The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1899-12-22
BRET HARTE's STORIES
The Stage Passenger Who WaHted to
Sleep Discoveries He Had
Lost an Opportunffy.

"My determination to make myself
| comfortable under all circumstances
has been a matter of regret oftener
than can tell you. is the way in which
| an easy-going southerner began, in an
| uptown club, what turned into an in
| teresting story. II have always. or
| nearly always. insisted on having my
sleep when 1 felt so inclined 4 good
many years ago was in the far west.
where stage coaches were considered
| luxury. 1 took my place in one from
| the door of a miners tavern in Il noun
| tain town, the name of which I long
ago forgot. 1t was dark when the
driver started the horses. was the
| sole occupant of the old rattIetrap- and
drawing my buffalo robe about me
turned in for sleep. Somewhere, !
never knew where, awoke TO find the
stage at a standstilI. The driver and
some one afoot were engaged in con-
versation. I could hear only the sound
of the voice of the man in the road
but / distinctly heard the driver say
that it was darned strange-perhaps
the language was stronger-that a man
should want to get into a stage at such
a place. Then he said to the applicant:
well, crawl in Their, and don't git
gay with that other passenger. If ]
hear anything out of you I'll put You
down in a coyote camp and you won't
know you was ever Iivin'.'
| "The stranger got in and was nv
vis-a-vis. / concluded to return to my
sleep. The stranger concluded he would
like to be comprehensive. He began
| by saying he didn't blame the driver
Picking up passenger in the dead of
| night in such bowling wilderness WIS
not safe. / said. no" and shut I'D.
The stranger said il was a country full
| of adventures, and tina. he had wit
messed lot of them. made no reply.
but he proceeded The last heard him
say at that time was something about
| mountain storm in which he had an
experience he would never forget.
| determined not to hear it. and didn't.
I went to sleep. don't know how long
/ slept. When / awoke the driver was
at one of the doors of the coach What
the conversation was about. or why
the driver concluded to get off the box
and look in I never knew. + heard him
growl at the stranger:
"'You shut up and keep quiet. or you
get out. You was the last in and
t'other passenger was fust in. and eff
he don't want to CAB. you hush up
From the strangers reply at once
concluded that he was gentleman ana
that he had done-nothing to excite the
driver. However. had not finished nv
sleep, and rolled over to begin again.
The stranger laughed good nafuredIv
and began another story. was deter
mined would not listen. and didn't.
1 went to sleep. Along about daylight
the stage stopped before another noun
| tain tavern. The snow was blowing
in every direction. A blizzard was ON
The stranger left me at that place. He
wished me a very pleasant journey and
said in a sort of CHEEKY way that he
hoped that driver would be more agree
able; at the same time he said that
drivers were not to be feared, that as
class they were the soul of honor.
Then he handed me his card. II seemed
odd in that god-forsaken country. in
stage coach, too, for stranger to be
so courteous. People seldom do that
in railroad train. showed the card
in my pocket. I was still drowsy. =
fear I might have appeared srun. J.
slept until I reached my destination
Later in the day unloaded my pocket
and the card Turned up. Then r knew 7
had, in my determination to be COM
Portable lost the opportunity of hearing
some good stories from a man who
became one of the foremost writer's Of
his time The name on the card was
Bret Harte."-N. i. Sun.