The Portland daily press., 1892-01-05
FOR CHIQUITA'S SAKE.

Ned Herries, or, as his card read,
edward T. Herries, G. E." stood in
the doorway of the Rough Diamond and
looked gloomily forth at the rain as it fell
aslant the cactus growth and chapparal
on the red soil of the mesa.
From the saloon within came the rat
tie of dice, the chink of glass, the rattle
cs coin and the murmur of deep, hoarse
male voices. The Rough Diamond was
most lucrative and fourishing institu-
ton in the little railroad town of Pic
ture Canyon, on the line of the Union
Pacific.
1t was one of those places which, at
that time, sprang up in night and are
deserted in a day along the line of the
great road. Indeed, they followed the
track, and wherever track laying ended
temporarily there town was certain to
spring up almost as if by magic.
There were thousands of laborers, rail-
road men, engineers and spectators.
With them came peddlers, storekeepers,
and last, but not least, the great army
of gamblers and saloon keepers. Some
of these towns were located in advan-
tageous situations, and finally took on
solid growth and prospered. Others.
having nothing to justify their existence
save the presence of the army of railroad
employees, vanished utterly when that
army advanced farther and farther on
its mission of conquering space and time
and binding east and west together with
bands of steel.
Herries was attached to the engineer
corps of the road, and had been for some
time stationed at Picture Canyon, city
of some 5000 inhabitants, mostly males,
and which was nearly month old, so
antique indeed that an election for
mayor and common council was being
agitated by the more enterprising mem
bers of the community.
Harvard bred, delicately nurtured, &C
customed to all the refnements of life
which wealth guided by correct taste
may give in an old and settled COM
munity, the rude surroundings of his
present life had at first disheartened
Herries, but being at bottom a man Of
good sense and pluck and possessing a
splendid constitution, a magnificent BIZ
ceps, standing six feet and over in his
boots, the man who had been Yale's es-
special terror as fright tackle" and who
had filled the seat in the Varsity eight
with more than credit when the blue
crossed the line ahead Of the crimson
on Lake Quinsigamond, would hardly
finch at hardships which other men bore
without complaint, even if at times his
soul grew weary of oaths and liquor,
maddened men and brawls and bacon
and muddy coffee and bareback. In
deed he grew at last to like the wild
freedom of his life, as all men will do in
time, and he was fast taking on the ex-
terror of genuine frontiersman when
he
When he met Chiquita!
Chiquita was sprite. She was the
true daughter of rocky canyon and des-
ert mesa-a genuine child of the Sierras
and woman withal.
Her reputed father was an evil eyed
old Mexican named Ramon, ostensibly a
herder of other mems sheep, really a
gatherer of other mems coins.
Chiquita kept house for him in tum-
bled together .shack" on the outskirts
of the town, and here entertained her
fathers guests.
Poor little Chiquita!
She was brilliantly pretty, with the
rich rose red flushing her olive cheeks,
her white teeth flashing between
ripe, dewy, crimson lips, with glorious
brown eyes under heavy arching brows,
and shaded by such long curling lashes
as would make ones heart ache, espe-
cially the heart of frontiersman, in
whose life female beauty is rich and
rare event.
Many dollar had Chiquita's eyes and
lips brought to old Ramon's sheepskin
pouch-and still he was athirst for more
gold.
1t was of this Herries was thinking,
for he knew Chiquita, and it was this
which, thinking of it, drove him out of
the warm and coy barroom (the only
place where he could possibly stay, save
in his cold and cherries tent, and
forced him to cool his heated brow in
the cool, wet wind which blew from the
mouth of Picture Canyon.
He was reused by voice, a deep,
slow, rlainsman's voice, addressing him
''Pardner, you are good one for a
tenderfoot, leastways I've sorter tackled
to you sence seen the way you whup-
ped that ERE cowboy chump and belted
him with his own gun. Some tender
foots amt got no sand, but you have,
en- TIL not see you double teamed on eff
kin help it, sho's I'm fun Texas-which
I'm known as Black Waxy JIM"
"Why, what's the natter" broke in
Herries on Black Waxy's harangue, as
he turned and regarded closely the tall,
athletic figure of the man beside him.
The Texan jerked his thumb over his
shoulder in the direction of the barroom.
SIN thar" he said in a low tone, 81
hearn s0mathin-aho11t-ah vor1-au