The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-07-21

shoulders shrank close together. He shrank
all around, all, everything, everything but
his feet. These were nearly bare now. You
could see his toeprints on the dusty path
as he went and came for water a, the
beautiful Shasta spring.
One frosty night in the fall the boys
in the saloon were startled almost out OF
their wits. Peelhead Smith threw down a
full" although there was a 'doubIe pot''
and the Turtle Dove, with six-shooter in
his lap, had "straddled" Peelhead's blind,
and he was as sure of raking down as he
was of coming to the center" when
called"
There stood Thompson. Was he alive
Was it his ghost? Itlooked like ghost.
His big shoes were yawning. His white
toes shone through like teeth of grinning
clown. Not word. The fiddle came slyly
out from under his arm. 1t lay lovingly
along his large bony wrist, and began slow
| and timid-like as if afraid:
Sweet, sweet, sweet o great god Pan!
Never such music since the great world began.
The sun on the hill forgot to die;
The lilies revived, and the dragon-fy
Came back TO dream on the river.
anu lllSu uc WdS SOllt, SOIc DIS uc SdulC.
They had forgotten to ask him to drink.
They were not sure if it was Thompson or
Thompson's shadow. They fell to think
ing what Sights they had put upon poor
old Big Foot these thirty-one-two years;
and with gamblers superstition they stood
by the table, each pocketing his own
money, and leaving the double pot to the
barkeeper for the drinks, although they
did not drink now, not one of them, much
less sit down again to that game and table.
1t was such moonlight night! The
men melted out of the barroom one by one
and sat down facing Gamblers Gulch hill,
the moon settling and settling low and
slow over their shoulders to the right till
finally it fell behind an old empty Chinese
washhouse with some of the shakes torn off,
and then the silver leaves sifted through
and played pretty games of chess on the
pavement at their feet. How still!
And then suddenly came again that mu-
sic from the hill. How glad they were.
Each man drew long breath of relief.
"Then he is not dead" was the thought
of each, with mental promise to go up
early in the morning and tell the poor
penitent that he was forgiven, and that he
was the best of all of them, after all. But
what was that piteous, plaintive air?
They had never heard the man play that
before.
THAT'S Home, Sweet Home :" whis-
pered the Turtle Dove, an educated old
gentleman, as he dug some wax out from
under his fnger-nail with broken match.
At last the settling moon reached tim
idly through broken board low down on
the old Chinese washhouse, and in token Of
surrender to darkness laid sword of sill
yer at their feet, and then Home, Sweet
Home, was heard on the hill no more for
ever.
The next morning a great four-mule dray
drove into town, on its way up to the little
graveyard, from the Redding marble
works.
81 saw the dogonest tracks in the road,
big enough for bear, and the toes in the
DUST" said the man with the dray to the
barkeeper as he hastily wiped his mus
tache on the back of his hand and then
faced about and fired stream of profanity
at the mules.
The bystanders looked at one another.
Then all on the run they went painting up
the hill together. The bar was left to
serve itself.
at was bear, and he has got away
with the honey" cried the barkeeper at
the head.
Never such laconic men as these miners.
There was the pillaged pocket in his very
dooryard, only the golden lining here and
there to show what a hoard it had held,
almost on the surface and right at his feet.
And that was all.
The new, spruce conductor at Redding
who got his place temporarily through the
strike told the eager miners how an old
man with heavy gunnybag and hammer
and little crowbar had climbed into the
cars that night.
"And what did he say?" demanded Peel
head.
We'll, asked him if he had been pros
pecting, and he said Vas.
Been out good whileP says 1.
"Ya-a-s,' says he, ''bout thirty-two
years. Ticket to Boston, please. ;"
JOAQUIN MILLER.