The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1892-04-16

AVN "lilOIlS ~ uOLcIl. i llk6u
the shape of his chest and shoulders;
l liked the look Of his face: 1 see that
though he was outer luck, he was a
gentleman every inch of him; and
l tell you, MISS" he said,
addressing Miss Lascelles, "that
though [ amt no gentleman myself, ]
back blood and breedin' agin' all
creation. A man like Gentleman
Thorne, who has been KEEP clean in
his infancy, fed wholesome, trained up
in a public school, and been learnt to
respect hisself and God Almighty, has
better temper, more endurance, more
pluck aud fightin' power to overcome
and win. than a dozen of the muckers
that bounce about bein' workin' men.
He paused a moment to let his words
make due impression, and then con-
tinued, "Gentleman Thorne had
no experience, but he had a hundred
pound to put into the concern, and
that fetched Israel jest as much as
his looks fetched me Israel
had three hundred. l he'd moth.
ng in the shape of dollars, but
[ threw in the Kid, which, being a
female, was calc'lated to be useful un-
ter us in the nat'ral order of things.
What we he'd we lumpt in, and by
written agreement drawed up mutual.
we undertook to play it out to the
bottom dollar and the pint of starva-
ton. We worked, sir, through thick
and thin, through the measliest streak
OF luck mortal man ever struck.
"Israel was the first to funk it. MY
calculations are wrong; it's a hopeless
venture, let us chuck it," he says; to
which Gentleman Thorne replies,-
No. he says, we'll stick to our colors
and fight it out, says he; end he did
his level best to cheer us on. You
should have heered him there a. whist-
lin like q black-bud, singin' songs,
DRAWN us out of ourselves, and
maxim a pleasant joke out OF our bad
luck. Asst the Kid down there who
was her best friend in that trouble.
She'll tell you it was Gentleman
Thorne, not her father. She had a
bit OF a fever,-it was him made up a
bed for her, built a screen to keep the
sun off, walked fifteen mile in the night
to get things from the store, set up
night after night to give her water,
end used for to sing out about the
sleepin' beauty and Cineralla, while
he was peggin away at the burned
stones. I will allow, miss, l were
ashamed to let him see I was loosin'
heart; and, when felt like blasphemin'
at things in genial, | used to take e.
short walk and let off all my swearin'
where he couldn't hear me; we'll, it did
look as ef We hadhooked onto the ever
lastin' fishkittle. Then Israel funked
it a second time. We hev still a few
pounds LETT he says to Gentleman
1horne, let's throw up the cards.
which they might hev done without
going from written word, they
two formin' a majority. But Gentle
man Thorne wouldn't agree to it. 1t
wouldn't be fair to the Judge, he said.
and then he promised that if we failed
in the end he'd stick by Israel, and
keep him like his own flesh and blood
until he found the means of keeping
hisself, which was more than I'd hev
promised him, l will allow. Well, we
played on till the last cent was spent
in stores, and the stores had got
down to a hal! a tin of beef and a
screw of shag, and then l lighted
on a two-carat stone. The very next
day Gentleman Thorne found the
Great Hesper. We couldn't allow it
was real, yet we sorterthoughtit a
Anyhow, we didn't sleep till we got to
Natal and had it tested. We sold the
hitler stone, and scraped enough to-
gether to pay Il passage to South
hampton by the next boat. In COM
mittee we agreed to go to a bank and
raise money on the diamond as soon's
we landed; but no one wouldn't take
us on, end. if the police hadn't put us
on this track, Pm burned if [ know
what particular ole we should hev
been stickin' in at the present mo-
ment."
During this recital, which l have alb
breviated considerably, Van Hoeck,
who despised the Judge, and abomina-
ted all he said, sat with his eyes close
ly shut his nostrils 'pinched, and his
black brows creased together so that
they almost met. Miss Lascelles list
ened with intense interest, her pretty
lips just parted, and l thought she
looked more kindly upon me for the
glowing eulogium-of which l have
omitted a great part--paid to me by
Brace.
The Kid changed her position, SEEM
ing to catchsome other fathers enthu-
siasm, and; sitting upon her heels with
her hands clasped before her, turned her
flashing eyes sometimes upon me, but
more often upon Miss Lascelles, as If
to catch the effect of this narrative.
Zone thing is obvious" said Sir
Edmund, cheerfully; .you won't want
to leave me tonight"
'Neery one on us. sir, you bet" re-
piled the Judge, while Van Hoeck and
l expressed the same sentiment in
other words.
The baronet spoke in a low tone to
his daughter, who rose and left the
room. n
1.-THE next thing to consider u.s." he
then said, chow can l be of service to
you in this affair. To purchase your
is of course altogether out of
the question. But / should like to
buy a small-a very, very small
share in it, paying down a certain
sum for your present convenience, and
taking it back when the diamond is
ultimately disposed OF, with a reason
able percentage upon the outlay. !
make this suggestion as a matter OF
business, that you mayfeel yourselves
free from any restraint in accepting
my offer"
it took us but a few moments to
agree to this proposal.
IT