The state herald. (Holyoke, Logan County, Colo.) 1887-1921, 1893-07-28

big trunk Of hern was full Of clo'es an
she came provided for ever contin.
gency. OF course, she couldn't
knowed as how, Lowry had aunked
till I teld 'sr; I'M she did carry Oh
amazin', tell you. -,
That mourning costume was the seed
from which sprang curiosity, doubt,
and finally suspicion. Mrs. Lowry
took possession Of the little cabin in
which her husband lived, and there
she slept and did her own cooking.
She seldom showed herself except to
attend to business in connection with
the sale Of the mine, transaction that
she showed feverish anxiety to close.
But she was ut all times gracious and
pleasant to the men, and half the
camp were madly in love with her. In
dependently Of the mine, which was
worth d cool hundred thousand II \
cent, and which Bwry had fbrtui
nately located in her name, she could
have married any one OF the magnates
of the camp otfhand within two days
after her arrival II she had been SO dis
posed.
Jerry, whom She had selected us her
right hand man, was alternately exul-
LuHb anu uCpEgb6Cus IIc DSChiho ACA
slave, and would have jumped down
II she had asked him to; and yet he
was much of the time troubled and
perplexed. Gradually he became i'm
bued with the idea that he had seen
Mrs. Lowry before, but where or when
he vainly cudgeled his brain to remem-
Der. And SO he went about, doing her
bidding, feeling amply rewarded by
the smiles she showered Upon him, her
light, TESTING talk, OF which he only
was the recipient, ind her friendly,
familiar ways; that were kept for him
alone. But with his companions he
became moody, taciturti, even irritable.
He drank his whisky In silence, drank
often md deeply. He neglected his
claim. and spent half his time knock
ing around Jim's cabin, ehoring for
tho widow, running errands and nego-
tiating with Tom Carroll, the wealth.
lest mine owner in all that region, for
Mrs. Lowry's mine,
From an offer OF $4,000 Carroll
finally rose to $4,000, and there he
stuck.
'It's like stealin' 1t, m you know II,
durn you'll" exclaimed Jerry wrath
fully.
"its all can stand" was the bland
reply. "If tho widow can get more,
all right; l shan begrudge her the
money" And Carroll turned away.
The widow was eager to accept the
amount offered.
"An' throw away $4,000" growlcd
Jerry. ''It's q fortune in itself. You
can git what the mines worth II you
don't rush SO blame fast. You got all
summer before you. Ketcli me lettin
that swindlin' Carroll get away with
the mine like that; it's worse'n stage
robbin'lr
but the widow was obdurate. She
must return East; she needed money
ut once; she had left dear sister
almost on her deathbed: she couldn't
manage the mine IL she kept It; and II
Carroll should change his mind she
would not be able to sell IL ut ala
dozen other reasons that came prompt
ly and plausibly from her persuasive
lips.
And so, exactly one week from the
day of her arrival, the bargain was
concluded. The next day tho papers
were to be prepared and the transfer
duly made, and the following day
Mrs. Lowry was to start on her re-
turn trip East.
Jerry was in an ugly mood that
evening, and even his most intimate
companions let him severely alone.
For three hours he sat at poker
game, and during all that time did
not utter word, except to snllcnly
name his bets, call for his cards and
demand his drinks. lie drank
heavily and lost heavily MS he
drank. In the subsequent cy-
prcssivc language of the barkecper.
Jerry played the rottenes' game that
ever disgraccd the house. He's worse
than down on his luck; since the widow
come he's got to be u blinhin', blasted
ijct. He ought to swallcr few ounces
% "itro-aiyaerina an then set down
hard on rock; IL might knock some
sense into him."
When Jerry. his last dollar gone,
arose from the gaming table. he
stallsed straight out into the night.
The stars were shining large and
luminous In that clear mountain Mt.
mosphcrc, the mir was cool and sweet,
and high up on the mountain side the
tall pines were peacefully dreaming in
the shadows. But the glorics of the
night had no attractions for Jerry. His
mind dwelt solely upon the widow, md
irrcsistibly his feet turned up the mar
row trail that led TO her cabin.
The fascination that Mrs. Lowry had
exercised upon Jerry, and all In the
short space OF one week, was u thing
that he could not comprehend. Her
beauty, her magnetism. the scent oi
her clothing. the familiar and conf
dental tone OF voice with which she
i s.,. ...,.. a n a 1t all L.l
spired to infatuntc him completely.
For the last three days he
had gone about under spell; had
he been hypnotizcd he could not have
been more completely subject to her
influence. The thought OF her going
away was to him something Worse
than death. The camp, the mine, the
blue sky above him, nil his surround
ings. Ind merged themselves into that
one woman. and with her exit they
would melt away and leave him the
center of black and dismal void.
Such was his feeling: and. being by
nature unintclligcnt and coarse, II
served only 10 madden and bruialize
MIN. II was short time In which u
be metnmorphoscd from n freeman
into slave, from thonghtless, con.
tented, Woodworking, doyil'may'care
miner into n worrying. surly. miser'
able do.nothing, who could sec nothing
In the world but one woman, and In
whose mind was room but for single
thought tiat he was about To lose
her. hut men OF intelligence. refine.
mont and wide experience with women
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