Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1891-10-31
A NIGHTS LODGINGS.


could not have told how she came in that
snuous, serpent line, creeping through the
driving storm TO a reptiles sheltering stone.
When she started she didn't know she would
fall in a company like this.
No matter. Who wns she, ANYWAY
Only "A moving vertebra in the disorderly
column dragging its wretched length 10 Oak
street station house An ugly beldarne
nudged her. with leering glance
what you goin' this way for, We goosel
Better lodgin's for face like yours, girl
She shrank a little, dsawing her head
covering more closely over her face. The
pelting storm was excuse enough for that.
There was kind of protection in the old
home shawl that she would not have ex-
changed for the smart hat which went for
last nights lodgings In view OF the
tattered, .awdry fnery Of some Of her COM
panions, she was not sorry that the cocks
plumes from tho old farmyard were not
dropping over her disgrace.
What blearee, british wrecks Of humanity
were these ON either side Of the wayl Better
10 have found bed In the river--in the river
alone. But, then, there would have been the
terrors OF the Judgment after such a watery
sleep. She remembered still, with shudder,
the picture painted ON her childish imagina-
ton of the dreadful day OF Judgment.
Yet, oh, heaycni how like the damned
these creatures looked but there was no
smell Of fire and birthstone like that which
Parson Adams had blown from his warning
trumpet in the village church at home.
At the gate she glanced up at the long limo
OF men filing in--blear eyed, vicious looking.
yet not, after all, 40 rcpellent as the women.
She even marked one, with face close mufiied
from the storm like her own, who bore an air
OF rough responsibility. To her benuml,ed
fancy-though she could have given express
sion to no conscious thought of this kind-he
was like one of the dead russell leaves that
she had seen driven ON the wild winter wind.
But the press of the crowd bore her within
the station, and, sinking in dark corner,
she waited stolidly the disposition TO he made
of her by the authorities in charge
Groans, laments, profane and vulgar ejacu-
lations smote her dull ears, but she had
thought of little beyond her own misery
g Evenin', miss. Seen ye when We was
comm in. an I've got leaf to speak 10 ven
The voice was hoarse and grufr as with
cold, and she did not SEQ the speaker clearly
in her dim corner, but she thought this the
man she had noticed at the gate.
'Somehow Z seems & me yer in the wrong
place. 'Tain't no nights lodgin' fer a likely
| young gal sech as | take you TO be. What
dye come here fer r.
Because She turned away from the
intruder as II she would have dismissed him,
"Hey r be insisted.
| Because ! amt got nowhere else to gov
| "Gol Well-well-nor nuther, - was the
cheering response. "But yew-why, yew
hadn't orto be comm to sech place IS this
Why don't ye try q git In the country wher,
folks 5 respectablef Nothin' but wick'dnis,
in this dretful tnrrybul bad city. cam,
here tother day arter my dArter--yew max,
me think ON her, some way 'nother--an'
run a-foul of n blasted pickpocket the yer,
fust thing, an he took every blest cent had
luther wallet an all tore round like mat
when foun' t out, an knocked down tn.
Teller that reckoned tux it-knOckei hIn
hard, tool But 'twan't him tail, an eot
rested for Whence an marched Off down her,
an tried fer reg Ter salt an battry. an wa
east int jail-me, deacon Of the church Ii
Mapletaown an rcspect'ble, likely man til
come daown to this dumb heather city an
got robbed an cast int Jail, instid % IN,
| thief that's prancin' round soners hayin /
good time with my money"
The deacon stamped his heavy foot npa,
the floor with a religious zeal that woul,
have sunk the modern Gomorrah, had In,
fire of his wrath Possessed u sufficient,
! consuming power.
'sWhsn sarved out my ten ,lays.r he n,
suned, Il looked ten yecr ol,ler; bnt rs L,
| got kind o quainted with the place com,
back to sleep nights while I'm kind o pickin
| up odd jobs 10 arm some money 10 git bacl
hum agin. This ere snow II make a powe
o. shovelin' / du. Its N III wind I don't blow
nobody emmy good"
''And-and your girlr suggested his list
ener, in hreathless way.
i .'Oa, that's the worst ON I" was tho de
spairing response; Il dunno nothin what I,
do. fe see, feel jist like tellin We bout i
some way II may lie a Kind o. warnin' {,
We. Sary Lizy-thats my darter-was bon
as sweet, purity gal as yo often see. Sin
was jist tn apple o my eve since her ma died
an we KEEP haouse together all hunkadory
with John sampson a comin' in. ever,
evenin' putty nigh, TO talk over the news
John--f don't mind tellin' ye-was Sar,
Lizys beau ever sence they was TO,
and gal, an d sort o growed up witt
tn understanding that they'd lie man i
wife arter while. But bout this time Their
come TO taown a dashin' kind o feller-no
body knowed who he was-but he he'd thing
| L sell raound & the stores, and Sary Lily, SIN
| happened to meet him L her Cousin Hiram
who's storekecper in Mapletaown-an h
TUX arter her like "A houn' arter hare, an
she iist let him declare, the cretur acta,
jest as IF size was bewitchcd an hadn't II,
sense nur reason. IL made me niad Tn
fust sharp words ever spoke & Sary Lazy
spoke then. But 'twa'nt no aTthly use. Tin
Teller hung raound, an hung raound, al
went way, an come back agin, an she man
aged L ssse him n spite o me. As fer John
she'd treated him 81 shameful he Didn't com
nigh her more. At last ! RELY thought ia
rascal ii gone way fur good n all, but fIst
knew one mornin' Sary Lizy Ind Hoped of
with him Declare fort Z most broke IN,
heart. Idunno but in my unsettled state {
mind | might a TUX up with til Widde
Jones who come in t look arter the haouse
but couldn't forget Mellissy-M elhSsys m,
dear dead wife, ye know
The speaker paused 10 blow his nose.
80 got along II good spell th'out hearir
from Sary Lazy. But finely there come
| letter from Cousin Mi;andy, Ia Jersey, sayii
as howt she'd got line from Sary Lily il
New York, a-askin' her 20 send jest none.
nuff 10 get Sary LILY To her haouse, whcr
she'd work her fingers Z the bones TO pay II
Said she was all lone N great city, i
didn't know what c do, but she'd ruther di
than write 10 pa, an wouldn't Cousin Nj
randy Jest help her q git away from the city
an she'd try 10 git good enough t go back
i Maplcteown some day. But Cousin Mirand.
said there want no street nor number II
Sary Lizy's letter an she didn't know 'bou
sendin' money loose 10 great city like New
York, 50 she thought she'd jest let me know
bout IL. Gracious goodness to think til,
| child should ha' been 'frald 70 write to hel