St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1896-03-20
The Man Who Came to Town.

iloI Vi the Lariat Exponent, after
wards declared that his bad luck
came that night with the rain. II
first came leaking through the roo
about midnight. and, finding a con
venient crease in his blankets, trickled
slowly downward, until it awokt
him with start. Being a man of q
few words, he simply gave a grunt
of disgust, leaned over to a corner O
the dlminutive room, seized an UNI
brella, opened it, thrust it accurately
under the leak, and calmly fell ASLEEP
again.
In the morning things were even in
a worse state. The bed was a nina
ture island, the type-cases were hal
filled with water, and the press, q
foot-power affair, stood cheerlessly
in damp corner as if waiting to BIZ
resuscitated from it's all night ex
posture. Even then Hank, made nc
remark-his first act after sitting up
in his blankets being to pull forth
slowly a huge plug of tobacco from
his hip pocket, take generous chew
and then, as if fortified against all
manner of disagreeable things, to
spring up and begin putting things
to rights.
There was knock at the door.
Come" he shouted, gruffly; and
there appeared to view a little old
gentleman whose black frock-coat,
white collar-an unusual luxury in
Lariat-and air Of quiet dignity ac-
corded well with his gray hair and
moustache.
Pardon me-" he said, with a
slight air of diffidence, "but is this
the editor of the Exponent
Hank nodded.
~ am Col. Stemble," the old fellow
continued, affably, land l am up here
on special business for the Black
Butte Cattle company. Now, to
come to the point, l am very anxious
to have special edition of your pa
per published today"
Hank kicked an empty tin can
under the press and looked hard at
his boots. People were wont to say
that he was a cautious man.
1T will pay" the cattle-man con-
tinued; land this will give you some
idea of my wishes.' He handed the
editor some pencil notes and a new
greenback.
Get the paper out by three o clock
at the latest. and above all things
make it interesting"
"Ill do it,. Hank replied, with
customary brevity; and then, with
renewed energy, he resumed the rem
ovation of the little story shanty
which served as editorial office.
press.room and home.
The old gentleman smiled to him
self as he trudged away-such a pa
ternal, benevolent smile as to seem
almost out of place in such an uncon-
ventional, wicked little frontier town
as Lariat. AS far as the eye could
reach were to be seen the temporary
structures of canvas and tarred pa
per which were the homes of its in
habitants. Up and down the rail-
road the frst-comers had pitched
their tents, and as the town grew
rough streets had been formed, rang
ing back to the line of low hills at
the east. Lariat enjoyed the distinc-
ton of being at the extreme end of
the new railroad which was rapidly
pushing its way through Wyoming
towards the great Northwest.
Crouch's, down the road, had until
recently enjoyed that honor. But
one fine morning after the first train
had pushed on to the present site of
Lariat the inhabitants of the older
town had emigrated in a body, and
Crouch's was no more.
True to it's EDITORS promise, the
Exponent appeared at the time
named, but not until Hank Nc.
Dougall, man in whose veins ran a
strain of thrifty Scotch blood, had
engaged in several mysterious trans.
actions with certain property own.
ers of Lariat, whereby, in exchange
for some ready money that the editor
had been boarding up for many a
day, the latter became the owner OF
a considerable strip of land along
the railroad-an acquisition after
wards explained by the following an
nouncement which appeared in the
Exponent:
1--WE take pleasure in announcing