The Colfax chronicle., 1897-06-19

SOomlly renectlng upon the unkind
ness of fate that made her stay at hon,,
: the night of the ball, heard anothe,
e knock. This time it was Henderson
that the light of the candle shone upon
and his face, too, gave evidence of in.
ward trouble. Miss higgins" said the
maid, "has been gone quite awhile. She
went with another gentleman" Bob.
by's face turned to flint.
Jim Bowloe did not find Miss Migcins
at the dance. He felt relieved, for If
she had disappointed him, she had. at
least, not favored anyone else. And
SO, having great regard for the repu-
tation OF James Bowloe, esquire, he
affected an air of great enjoyment, and
to one or two inquiries regarding Miss
higgins, he shrugged his shoulders as
much as to say that that was a subject
In which he was not interested. His
laugh was the loudest, his jokes the
most numerous, and his dancing the
liveliest of all the company. Bobby
henderson, coming down the street.
had no thought of the pleasures of the
ball. He was fully satisfied that Bow
loe was thief and that he was the VIC
tim of the robbery. At the door of
the lmprovised ballroom he paused for
a moment, and then, in the whirl of
dancing figures one caught his eve and
he saw nothing else. His LID curled
scornfully. Bowloe the brave, Bowloe
the mighty, had stolen his clothes, but
was afraid to wear them! Straight
across the floor he strobe, needless of
the dancers rights, and in another mo-
ment Bowloe was gazing into the angry
eyes of his partner. Then Henderson
spoke. His tones were not loud, but
his tense voice caused every dancer to
stop and listen, and the scorn and rage
expressed in every word and gesture
held their attention.
"a man might jump widder's claim
and then try to distract her attention
by KILN her six small children, or he
might trade all the good words on his
mothers tombstone fer drink of bad
whisky; but that mans a gentleman
longside of a feller that steals his part
ner's layout and then is too big a cow
ard to use it."
In the moment of silence that fol.
lowed every man drew his breath and
turned his face squarely to where the
forms of the partners stood statued in
the candle light, and every woman
shrank instinctively toward the door.
Rowloe's red face swelled darkly with |
rage.
You scoundrel!" he shouted, as he |
leaped forward. And then the trouble
began.
1t was well that it had been made the
unwritten law Of Saints Rest that no
gentleman should carry a weapon to
a social entertainment, for if it had not
been so, the population of the camp
would have been sadly less by sunrise.
As it was, there were many private
scores to be paid off, many personal
grudges to be settled, and the popula-
ton of Saints Rest rose joyfully to the
occasion.
The major and Superintendent Nc
Adoo, of the Starlight Stage company,
rode side by side in the moonlight.
while two officers and a detective loped |
lose behind.
His reports" said Superintendent !
"have not been satisfactory for {
ome time, bat thought it was the re- !
ult of incapacity or carelessness rather 6
han dishonesty, and that is the reason
wrote and asked you to keep an eye {
N the young man and find out what
ind of hours and company he was I
ecping. To think that he should fool
IS all in that wayl But johnson back
ere seems to have pretty good evi. t
ence that our Saints Rest agent is 4
bout as clever villain as ever COM
nitted bank robbery in New York s.
r forgery in Boston" a
II suspected him." returned the ma r
,r, "just as soon as he refused to snap p
P some of those bargains in the so "
'ot lots on Hermosa boulevard, which a
e are going to build, for know he il
as bright enough to know what good N
ling they are at the figures am ask )
q. l felt certain he was getting ready O
} skip out" al
A chorus of ellis interrupted the ma
II. For moment they slackened q
ice and listened. They were at the ID
ltskirts of the camp, and as they r~- ~
lied that the noises that the evening
'eeze brought 10 them were not a.
unds Of joyous revelry, with one inn o'
ilse they started forward. Down the sa
rect they galIoped and drew up clat-
ring before the dance hall, from &C
hich issued all that echo-awakenina iu
amor. In
The participants were almost ex. sc
usted, and the officers, armed and ex- ~
rienced in the handling of men, with - -
e vigorous aid of the major and the g.
perintendent, succeeded in restoring v, "
der. But, though they searched long s' sn
carefully and inquired of all who u