless, as
the dim aisles of the solemn pines opened to
receive them, miners leaned upon their spades
and mechanics stopped in their toll to look
after them. The critical eye of Red Dog,
perhaps from the sun, perhaps from the fact
that it had itself once been young and dissi-
pated, took on kindly moisture as it gazed.
The moon was high when they returned.
Those who had waited to congratulate Jack
on this near prospect of favorable change in
his fortunes were chagrined to find that, hav-
ing seen the lady safe home, he had himself
departed from Red Dog. Nothing was to be
CLEANED from Peg, who, on the next day and
ensuing days, kept the even tenor of her way,
sunk thousand or two more in unsuccessful
speculation, and made no change in her habits
of personal economy. Weeks passed without
any apparent sequel to this romantic idyl
Nothing was known definitely until Jack, a
month later, turned up in Sacramento, with
a billiard cue in his hand, and heart over
charged with indignant emotion. II don't
mind saying to you. gentlemen, in confi-
dence," said Jack to a circle of sympathizing
players-'l don't mind telling you regarding
this thing, that l was as soft on that freckled
faced, red eyed, tallow haired gal as if she'd
been-a-a-an actress. And l don't mind
saying, gentlemen, that, as far as under
stand women, she was jus as soft on me.
You kin laugh; but it's So One day took
her out buggy riding-in style, too-and out
on the road offered to do the square thing,
just as if she'd been lady-offered to marry
her then and there, And what did she dos" said
Jack, with hysterical laugh. "Why, blank
it all! offered me S25 week allowance-pay
to be stopped when / wasn't at homel" The
roar of laughter that greeted this frank con-
fession was broken by quiet voice asking,
"And what did you sayF-"Sayf' screamed
Jack, II just told her to go to = with her
money."-aThey say" continued the quiet
voice, "that you asked her for the loan of
$3.50 to get you to Sacramcnto-and that you
got II. ."-"Who says so7" roared Jack. AShow
me the blank liar" There was a dead silence.
Then the possessor of the quiet voice, Mr..
Jack Hamlin, languidly reached under the
table, took the chalk, and, rubbing the end
of his billiard cue, began with gentle gravity:
ut was an old friend of mine in Sacramento,
man with a wooden leg, game eye, three
fingers on his right hand and a consumptive