San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-03-19

and gulches were covered under a foot or
more Of snow that only the suns of the COM
ing June would melt.
The men could do little prospecting, and
nothing toward developing the claims they
had stakel ovt during the summer They
spent most of their time in hunting and visit
ing the adjoining camps, none of which were
more prosperous than Camp Paradise. The
men were idle in all of them, and the natural
consequence was that they spent much Of
their time in gambling and drinking and il
the carousals common to mining camps
1t was stormy night in December that all
the men in Camp Paradise sat around the
great fire of pine knots in the broad fireplace
at one end Of the cabin.
Old Mrs. Dill had gone to her little room at
the end of the cabin, and the men were en-
joying the rollicking songs Nost miners know.
Some Of them were playing poker, an up
turned barrel serving for a table. The wind
blew cold and fierce, and fine, hard dashes of
snow beat against the little windows on either
side the door.
AS early as o'clock some of the men began
to talk about turning in" for the night.
Several Of them were shaking up the blankets
and skins ON their rude hunks when. without
knock or other sound, the door opened sud-
denly and a man came in. The men around
the fireplace turned their faces quickly to-
wards the visitor, and one of them said:
well, Jack Downey, what in thunder
brings you clean from down in Camp Fair
view away up to old Prosperity on such a
night as thisi Come tn the fire an thaw out,
man, an give an account o yerself."
The man, tall and sallow and grizzled.
laughed grimly as he came forward.
Come to invite you to a little party down
to Fairview-Jed Judson's deadl"
"Naw"
jed Judsonr'
eye don't mean it2"
"WhatN
"Jed-Judson-deadF'
The speakers all spoke at once, the poker
rose hastily to their feet
whatever aided jed"
"What aided himg" repeated the man from
Camp Fairview; he was well an hearty as
you and be three hours ago, when an orn'
cry cuss from Poverty Gulch that Jed caught
cheatin' at cards, and told him of it, put a
bullet in fm-that's what aided Jed"
"An We hung the Teller that did it?' asked
81 Sharpe.
1--WE amt yit, but we callate on dom it
fore mornin', and that's the party come up
to give you a bid to. Thought ye'd feel
sighted if none O. you got pull at the rope
that'l swing the chap that killed Jed-a
whittier man n Jed never drawed the breath
o. life"
Eyer right thar" said 81 Sharpe heartily;
IAN it'll do me good to git a pull at that
rope when you git the Teller that shot Jed to
the other end of it. Who is he, anyhow"
Don't know They don't none O. the boys
know, an he won't tell whar he come from
nor who he is, but we all know whar he's
gOin' to, an that mighty burned quick, too.
He is youngish sort of chap, not more'n
30, with three fingers off'n one hand an
scar over his left eye. We reckon his names
Hobbs-Henry Hobbs-anyhow he's got
ring on with that name on it, an that's the
name on some letters we TUX from i'm, an
also on big, old fashioned silver watch he's
got How many of you goin' down to the
hangn' with me' It'll come off at midnight"
Nearly every man in the cabin rose to his
feet, and while all were pulling on hats and
coats the door of old Mrs. Dill's room sud
denly opened and Mrs. Dill herself, CHASTITY
and trembling, with her thin gray hair fall
ing to her bony shoulders, walked swiftly
across the room, locked the door and stood
with her back to it, her bleared eyes dim
with tears and her shriveled lips trembling.
Boys" she said, in her shrill, cracked
voice, rye amt goin' down to Camp Fair
view to hang that feller-I tell ye, We ANTI
Ye shan'tl" She drew an old pistol Srom
beneath her apron as she spoke and held it
aloft with a tresabling bony arm and
wrinkled fingers I'm shoot the first Teller
that tries to go out this door. I'll do it,
PIP Her head dropped suddenly to her
breast, her arm fell to her side and the pistol
to the floor She put both of her bony hands
to her face and sobbed aloud With her
head still bent low, she said:
Boys, lookee here. Some Of you hev
knowed me fer twenty year. an ye knowed
my man that's dead an gone. There's men
in this cabin that I've fed an keered for
when Shey was homeless an sick. In all the
twenty-nine year that old Mis- Dill has lived
in the mountings the latch string O. her cabins
hung out free to all Nobody want ever
turned away, as some of ye mighty well
know. I've gin favors wherever could,
an amt never ssked none back. I've had
my trials an tribbylations-God knows /