The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1893-04-20

+ crackers - canyasback ham. Were
+ out OF whisky. but there's !ois of beer in
I camp Yet. Come in, stranger. while we
+ tie your hoss."
+ This Proceeding, however. the stranger
. directed aud assisted in explaining that
+ he feared lest impractical hands might
+ cause the loss of precious gas. He then
entered the binding. 4 one story struc-
+ ture, with a very wide doorway, where
( the faro table, In full view Of the street,
/ occupied the central space, with many
/ stools aud narrow chairs scattered about.
+ The lean boy who had first espied the
balloon had been dispatched to procure
I the guest some lunch, ANA he made such
/ haste that he returned with it by the
+ time the stranger had seated himself.
/ Surrounded by the crowd OF rough, long
haired and bearded men he presented a
+ striking contrast to them in his neat at
+ tire. Had he walked into Evans Gulch
/ iii Il Norfolk jacket, knee breeches and
! a cork helmet it is highly probable that
he would have met with far different
I reception and been treated with the
] scorn and contempt of the entire popu-
! lace in their own wild western way
/ But his attire was BETTING his advent,
/ the first Of the kind that the Gulch had
/ been treated to, and the Guichers saw
nothing inappropriate III his costume.
! Balloons were unique, SO We're bal
/ loonists' clothes, was the natural YER
| dict. unspoken, almost unthought Yet
! all eyed him curiously, while kindly, and
waited impatiently the completion Of his
/ modest repast.
/ His eyes were busy, too, roaming
| frankly from face to face in a way that
somehow told them he was sizing them
! up" as Gale expressed it afterward,
+ glancin9 at the faro table the specimens
/ Of quartz, porphyry, lead ores and car
/ Donates upon the narrow shelf on the
/ wall and the big broken roulette wheel
in the corner, tilted up on its side to af-
| ford more room to eager gamblers around
| the faro table.
| When he had finished Gale tossed the
| paper III which the lunch had been
brought into the street and said: "Now,
| stranger, let's hear your story. This is
! the first time we've had a balloon up
here, and we're naturally Interested"
| The stranger, with good natured
| smile, looked around at the eager, toll
| hardened and sin hardened faces-many
| of them-and began:
I My name is Pierce-H. r. Pierce, of
/ San Francisco. | left Denver the day
! before yesterday in the balloon, and was
| carried south till near Colorado Springs,
where the current changed and carried
Inc northwest. | was compelled to re-
| main in the car, the nature of the coun-
! try not permitting an easy landing. !
| am making an attempt to cross the con-
tinent in balloon. That is my story,
| gentlemen, all there is of it, and thank
you for your kindness"
Finding SO tame an explanation of the
| phenomenon, most of the crowd soon dis
! persed.
Gale Whitley and the sheriff somehow
| felt themselves to be in a measure
Pierce's hosts, and felt the improperly of
| indulging in Evans Gulchs only amuse-
ment while their guest refrained there
! from.
When Pierce inquired for the hotel
/ they both ''slniled loudly" and stated
/ that the place had not risen to that dig
/ nifty yet-fOurteen saloons, nine faro
banks, a postoffice, a provision store (also
a saloon) and a lookup constituted,
apart from sundry quartz crushers, the
entire borough; but they wished to sex
tend to him the hospitality of their own
'shanty'-the best in the place too"
Thither they conducted him at once,
seeing therein a way out of their di-
lemma, for they both felt the agony of
witnessing the game while being pre-.
vented from playing.
A long, rambling conversation ensued
during which the characters of the two
men unfolded themselves to Pierce's
eyes, and he recognized their thoroughly
practical American worth. The sheriff
was transparent; simply a big, good
natured Jerseyman by birth, who had
| lived i'll various parts Of the west since
boyhOod, having made several small for
tunes, spent them and expected to make
another-a type frequently to be found
all over the continent. Gale Whitley
was not SO easily read. He was more
| beneath the surface and was harder to
get at, bat Pierce had seen too many men
western wilds to probe too deeply into
any mystery he might imagine in Gales
past. He was content to find in them
both materials that he might use. 1t
was nearly ten o'clock when he said:
Il am here for a purpose in which you
might, if you are inclined, aid me ma
terially. It's rather a long story, but l
viii make it as short as possible"
He lighted his pipe, as the other two
had done, ard smoked few minutes in
silence, while they drew their chairs
closer. Then he began:
Two years ago had balloon made
and left san Francisco in the month of
June, with the wind taking US rapidly
| eastward. With me was a young man
named Eric Gilbert. He was about
thirty years old and one of the bright
est men | ever knew. 4 linguist, a
scientist, mechanic, an artist; in fact
hewas possessed of more practical knowl-
edge and cultivated accomplishments
than any other man have met; one OF
the most daring yet genial, good tenn
pered fellows in the world. He was
nearly six feet in height and weighed
about hundred and sixty pounds, and
he was an athlete too. He could shoot
well and ride well, just the kind of man
in fact to undertake such an adventure
as we meditated. 1t was to cross the
| continent to the Atlantic, and for a
while al went swimmingly.
I'VE had crossed the Rockies success.
fully and were in the Wasatch range, OF
rather between the Wasatch and the
Elk mountains, when the current, which
had been almost uniformly westward
FOR days, suddenly changed and carried
US down toward Arizona. We were not
alarmed, although our supply of water
was somewhat scanty; yet the gas held
out well, and we knew that we would
strike water at intervals. We had or
board when we started a dozen carrier
pigeons, seven of which had already
been released and returned heme
1--WE released one in the Elk noun
/ 80, L L