The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1895-03-21
THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE: WASHINGTON D. O. THURSDAY

table. Zimmerman is going out of the
stock business, and have bargained for all
his calves I've got to be getting homo to
| finish my fence"
Vande's slowly -kfndling wrath now
blazed out: Yes, you lazy, drunken fool,
you talk that way now; but when you
| draw your money you will go on big
drunk, and want me to board you the rest
| of the Winter for nothing
Jim took a bottle from his pocket, walked
to the door, and fnngit as far as he could.
Then he turned. Vande thought he never
had looked so tall before.
You blamed son-of-a-gun, I bought that
bottle of whisky for you; haint touched q
drop. You see where that went. It's the
last drop of whisky you'll ever see that my
money paid for. / don't believe you want
me to succeed. 1 believe you'd rather 1
would die in the gutter than live to COM
Portable old age. 1 tell you, Vande, you are
a contemplate, selfish scoundrel. You
must think you discovered the earth. If
you warn't lame I'd thrash you. You want
me to stay and take care of you, do you?
Oh, yes, III stay, because there aint nobody
else who thinks enough of you to take care
of you. I'll take care of you, all the same,
as have helped up many lame animal on
the range" Jim went out, and slammed
the door behind him. He told Vande no
more of his plans.
In the pocket of this veterans best duck
coat was delinquent tax list, folded so the
name of widow Brown came on the outside
Jim spent hours in planning how he could
pay her tax without letting her know who
didit. When he drew his back pay he paid the
widows tax, and placed the remainder of
hfo 1,n,,1 H.,
He returned to Vandes perfectly sober He
had depressing news concerning two of Van
des old partners. One, Thornton, had gone
East and married young wife. RumOr
said she was pretty. Another man, Wilson
by name, had dropped dead in the postofiice.
Vande hardly knew which he. mourned most
deeply. They were both good fellows; he
had bached" with both. The three had
been on many social drunk together.
1t was with some misgiving that Vaude saw
J i'm take his departure on the morning before
Christmas. Jim said he would not be back
for three days, and paid no heed TO the
mention of Vande's Christmas dinner. Later
in the day Ned Chapman went by, his horse
headed toward mining camp on the other
side of the mountain.
They will both get drunk and make fools
of themselves" said Vande to his cat well,
Ole will be here, and ] will want a good
dinner myself" His disgust was intense.
OF his four invited guests, Eccles was the
only one whom ne considered equal socially.
Ned and Jim and Ole were inferior beings.
He wished TO be on the right side of them in
case he needed them in his business. That
they should dare to slight his invitation was
wormwooG TO his soul.
That night the sun sank behind Elk
Mountain, leaving the river valley deep in
shadow. With the night mantle of snow
began to fall. Swiftly it came down, cover
ing alike the frozen river bottom and the
drifts of eternal snow high on the mountains.
Pitiiess was the Storm both for unsheltered
cattle and belated travellers. It fell alike on
forgotten graves and on the roofs of cabins
in which merry children hung their stock
lngs with shouts of laughter. Christmas |
dswned on a world made white |
and new like thB robes Of those who have |
come out Of great tribulation. Carols and |
Joy bells sounded in millions of homes. |
Solitary ones had wiped away their tears and |
rejoiced that CHRIST WAS born in Bethlehem; |
but the prematnrely aged man in that |
cabin icared not for the Sun of |
he meant to make the day
,ne of eating, drinking and rough, jolly good