Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1899-01-08


 of the raft. Then I foated the raft down stream to my cabin, where my partner and I broke the thing up into pieces convenient for handling. It was a good days work. By the way. have you been to lunch?"
 "Luneh?" said I. "Of course not. It's only II o'clock"
 "We used to eat about this time up on the Yukon" said he, "and the habit sticks to me. However, I can wait"
 T suppose you're in New York sell ing some of your elaims?" saidI
 No. Hardly that" he replied. I'm looking around for an investment or two, and a house perhaps. Would you think Fifth avenue as desirable as it used to be?"
 "Carpegie's just bought a piece of land there, Ireplied. "I suppose you'll marry Stella Carr and make princess of her. Well, she deserves it"
 Poor Stella" he murmured.
 "Why, what's the matter with her?"
 Nothing, nothing,1 he replied. "Only she's waited for me a long time. Stella is one woman in million"
 'She is indeed" I responded, hearti- ly. And speaking of our townspeople, do you know any of the fellows who are in hard luck? Because if you do, I've got job that I can throw in some body's way. Any intelligent man can fill it. Fifteen dollars week only at the start, but a good chance for ad- yancement. If you know-why, Cliff, what's the matter?"
 He had keeled over on my couch and his face was pale as paper.
 'Faiuted!" l cried, as I bent over him. '"This is how men sell their vital organs for gold. suppose his liver or some thing of that kind may have been frozen up there and never properly thawed out"
 While these words were on my lips, I was endeavoring to lend helping hand to my friend.
 l unbuttoned his coat and waistcoat, and as I did so, from a pocket of the latter garment there fell little slip of green paper. I picked it up; it was pawn=tiel1et for an overcoat. When Ireplaced it in the pocket, I discovered that several others were there.
 We'll, he hadn't lied to me about that; ke had contracted habit of going cold, in the Klondike.
 l sent Eddie for some simple restora- lives, which he found in a bottle in the top drawer of my desk, on the right hand side. use the stuff sometimes to polish my furniture and interior decorations.
 Clifford was able to swallow enough to completely revive him, thougA had hold of the bottle with one hand while be drank.
 ''Now. old man." said I, tell me the truth. I am aware that that is not one of the Klondike habits, which seem to control your conduct almost entirely, but do it once, for my sake. Did you bring any gold away from Alaska?''
 "As heaven is my witness" said he, q didn't even bring away the gold filings in my teeth. They were the only gold I had at an5 time after pass ing the Ghilkoot, and 1 shiyered them out of my head in the middle of Febru- ary. They fell in a snow bank, too, and though I banned it out very thor oughly, never found them.'
 How about those stories?' de- handed.
 He groaned heavily.
 Honestly" he said, T didn't mean to do it. And there are thousands of young men scattered over this broad land who are exactly in the same pre- dicament-ruined and driven from their homes. You don't realize the tempta- ton, but let me set the case before you fairly"
 He took little more of the furniture polish and then resumed:
 "When I finally got cut of that land of desolation, I was with a consider able party. Two men in that party really had some gold with them. One had about $11 ,000 and the other little more Besides them, there was man who has a share in a claim that may really be worth something.
 Now. then, we all got back together to the borders of civilization, and of course we were tackled by the news paper men. Do you think could tell the facts2 Could I admit to that fel- low with the notebook and pencil that I was a dead, flat failure, and had come out of Alaska with nothing that didn't take in, except a small piece of lead that a fellow shot into me by mistake in Dawson City one night? No, sir
 "I heard the fellow who had $11 900 say it was million, and the reporter put it right down in Lis book Then every mothers son of sgot up and lied in his turn, and-well, Howdy, you know me. I made them all seem ob. jects of charity when I got fairly started.
 "of course I never thought the stuff would get telegraphed east; and I did not care what they printed way out there. But east it came, and wien I got home the town was full of it. They met me with brass band; and 1 with less than twenty dollars in the world, the remains of money that made out of little bit of an advertising scheme