The Forrest City times. [volume] (Forrest City, Ark.) 1871-1919, 1897-11-12


sun used 10 shine upon their golden
heads, and little halos used to dance
all around them. Mrs. Lem had nursed
us when the smallpox came to town via
confounded greaser from Reno, and
when Buster was taken down with ii
God Almighty heard some new voices
and the recording angel had to look up
glossary to translate the prayers.
So that there wasn't much that
wasn't done for her and that boy when
Lem was gone. Mrs. Lem was taken
down sick the next day, just from griev-
ing. and then we had chance to paw
her back. Doe Sloane attended to her
night and day. There wasn't any bill
sent in, either.
III take it out on the next invalid"
said he.
"If she dies I'll give her the best in
he house" said Tom Gable, the under
taker-and he meant it, for he was
warm-hearted fellow.
But the prospect of such horrible
thing was too much for us, and the
Free-forAll did a great business until
we had washed down the awful fear in
our hearts.
Mrs. Lem didn't die. She was well in
week, and when she and Buster came
out for a walk the desert reechoed our
cheers, and Mrs -0c' hugged Buster,
and Buster was so happy that he cried
| for five minutes, and was only quieted
when he found a big dog bullying a
smaller dog. whereupon he trounced
the big dog numerically.
| We had hardly taken our first drink.
an hour later, to Mrs. Lem, Buster and
Boulder, when bad news came into
town. Bad news rode with Jim Trus-
| low on Jim Truslow's bronco, and came
straight to the Free-for-All, where we
were, as usual, congregated.
| Bad news and Jim strobe into the
room. Jim had been east for a few
weeks, and we welcomed him cordially,
| for there wasn't better man in Ari-
zona than the same Jim Truslow.
We had hardly said howde-do when
out came the bad news.
Whats Lem Roder doing in Chica-
go?" asked Jim.
"Chicago!" we cried.
| Yes; saw him there the day left :"
"Nonsense!" exclaimed Doc Sloane.
LENS in Phoenix"
Il saw him in Chicago, and spoke to
him. He jumped as if he had been
shot, and ran for his life That night,
when | took the train for the west,
saw him on the rear platform of the
train for the east, which was just pull
ing OUT
There was silence for minute.
Doubts, hopes, fears-all played hide
andseek
Tom Gable was the first to find his
voice.
"By-by," he said.
Whats the matter?" asked Truslow
"Our seating fund.-" replied Gable;
1--WE won't seat this year"
Then in a few words Tom told him
all about it.
The next thing in order was to decide
what to do.
II suppose we could telegraph east
and catch him." said one.
"And lock him up" said another.
| For a good rope" said third.
after all our hard work." cried the
rest.
1t was really too bad. To many
towns $4,000 isn't much, but to Boulder
it meant an awful lot of hard work
and self-denial. Put yourself in our
places and then blame us if you can for
the hard thoughts that would come to
us. Think of the loss of your money,
and worse than that, the loss of your
dearest hero and your fondest faith in
mankind. 1t wasn't nice, not little
bit.
An angry murmur went around.
There was lynching in the air that
night. 1t didn't help improve the at
mosphere very much, either.
"Humph!" said Doc Sloane. "what'll
Mrs. Lem say-and Buster?"
Then strange thing happened.
We were standing at the bar Our
drinks had been poured out. but in the
excitement we had forgotten them.
We took our glasses in our hands and
looked down into them, and then sud
denly, right down in the bottoms of
the glasses, in the whisky and water,
the pictures of two golden heads
| peeped out full and fair, with the sun
beams shining down on them so that
the little halos danced all around. A
strange place for two golden-haired, in
nocent little heads to be. wasn't it?
We took our drinks.
We'll" said Jim Truslow, "they
mustn't know, anyhow"
In the east the crowd would have
said amen. We didn't say it. but we
meant it.
We felt better already.
Whats $4,000, anyhow" said Tom
Gable.
We felt ever so much better.
"Those fellows in Phoenix might
have taken the money and never given
us their votes, anyhow" said Doc
| Sloane.
| We were almost all right again.
| They know me-" said Truslow. "Pll
go over and promise them the money
and fell 'em how II is They've been