Wichita eagle., 1888-06-16

By Mr. Sampson and his wife Almiry, or, tc
put it in another way, SIMPSONS and SaInp
son himself were controlled by Alrliry. a
modern Delilah she, who, when she married
Sampson, had, speaking fguratively, clipped
his locks and left him deprived of all am
bition There was a rumor current tina,
Sampson drank, ryI1aor not altogether with.
out foundation, since no enc had ever seen
him entirely sober lis sole duty was to tend
bar, and when not occupied in rainistering &c
the liquid wants of others he was looking
after himself There was but one beverage
sold at on's-whisky-though there
hung upon the wall, back Of the rough bar
an Illuminated card setting forth In ny
specked characters the superior merits OF
Halls Jamaica ginger. But Is for the ginger,
that was not TO be had Nor were there any
indications, beyond dusty Autographs nailed
aszew TO the wooden partitions, that soda
water. seltzer and Mumul's extra dry were
procurable on demand. And SO it was fortu-
nate that the systems of those passengers who
needed stimulation craved whisky only, for
that was positively all there YVES. On the
sticky bar stood half dozen thick, dirty
glasses, side by side with the long neci1ed
bottle half filed with IN amber fluid.
We had not noticed at first, in the dim
hight of the room, the figure Of woman, clad
in deep black and wearing q heavy veil
drawn over her face. She sat in dark cor
ner and seemed to shrink from observation.
But when TOMMY entered. after looking 70
his cattle, and had fortified his nerves with
four fingers Of the ''reglar thing" swallowed
without a nurnur, Alniry took him aside
and engaged him in earnest conversation,
and her gestures then, for the first time, di,
rccted our attention to the woman.
Cur halt was necessarily short, and we
were soon back in the coach; the mules had
been changed, and we were ready to start.
But Tommy fingered, and when at length be
appeared at The door, seemed in no hurry.
He stood there, slowly drawing on his gloves
and surveying the scene with a carelessly
critical eye and an expression OF countenance
that seemed TO indicate that, rs for him. if he
were to be given the chance, he would make
a good deal better world than this one-easy.
In his mouth was cigar, tipped mp at such
an angle that the glowing end nearly touched
She wide brim OF his sombrero The major,
irreveTciltly inspired, voiced the sentiments
Of the party when he remarked, in dyawi.
ing tone:
~ reckon that after bein' the Angel Ca
briel, for pure glory an SO forth, I'd rutheT
be driver to a coach than most anythin' r.
Just then there appeared in the doorway
the lady in black, to whom Thomas calamity
offered his arm, and thus escorted to the
coach. AS they approached, the colonel gave
a little groan. "Were goin' TO have lovely
woman along with u.s." he said, plaintively
CONSERVATION was depicted on each face
when the coach door was opened, and
Tommy, looking in, remarked authorita-
lively: "Sorry, gentlemen, but shall hev to
trouble you. Here's lady goin' to Lead
vile, an she's goin' inside. Jump in,
marm" and in the young woman jumped
with remarkable hghtnesS, and took the
vacant seat in the forward corner
''Cunnel, you'll look after her, " said Tommy
at the door; ''she's in my charge. Wilder
of Smith, she is; him that was killed down to
the Walker mine last month, but she don't
savy word of English, bein' French. You
know'd Smith, didn't ye, cunnelP
Eyes, 1 knowd him well enough, but I
pever know'd he had n wilder I'll look after
her-in English" growled the colonel, and
the door slammed and the stage rolled ahead.
As we pulled out the clouds parted for an
instant, and a bright ray of sunlight bit up
the coach, striking full upon the dark veil Of
our new companion. 1t made briefly visible
the outlines of her face and those of as who
were fortunate enough to catch glimpse of
st were convinced that the lady had great
beauty. Indeed, the judge, who had happy
facility of expression, acquired from a long
though not lucrative practice at the bar
leaned over to the doctor and whispered in
tones of fervent admfration:
''She's as pretty as Cle-op-e-try, by Jove!"
to which the doctor responded with an as
senting nod of much vigor.
Nowhere in the world rs a lady more Ger
tain of respectful consideration than in the
wild west. She is invariably treated with q
chivalrous gallantry that is really magnifi-
cent; men hasten to do her homage and are
proud to be commanded by her. Still, the
presence of Mrs Smith In the coach acted on
the party as a little restraint, which the
sldge and the colonel vainly endeavored to
dispel
Fond Of travelin', ma'amfn said the latter,
in his best offhand style, as he leaned toward
her and smiled handsomely. The lady made
no reply, and the judge knocked the colonel's
elbow
she understands you, when it's as much IS 1
can do to untangle your ideas from your
words. She speaks FrenchT'
The colonel accepted the rebuke meekly,
and made no further conversational effort.
The road became more ard more difficult aS
We advanced, and %he fresh mules were an
ruly and drove very hard. Several times, in
bad places, they had baked, and the coach
had swung around in a way that would have
upset a lighter vehicle, yet no exclamation
Of alarm escaped from the lady, who sat mo-
tionless in her corner.
''Turrible bad place to be held up Tong
here" said the major, after an unusually
hong silence, during which the coach had
slowly pounded over a huge rock and then
off with an unpleasant scrunch. Il should
hate to be stopped here, for 1 have a matter
Of 81, 200 about me, which | don't care to
lose. OF course, we're all friends herei" he
hastily asked.
We were, and then Il came out that each
man was carrying various sums of money,
ranging from 500 to 81 900, the last amount
being the property Of the colonel, who de-
Bcribed accurately how he had concealed it
IN package, sewed in his clothing next to
dishonest persons.
Il reckon it'll take pretty smart chap to
find that" he remarked complacently, as he
slapped his hand on the spot where the treas
IRE was concealed We could not deny this,
and murmurs of admiration were heard at
lis SbrewdneSs- At this tiGle-in fact, since
We left Sampson's-the mysterious Mrs
Smith had not moved or changed her posi-
ton. She still kept her veil down, and in tho
slowly waning light her black dress seemed
10 emphasize the shadows in the coach
Judge said the ma or at length, 81: must
be lonesome for her. You're oonsidable OF q
in.,oist, couldn't you give her little touch
=, Ala native inst II, ma I1arlitAr,