Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1899-11-30
Of your bromby's hind shoes than you

l OIL your DFOIlUy > uluu SHOES Ln1n you
did just now, anyhow!
| Meanwhile. the subject of these COM
ments betOOk himself to the general
store. and gla;1dened the heart of the
I storekeeper by large order for sup
plies of all sorts, from -four and timed
meats to tea and tobacco.
| you'll have to send the stuff On to
Joe Marshall's shanty at Thirty Mile
| Creek" he remarked, as he paid the
bill. ''My pack horse knocked up therc
on the way in"
"All right was the reply. TO whom
! shall / consign it,"
The other hesitated moment. ITO
Louis Arnott-A-r-r-n-o-t-t," he said,
| spelling the name for the storekeeper's
| guidance. He then turned to leave the
store. but. as though struck by an af-
| terthought, returned and announced
| his intention of taking two bottles of
brandy with him. These having been
carefully packed in the thick diggers
blanket that was strapped to the POM
| mel of the saddle. he mounted and set
FORTH in Il southwesterly direction. at
the best pace of which the lean horse
was capable. .a.
| y. =
| Some five hours later a man. almost
his counterpart in general appearance.
and of about the same age. was seated
! upon,a log outside Il ramshackle shell
| ter that was half-tent. half-hut, smok-
ing and applying himself with suspi-
ci0us frequency to Il tin pannakin be-
| side him.
fought to be back by this time.'' he
mNttered, unless he got on spree
last night and slept it out this MORN
ing. That's what I'd have done, most
likely. Anyhow, | wish he'd turn up"
! Within Il few minutes:~a and as though
in answer to his wish. Il shrill. pro-
! longed whistle resounded through the
| glen. upon one side Of which the hut
had been built.
81 here he is. by thunder.." exclaimed
the watcher, delightedly. And, placing
two fingers in his mouth. his reply rang
forth as shrilly as the summons. Then
he FASTENED to Il sheltered nook hard
by. where a large kettle. hung gypsy
fashion over some smouldering en-
bers, seemed to represent the kitchen
of this establishment, patched up the
halfeXtinc fire, and awaited his ex-
pected mates arrival,
why, where's the tucker?' he in
quired, after a brief, but apparently
friendly, greeting had been exchanged.
The newcomer explained: The stuff
won't reach old Joes till late tonight"
he added, land we must do the best we
can without it until tomorrow"
sigh that was almost a groan greet
ed this assurance. Hang it all! You
might have brought me 4 pint to go
on, anyhow
A faint sneer curled the newcomers
lip. II did better than that, mate" he
said. quietly. you'll find two bottles
of 'MartelP slowed away in my sway"
Bravo, Nat!' cried the other joy
ously. You're real brick! We've
got plenty of grub left for a DE- or
two
The preparations for supper were as
simple as the meal itself. 4 couple of
handfuls of tea thrown ;hto gallon of
boiling water. tin plates and panni-
kins. salt beef ard doughty damper
pickles, and-fot cutlery-jack knives.
Just digger, ordinary fare, minus a
few simple ]Ixuries which had run out.
The nights are chilly, even in North
ern Queensland. in July (Which there,
Of course represents mid-winter), and
the two Adventures preferred the shell
ter of the tent-hut to smoking their in
terminable pipes in the open. One of
the bottles of "Martelr' was opened,
and. beneath the dim light of very
diminutive swinging lamp, they drank
and smoked for some time in almost
unbroken silence, as tired men are
Won't to do after a hearty meal. Look
ing at them as they lay-each on his
rough. blanket-covered bunk-they
might easily have been taken for
brothers. Both We're tall, wiry speci-
mems of the ordinary blue-eyed, brown
haired Anglo-Saxon type. There did
not seem to be more than, n year or
two between them in point of age;
they both wore boards. and the resem-
blance was still further heightened by
their similarity in dress.
Flows the water in the shaft?'
queried the returned wayfarer, pres
emily. 'Gaining?'
Eyes, confound it!'' was the reply.
Zone can get it down by working like
niger at windlass and bucket for Il
| good long spell. but as soon as ever you
knock off, up it rises again. These last
rains have put stopper upon our
game. Nat, for the present, at all
events
"Looks like it," assented Nat, gru1fiy.
sWhat then?"
"Well," replied the other, give been
thinking all day whether it wouldn't
be just as we'll to chuck up the claim
! for say. couple of months. and start
again with the dry weather."
pity you didn't think of that before
I ordered all that stuff said Nat.
''There's been no more rain since 1
left"
mo; but I didn't realize how thor
oughly soaked the high ground must
be until today" explained his com
rade. 'As for the tucker. most of it
will keep well enough ut Jack Mar
shall's for a month OF two"
''See here. Lon Arnot," rejcined Nat,
! drily. you're not bad sort of chap
at bottom. and you and have pulled
along well enough so far. But you've
an ALFRED bad habit of beating
around the bush. Why don't you say.
/ straight cut, that you've mind to
chuck the claim altogether? That's
what it amounts to. because you know
| y,n &I>s.