The Hot Springs star. (Hot Spings [Hot Springs], Dakota [Dakota Territory, i.e. S.D.]) 1886-189?, 1889-10-18
A MlCROPH0NIC A

We had been eight days out from Am
sterdam, and there was every prospect
of eight more. We sat listlessly on the
starboard deck in our sea chairs, a
rather glum looking set. talking at in
tervals in a lazy, desultory way of any
triiing subject that came up. We
spoke of the fog, which had kept us
back the previous night. A small,
sharp-faced man of about As, who
usually kept very quiet, and from whom
no one had succeeded in obtaining any
bits of autobiography to amount to any
thing, suddenly spoke up, as if a new
and remarkable idea had just popped
into his head:
by the great Harry, couldn't Jim
Budgelow have taken in the shekels as
special fog watchman!"
We all started up interestedly at this
exclamation. There was silence for q
moment. Each one waited for some
n else to inquire into the special
qualifications of Jim Budgelow for the
position of special fog lookout. Finally
an ofc.hand old gentleman from Illinois
said:
SPerhaps you wouldn't mind telling
us something about Mr.. Budgelow, now
you've got u curiosity stirred up?"
mo! Idon't know that there's any
harm in giving a few facts about Jim, "
laid the little, sharp-faced man. "He
was q queer little fellow, Jim was" he
went on slowly, with an air which
showed that he was going over specific
examples of Jim's peculiarities in his
his own mind, though his statement
was general.
Il first met him a good many years
ago out at Pixies Peak. Hornetsville
was the name of the camp; gone now,
not q board left, though there must have
been q thousand people there then. We
called him Jim, the man with the mi
crophonic ear Jonny Whittle, who
hadn't been out of college long, cooked
up that name. You see, Jim's right
ear was q remarkable organ. It was
like q microscope which was fitted for
hearing instead Of seeing. See? That
man could hear q bat wink in the day
time. When Jim Budgelow took q
room at the hotel he could soon tell
whether he wa the only occupant of
the bed. All he had to do was to give
the thing a kick and put his ear to the
h~eadboard, and if there was any inhab-
itants present he could hear them
crawl.
.This faculty of Jim's was in some re-
spects 9 very amusing one, so usually
he wore Q plug in that ear to soften
things down. But the boys never knew
definitely when the plug was in, and
for this reason, I presume, Jim Bulge
lows character was the only one in
Hornetsville that hadn't been thor
oughly dissected. Nobody dared speak
disrespectfully of Jim. for fear he had
. bead on 'em with his right a
sOne time Jim did me q mighty good
turn, and If it hadn't been for that same
ear I wouldn't be here now. I'd been
of prospecting up among the mountains
for . couple of days with my partner,
Jack Grodale. We thought we'd struck
something; signs we're good, at least.
But the thing never PANIED ont much,
though that's neither here nor there.
As I wss ssying. we thought We could
make il pay. So I left Jack and went
back to Hornetsville for provisions. I
had turned out of the branch gully, in
which we'd been prospecting, and was
scrambling along the sides Of q big sort
Of caynon cut that lead down to the
valley in which the camp was situated.
The slope q pretty steep and slightly
bushed. had to make my way along
carefully, for below me the sides Of the
guleh formed . series Of natural ter.
races. and finally went straight down
to the little stream that splashed and
fixed and chuckied along the bottom.
All Of . sudden I heard noise like
thvndsr. Il VA the middle ofthe fore.
n6on. and the sun Wa shining brightly.
The rear grow louder. In an instant Il
Aashsd upon mo; Il was alandslide. ]
dtdnt know what 10 do. I.couldnt tell
vhsthsr 70 50 forward OK backward. ]
- psstty scssed 1aea ninnte. But n