Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1895-10-30

teries Of the deep. IA
my friends" he said, with Gods
help and the brigadier's CONSENT
which he never took the trouble to Sc
cure-"it seems too hard for this poor
child to tell what happened to her in
the gambling house at Butte that day.
was there when it happened and saw
it all, and will tell you the story.
can't bear to see her tortured as she has
been this night. Cadet Annie Smith,
take your seat"
He said that still without looking at
her. With glance at the brigadier
which meant, ''How can help it when
this big thing shoulders me away?" she
slipped behind the rose embarked par
lor organ and the empowering foliage
plants OH the stage and was lost to
view MI
The brigadier sat watching the man
with a peculiar expression, which no
one could have understood had any one
thought to observe it, but the stranger
SO completely filled all eyes and SO i'm
pressed his mastery personality OF the
consciousness of all who could see and
hear that nothing else could be observ-
ed. The stranger resumed:
81 knowed the gambler that played
it low down on this brave little Saliva
tion Army lassie that day-knowed him
we'll He was a big, hulking dog that
had skinned tenderfeet all the way be-
tween Puget sound and Lake Michigan.
He didn't know what it was to earn an
honest living He just sailed through
life laughing at everything and skin
ming tenderfeet.
''He was running faro game in the
Montana joint when somebody left the
door open and this little girl drifted in.
The fellows wasn't used to the way she
went after'e She just waded right in
and tackled 'em, and them blue eyes
that she carried in her head looked
straight at 'em and through 'em, as
much as to say, 4 think you d be a real
decent fellow if you'd read the War
Cry, quit gambling, quit drinking gin
and have respect for good women.
That's what the fellows told me her
eyes said to 'em.
''Then the big gambler she started to
tell you about comes up and says to
her, Hello, little Parson Sally, what
do you want?' I want to sell you a
War Cry, she says "A what:' says he.
"A War Cry, says she, aid her calm
blue eyes looked him through and
through. "A War Cry?' says lie. What's
that?' And he knowed as we'll as she
did what it was.
''After badgering her that way and
not making her lose an inch of ground
he told her he'd make proposition by
which she might sell him all the War
Crys she had. The poor little thing lis
tened to him, and her eyes got bright,
and she asked him what tho proposition
was. He had her sit down at card ta-
and two spot cards-and shuf1ed 'em
on the table SO that she could see the
king while he was shutf1ing EN-, and
then asked her if she could pick out the
king as the three cards lay face down,
alongside one another, OIL the table.
She said of course she could. He says
to her, Try it. She done SO, and of
COuTS0 SuO DlCKSu OuG tE0 AiIS.
tHe says: That's smart, and
didn't think you could do it. Now, I'll
tell you what I'll do; I'll shuttle the
cards, and every time you pick out the
king I'll buy two War Crys. Every time
you pick out spot card you are to give
me War Cry for nothing. She agreed
to that.
''The poor child didn't know that she
was gambling-didn't know that she
was tackling the notorious Montana Bill
in his particular specialty-didn' It know
that she had 1un up against the slickest
three card monte thrower in the whole
northwest.
"Well. you know what happened.
Bill cleaned the poor child out of every
War Cry she had and then laughed at
her. I saw her as she sat there and
saw how she looked when she began to
realize that she had lost all her papers
and didn't have cent to show for 'em.
I saw how white she got and how she
stared at Bill like he'd run knife
through her body. I saw how she got
up and looked around at the laughing
men, like lamb cornered by pack of
wolves. I saw her try hard to keep
down the tears, and then she says, Men,
will pray to God to lead you all into
better lives. And her voice was SO
choked up she couldn't say anymore.
Then she walked out slowly and cried
all the way up the street"
The big man paused, for his own
voice had become unaccountably thick
and had lost much of its rich, deep
swing and resonance. But he soon re-
gained his self possession and then pro-
ceeeded:
Montana Bill was hard case for
sure, but he had small streak Of man.
hood somewhere under his thick skin.
The boys in the joint all thought it was
a great joke on the little girl, and they
laughed and shouted till they almost
cracked the roof. But Bill didn't laugh.
He stood silent and glum, with his
hands in his pockets, looking out through
the door. Then he went out, saying he
had a game awaiting for him at Ike's
saloon, and he went slouching up the
stT60b. 1uo ldItucI uo SOt away hoAh
the joint the faster he walked, and then
he done a sneaking thing-he looked
back to see if any of the boys was fol-
lowing him. They wasn't, though, and
then he let out them long legs of his
for the iveliest walk he ever took IN
his life.
"He soon caught sight of her, and
then he slowed up and follered. She
was still crying, and people would step
and wonder what was the matter, AID
some Of 'em laughed. Bill got on to
that, and it riled him through and
through He slapped one fellow clean
into the middle CT the street and went
right on without a word. heard after
ward that several people that he knowed
spoke to him, but he didn't see none OF
'em, and kept right on.
''The girl went straight to the head
quarters Of the Salvation Army, and
, Bill follered her in. She went into d
little office, whero there didn't happen
to be anybody else, and sat down and
put her head on the table and cried like
her heart was broke. For the first time
in his life Montana Bills nerve broke
down. She looked so small and forlorn