The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-29
DRIFTER'S PRAIRIE RIDE.
o HIS LOVE. HIS LENA, THE
QUEEN OF BoOMTOWN.

- hkVAhAnUg hhAN ANbt NAOA NNV ANhNSA Ah'EN
brought n Biack-Haired beauty to the
C~anp-Drirter was n Trusting Fooi-A Peep
Through Lena's Window aud n Tragedy.
II never told you of my love affair with tho
Queen of tho Prairie, did ii" asked Drifter Of q
few OF his oronics at the club the other night.
"well, I've heard q good many Of your yarns,'
said Drifter's bachelor friend. but l don't ro-
member the Queen of the Prairie. Was she
white, half hread. or Indiani At any rate, tell
us about her."
"Well," said Drifter, ION my travels In the
Northwest 1 made quito u stay In a place we
may as we'll call Boomtown, for that is what It
was when l struck the frontier. This was way
back In the early eighties. Your friend Drlftor
was, of courSe, considerably younger. and n
great deal more enthusiastic about tho fair
sox than ho is nowadays. Money was about
the easiest thing to got In that town. 1t
seemed to come in great big punches. and 1t
went just about as easily as IL came. Tho ga
looms, Bob Shaw's faro bank, and California
Jacks roulette wheel managed to separate tho
boys from their money with no hard feelings
on either sido, but there was a certain element
lacking in the camp without which life didn't
seem really worth living. Once in a while an
adventurous Snowman would strike tho camp.
bringing with him a motley crew OF men and
women performers. At such times all busl-
ness was neglected, and the malos population
1ocked to the little hall dignifed by the name
Of opera house. directly in the rear of Bob
Shaw's gambling room. Flattering induce
ments we're held out by those of us who had
long been exiles from civilization. but none Of
the so-cllled actresses could be tempted to
leave the pleasures of the road for q sojourn Of
more than u week in Boomtown.
ION one occasion, however, a now light burst
upon us. The little boat that came up tho
riyar npca N month ,ncludod nm Ito pasapnpar
list two strange women. How they ever heard
OF Boomtown or where they came from l don't
know to this day. One OF the pair. 60 tho Cap
tain told us, was n Countess. l shall always
believe that her castle WAS located in that part
OF Cincinnati known rs over the Rhine Tho
title Of Countess, however she may have ac-
quired 1t, stuck 10 her as long as she remained
Ia the camp. She was on the shady side OF
forty. could speak French, German. Spanish,
italian, and English, could rido like a cowboy,
and was a thorough woman OF the world. She
had forgotten more about card games than
Bob Shaw and California Jack had over
learned. 1t was not to be wondered at that
when the Countess opened a gambling room it
was the swiftest place in all Boomtown, and
the Doomtowners' money supported the Count
css in great style.
In tho parlsnce OF the gamblers, there
seemed to be no end to the Countess bank roll,
but her chief capital was her travelling com.
panion, a dark-eyed, olive-hucd, stately girl,
apparently about 20 years old. and to me the
most beautiful creature that had ever dawrcd
upon my existence. Her chief charm was her
magnificent raven hair. She wore it in coils
and curls. A bit OF scarlet ribbon was by no
means its only decoration. The oldest kind
Of costly jewels pccpei in and out among
those raven tresses. Diamond studded dng-
gers, weirG-look!ng serpents with ruby eyes,
and queerly shaped pins found a resting place
in that wonderful crown of hair.
THE countess called her young companion
Lena Ii remained for yours truly to bcstow
upon Lena the title Of Queen OF tho Prairie.
and she wore that honor regally for many n
day. The rivalry for Leua's smiles was char.
acteristic OF the energy which dominated Boom.
town, but luck seemed to be on Drlfter's
side. I was assiduous in my attentions tn
both the Countess and her young companion
from the day they SET foot in tho camp, and
brooked no opposition, not even from my cabin
mate, Boston Billy. who warned me repeatedly
that l was under "A spoil which would lead r.
my undoing. He said to me one night as we
were smoking In orr little shack:
See here, Drifter. We have roughed It and
chummed it together through n good many
tough deals. We've shared good luck and hard
luck, and I've always given you credit for
$50 '" 1855 ''N'H o's . N"A ~ h"S VIM -
sight. That so-cnllod Countess Is about thu
slickest adventures that ever laid a min,
under a mans feet, and she's got an able all!
in the girl about whom you are raving all the
day and half the night. You don't suppos,
they came up hero for their health. do you
They're not the sort OF women for you TO tie W
to. and I don't want them 10 como between us.
YOU'RE Off your base. Billy / said. I'll,
Countess may be all that you say she Is. He
. A.. $500 49,. l., -.- ~. Ill.
know, hut n swectcr, dearer. trucr girl than n.y.
black haired beauty never b~reathed. and
won't allow even YOU to mention her name il
any terms but those OF respect. | mean to &c
her away from tina; Countess. and il you don
like II. why wo might rs well separate now
Simply another case OF Il c%ontiiins maj
pulled down by a schelning woman, said Blil
as he s%hrusged his shoulders. Then he grippet
'Drifter, trouble is bound to come OF this
It's in the air. When 1t does come. II you neet
a friend call on Boston, Billy. l Thought yo'
haven't. Good by
Aud we separated.
1T was q bad day for Boomtown when tina
tinqod bitter The night after my row To"
: palace B'l! SSafJ J. ssd djSsi n t s'RS%4t n 5.9 r
I. place. The guests OF honor were, as yo'
s san 1 SiiiH m sne' ;bs sRe G0u slsm AND and Ls snIjen Boz 81
server, but as deep 3 drlnker as any Of thos
a anS ISs 'h be , Pine oc sssiSs; I Hsr m wss the "0I !isa
oth AN "a NV ot'oniohs tNi lpll1
rang above the clinking of the glasses. and sh
. fascinated even the hardened old-timCrs will
r her songs and her dances. The dago fiddle
that | had brouG ht In for the night seemed T.
: be inspired, and whom his old fiddle respOnde,
TO his touch In n waltz that ] had not heard 70
. years, | folded Lena in my arms and glldet
!. with her around the dinRy room, ~forgetful o
every ono else on earth. guess The liquor ha,
4 got in Its work, for all hands had been samplinI
t everything from whiskey TO brandy that IN
Palace Cafe afforded. After the waltz | LITE,
8 Lena onto the table and ordering all hands t
h fill up their glasses ] called for n toast to Lens
s the Queen OF the Prairie. One glass remaine
empty. 1t was Boston Billy's. lie kicked owe
his chair and stalked out OF tho room. Lena
t eyes followed him, and sho bent over me an
whlsEered: o,,., %, ,,n.
. 20. He's only jealous. Drifter.'
That settled II. 1t was the talk OF all Boon
town the next day, that Drlfter and the Quee
o Of the Prairie had struck up a partnershiI
And we had. / played the fool about es tho
oughly as q man could. and that's saying cor
siderable where IA woman ID concerned. Their,
WAS nothing too good for my queen. To N
avowals Of love she responded with the assul
III -. -.