Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1891-05-02
were nibbling the grass near

by.
Other vehicles consisted merely Of
heavy running gear, on which lay loads
Of the barked trunks Of tall, straight
trees ready to be set up, and still others
were freighted with wire and the appli-
ances for stretching it from pole to pole.
Two tents Of the army pattern had been
pitched where big, old tree overhung
them and close to brook which seemed
10 be constantly washing itself, SO clean
did the water look, with its underlay Of
white pebbles and its borderings Of very
green grass. A roof Of canvas was over
a long table Of adjustable boards, on
which tin plates and cups were ready
for the meal which two men were cook
ing at portable stove. Some tethered
cows and sheep and stock Of canned
eatables in n box wagon showed how lit
tie dependence for food was placed on
the route This movable encampment
had been located for the night, and the
sun had already sunk into the distant
edge of rank grass. Not sign Of culti-
vation or permanent habitation was in
sight, and the unfenced roadway was no
more than wide abrasion in the prairie,
where the "boomers" had dragged their
way toward the land of vague promise.
This was the nineteenth nightly place of
stop, and therefore was called Camp
Nineteen. The last one had been named
Eighteen and the next would be Camp
Twenty.
Half hundred men were erecting
poles short distance further along, but
the wire had not been carried beyond
the spot where the night camp was
fixed, and there the only person besides
the busy cooks Immediately discernible
when the pedestrians arrived was a
young man busy at a telegraphic instru-
ment. A tripod made the legs Of aSmall
table, and on it was the apparatus for
sending and receiving messages over the
wire, which was brought down from the
last pole to which it had been adjusted.
The operator s name was William Brown,
and it goes far toward describing him to
tell that in the rough and impolite COM
pany of telegraph constructors he was
called Will Brown and not Bill Brown.
No doubt some of this consideration on
the part of men given to hard nicknam-
ing was due to young Brown being the
electrician of the expedition, and there
fore scientific mystery to most Of them;
but more than that. his unvarying
suavity of manner, modesty of speech
and careful retention of eastern deport-
ment characterized him so markedly as
to make bill" q misnomer and "Will"
appropriate.
"Look, dad, the dusty girl whispered
to her companion as her eyes fell on
viii Brown; 1--WE haven't seen thing
like that since we quit railroad tracks
and took to footprints. Isn't he prettyY'
He glads my eyes, daughter - he
glads my very gaze" the man returned,
eying the busy operator, who had not
yet seen them"
The cause Of the weary travellers glad
ness was understood by the girl when
she saw him advance with an enlivened
stride, and heard him say briskly: "Ah,
q telegraph station, eh? That is fortu-
nate. Is this money order Office, my
young friend? / would like to send
message to Fort Smith at once for q
transfer of funds"
Will Brown Strengthened from his bent
posture over the instrument, looked at the
exaggerated dignity of the inquirer with
a twinkle of merriment in his honest
blue eyes, and urbanely replied: "This
isn't money order station; it isn't any
sort of station; it's just the temporary
end of the line and doesn't take any bust
ness"
"Oh, don't say that-pray don't say
that" and the disappointment of the ap-
plicant looked like genuine anguish. IL
shall be distressed-we shall be dis
tressed-daughter and I-if we can't get
remittance by wire" Will Browns
eyes turned to the girl, and saw in her
face as woebegone an expression as she
could command without hurting her
prettiness. After pause, to let the
young man appreciate the comeliness Of
the maiden in spite of her bad attire,
the father continued: Eve have walked
six miles this afternoon and intended to
go as far as Wealth City"
wealth CityT came in a cultural
voice from the center Of clump Of low
bushes, and then red face, fringed
with whiskers from one side Of q straw
hat brim around to the other, and stub
bled over with an unshaven weeks
beard, lifted into view. What n
t-h-u-n-der's Wealth City," the grim
voice demanded, spelling out the first
syllable phonetically, with heavy en-
phasis on each letter and an equal stress
on the rest of the word.
The rise of this individual was so
much like that Of a jack-in-a-box carica-
ture that the girl exclaimed, like a sur
prised child, "Oh, that's funnyw and
one of her feet leaped clear of the ground
in little caper of merriment. The OBJ
ject of her glee displayed no resentment
He was aniably drunk and disposed to
crafty, with all particulars about him
self, the curiosity which he had aroused.
"My names Old Jugg Brown" he SEN
tentiously said, addressing himself di-
rectly to the girl, and speaking as hu-
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