The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-05-15

and then we got off and walked up a
hill. A nSetty little house stood ur
above the street and we went up. fol
that was where Jim lived. The house
was fixed up in great shape, and as Bill
and me stood there kind of awkward
the curtains were showed aside and a
young lady came in. She stood for a
second, and Jim just said my wife.
when she stepped forward with the
sweetest kind of a smile and taking my
pard's hand and says:
"'This is Big Bill, know. and Jake. I
am glad to see you
Bill just looked all broke up for min
ute and then he turned to Jim:
NO wonder you married, Jim, says
he.
''Jim and his wife just laughed, and
while they were enjoying themselves a
little child came into the room and ran
up to his father, and he took him up in
his arms and kissed him and then set
him down on the floor. and he ran over
to where Bill was sitting in one OF those
big chairs and climbed up in his lap, and
Bill held him like he was glass, and he
was pleased if he did feel foolish, and
the kid ran his little hands through the
big mans beard and long hair, and
seemed to enjoy it immensely, and pretty
soon Bill turns to Jim and says he:
You had better take this, Jim. /
amt used to handling such lambs
Jim reached out for the child, but he
chung close to Bill. A flush Of pride
comes into my pard's face, and he looked
up and said:
"'What's the kids name, Jim?
But before Jim could answer the boy
said 'BilP just as plain, and the big fell
low looked up first at Mrs. Jim and then
at her husband and he read the answer
in their faces, and then he pressed the
child close to his bosom, and two big
tears came into his eyes and fell on his
cheeks We felt at home right away,
and that afternoon Jim got carriage
and drove US all over the city and out to
the fort. Bill looked awful happy sit
ting on the back seat with Mrs. Jim, and
the kid and Mrs. Jim laughing softly
and talking merrily while her husband
and Bill spoke Of when Jim was up here
in the hills. We staid there for three
days, and Jim just showed US all the big
buildings and took US up to one Of those
swell clubs and introduced us around
as though we were millionaires instead
of poor sheep herders, and reporter
gave Bill great write up too.
"About month after we were down in
Omaha we saw a man from the ranch
riding up, and SO we went over to see what
was the matter, for it was on Thursday
and we thought something was up. He
had letter with black margin from
Bill and he tore it open and it was from
Mrs. Jim, saying that Jim had been taken
suddenly sick and had died. Well, sir,
Bill just took the letter in his hand and
turned around like one that's paralyzed
and he walked straight over yonder
under that pine tree where he and Jim
had laid SO often and threw himself
down on the ground. looked after the
sheep and at shutdown / drove them all
up here into the corral and then Shep and
me went over, and the dog, when he saw
Bill lying fat On the ground with his
face in his arms, gave one long and
agonizing howl and began licking Bills
face and Bill reached up and pulls Shep
right down by him and said awful soft
like:
"'Your hearts broken, too, amt it,
Shep?
HE lay there for a long while, and the
LII. Al.
clouds and bathed the hills and the val
leys with the soft light, and it fell upon
Big Bill, lying with his head on the dog
and sobbing to himself. 1t was almost
and the moonlight had died
away, and the eastern heavens We're |
tinged by the light of the rising sun and
a soft wind stirred the willows there by |
the brook, and murmured through the
pines, when he arose and come over here |
to the cabin. was so dead tired that | |
mad slept all night, and when he opened |
the door was just getting up.
Jake he said, 4 have got to go
Down to Omaha
Because he said, you know Jim
was pretty extravagant and he didn't |
get much of salary, and l wouldn't be
if his wife and the kid was
pretty hard pressed. l must go down
and look after them, for | know Jim
would like to have me do so.
81 saw there wasn't any use of talking,
and so he shook hands with me and
started out over the hills for the ranch.
He drew all the money coming to him,
md didn't see or hear anything from
him until along toward the close Of the
when one evening, az Shep and
NE were sitting out here, and 1 was
a-pufing my pipe, heard step, and
looking up, saw Big Bill.
Il didn't know him at first. He had on
store clothes. His hair was short and
ne only wore a nustache. He looked
ike a corpse. His cheeks and eyes were
'Unken, and he had cough that panied
lIm terribly. He had walked all the
way up from Laramie, and as he was
pretty well pegged out l didn't say
much TO him, but just got him some
hing TO eat and put him to bed. He
lsed to sleep like an OK, but all night
ne was restless, and pitching backward
and forward on the bed. Next day he
old me that when he got in Omaha he
went up and saw Mrs Jim and the kid
md that she was all broke up. You see
lin had spent money pretty freely and
when his debts was paid she didn't have
| cent, and Bill told her that Jim had
ent him a lot Of money, which, of course,
vas not so, and that 10 would pay it
Jack now. Youaee, if Bill had offered
o have helped Ger she wouldn't have