The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-07-15

D2-NAe0>N 'h0 000p oy AhpathJ VI uA WIN
saw her.
ALI but one-Bradford, the gentle
man gambler" whose dark eyes and
long black mustache had dawned upon
the camp few months before, wore n
scowl as he got up from the late break
fast table. He had eaten slowly, if in
deed he had eaten anything at ALL The
miners had breakfasted long before.
Only few business men, gamblers and
idlers were at the table, and one by one
they finished their meal and departed,
until only he and the widow remained.
As he passed her chair on his way out
he stopped and hurriedly whispered:
Fool, what are you doing with that
dress on? Were you supposed to know
that you were widow when you start
ed? And if not, how the devil do you
expect to account for that dress between
last night and this morning. Then,
with a suppressed oath, he strobe angrily
out from the room.
The widow looked frightened. She
hastily arose and went to her ROOM
The landlord out on the porch was
talking to Jerry and obviously shaking
his head. Now, where in blixen did
she git them duds?' he said in a manner
that impressed Jerry most painfully.
The latter slowly worked his jaws. ex-
pectorating in gloomy silence. AT last:
Fac is" he replied, ''these here women
is stonishin. Me an you don't know no
moro bout 'em than they do of tunls,
drifts and WINES. I reckon that big
trunk of hern was full of clo'es, an she
come pervided fer ever contingency. OF
course, she couldn't "a knowcd as how
Lowry had dunked till told 'er, an she
did carry on amazin. l tell you
That mourning costume was the seed
from which sprang curiosity, doubt and
finally suspicion. Mrs. Lowry took pos
session Of the little cabin in which her
husband had lived, and there she slept
and did her own cooking. She seldom
showed herself except to attend to bust
ness in connection with the sale of the
mine, IL transaction which she showed a
feverish anxiety to close. But she was
at all times gracious and pleasant to the
men, and half the camp were madly in
love with her. Independently of the
mine, which was worth a cool 800 900
if cent, and which Lowry had for
tunately located in her name, she could
have married any one of the magnates
of the camp offhand within two days
after her arrival. if she had been so dis
posed.
Jerry. whom she selected as her right
hand man, was alternately exultant and
depressed. He became her slave and
would have jumped down the deepest
shaft on the mountainside if she had
asked him to, and yet he was much OF
the time troubled and perplcxcd. Grad
ually he became imbued with the idea
that he had seen Mrs. Lowry before, but
where or when he vainly cudgelcd his
brain TO remember. And so he went
about, doing her bidding, feeling amply
rewarded by the smiles she showercd
upon him, her light, testing talk, of
which he only was the recipient, and her
friendly, familiar ways, that We're kept
for him alone. But with his companions
he had become moody, taciturn, even ir-
ritable. He drank his whisky in silence,
drank often and deeply He neglected
his claim and spent half his time knock
ing around Jims cabin. choring for the
widow. running errands and negotiating
with Tom Carroll, the wealthiest mine
owner i'll all that region, for Mrs. Low
rvs mine.
From IN offer of $50 900 Carroll finally
rose to $4,000, and there he stuck.
Its like stealth it, an you know it,
durn you!" exclaimed Jerry wrathfully.
Its all can stand" was the bland
reply. eff the widow can get more, all
right. l shan't bcgrudge her the money"
And Carroll turned away
The widow WAS eager to accept the
amount offered.
''An throw away $50, 00O.' growled
Jerry. Its IL FORUM in itself You can
git what the mines worth if you don't
rush SO blame fas'. Yer got all summer
before you. Ketch me lcttin that swim
din Carroll get away with the mine like
that! It's worse'n stage Robin"
But the widow was obdurate. She
must return east; She needed money at
once; she had left dear sister almost OH
her deathbed; she couldn't manage the
mine if she kept it, and if Carroll should
change his mind she would not probably
be able TO sell it at ala dozen other
reasons that came promptly and plau-
sibly from her persuasive lips.
And so, exactly one week from the
day of her arrival, the bargain was con-
cludcd. The next day the papers were
TO be prepared and the transfer duly
made, and the following day Mrs. Lowry
was to start on her return trip east.
Jerry was i'll an ugly mood that even
ing, and even his most intimate compan-
ions let him severely alone For three
hours he sat at poker game, and during
all that time he did not utter a word ex-
ccpt to sullcnly name his bets. cali for