The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1894-05-18


urging, he began:
well, boys if you will have it, her
goes, but want you to understand tha
the laugh doesn't come, in this story
"Never mind, we'll take few extr;
smiles at the bar,' saiC facetiou
youth, but agesture of disapproval iron
Kimball si'enced the Joker. .
1T was in 49," resumed Kimball
that my brother and l left our bom
in a little town IN Massachusetts, ant
set out for the gold fields in California
which we were nearly three months il
reaching. TO go back a little: Ou
father was tacker by trade, that is t
say, he made tacks and nails; and m,
brother who was about thirty years o
age, worked at the same trade. l helm!
much younger, was still apprenticed tt
my father, it being an unwritten Law
among the tackers that the sons O
tackers, and they only should become
tackers. The trade was good one ane
paid we'll even IN those days. Oul
father was comfortably we'll off, and my
brother had quite little money ahead
and with little aid from him
was abe to scrape enough together te
pay my way to within tramplns dis
tance Of the digglngs.
"Just before the god fever took pos
session of my brother, he became en-
gagged to a neighbor's daughter who
looked with little favor upon his 'foofs
errand, as she called it. However, she
finally gave her consent to bis going
agreeing to walt one year for him te
return and marry her, but before we
had been gone six months, and by the
first mail that We received, we learned
that my brothers promised wife had
married another man. This news sc
angered and disappointed my brother
that he swore he would never return to
his native State, and SO far us | have
been able to learn, he has kept his
word to this day.
"Well, as | said before, after nearly
three months Of the roughest kind OF
travel; suffering hardships that only
the strongest men could endure, we
reached the mines and were fortunate
to strike paying lode almost the first
thing. Up to he time that my broth
er received the unwelcomed news from
home, we had worked our claim almost
day and night, and had salted down
several thousand dollars worth of the
dust; but that letter meant ruin to my
brother, and IA great deal of trouble
and anxiety for me. Ben
whats The matter there, you old
scarecrow? Boys, l believe tLis cd
buffers as loony as sun-struck owl"
said Dejerlo, the proprietor, as he lifted
an old, decrepit man to his seat on a
beer-keg from which he had just fallen.
"ae's been winkn' and blinkin' at
Kimball for the last ten minutes, and
startin' and jumpin' every other thing,
like man in his sleep that's got too
much on his mind or his stomach. Go
ahead there, Kimball, and you, old
chap, get-er- brace on yerself and keep
quiet"
'As l was going to say" resumed
Kimball, ''Ben lost Ills interest in the
mine, ard would knock off work for a
week or two at time and tramp about
from one place to another till he got
broke, and then come back and work
right smart for few days, and then
off again. Ben had never been drink
ing man, and | never knew HIM to
touch a pack of cards in the old days
itt lUlIlc, Uu9 dl1el h1o llouOiO OCSdu
the hardest kind Of ftanglefoot that they
had at the diggings-add three fingers
of some Of 1t was pretty sure death
wasn't any too strong for him, and
manya time did l drag him away from
the card table at two or three o'clock
in the morning"
eli, there! you BILL broke in De-
jerio, "what's that old lunatic talkin'
| bout nOw?"
80, he amt sayin' nothin' but that's
so,' but guess he's said them words
over morn forty times" replied Bill.
"And the strangest part of it was, .
Kimball went on, "that although he
didn't know anything about cards, il
there Was big pot of dust on the table
he always won. He was cre'ess and
reckiess,-didn't care any more about
the gold than us though it was so much
tin, but he just loved the excitement Of
winning l.. All that he lived for wa:
excitement-anything to make him for
get his troubles; and while Inever hearc
him so much us hint at taking his owl
life, still | knew that if it Was matter
of a toss-up with him whether he shoult
live or die, he wouldn't care fig whicl
way it went.
"One Sunday afternoon there wer,
about forty of us crowded around tn,
tables in Dead shot Dicks parlor, a
we called it. The parlor opened out o
the ba", AMI more harl liquo wen
over that threshold in an hour thai
Poipv ata haS Sean vat F,orvlo,J