The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-05-07

and breathed a silent prayer TO heaven
AS she moved about, engaged IN Narl-
Gus household tasks, she often stopped
to look anXiouSly up the track that the
boy had taken, though she knew thd l
it would be hours before his return.
was Just as the sun was sinking pehlfd
the distant yellow cliffs, a huge reu
ball of fire, that frightened even the
dreary sand stretches with its golden
glow. that she heard the welcome clat-
ter of the mule wagon, and hurrled "
prepare supper. for she knew the appe-
tite of a boy. But tonight Park KAY
mond scarcely tasted his food his
eyes were strangely bright and restless
and he could speak of nothing but the
SIGHTS of Gordon Fever. 1t was plain
that he had caught the fever, that
subtle. dangerous disease of gold that
has played the wiIl-O'-the-wisp 10 many
a man. until it led him into name1ess
desert grave on the alkali plains.
1t was some time before he summoned
up courage to tell his mother that ne
wanted to try his luck at the dlgSlhSs,
and then her sudden outburst OF tears
| and the uneasiness of his own con-
science, persuaded him to postpone the
plan for a time, at least. But he Went
more and more frequently to GORDON
| CITY. Often. when the necessary work
uDon the ranch was done, he saddleu
| his pony and went away. to be gone d.
most till the next morning. The cheat
/ display, the noise, the stir ana puSue
of the place fascinated him. There ne
met rough men and brazen women, un-
| like any he had ever seen before. HIS
ewes were opened to many things that
no gallop across the plains would ever
have revealed to him. 1t was his hrst
glimpse of life. And yet, unlike most
butterflies wFo first see the lighted
wick. he was rot singed by its fiame
He liked to loUlge about the dance
halls and gambling houses, but he was
content to remain merely spectator
II he had but known il, he could not
have gone very far without protest OF
interference. for every movement was
watched with constant, almost painful
! interest by the gray-haired man whom
everybody knew as the judge.
Park Raymond had never known any
girl except his own sister before he
visited Gordon City, and he was dis
appointed in most of those he saw
there. but there was one whose beauty
fairly held him speeches. the first
time he saw her. She was the daughter
| of Bill Price, the faro king, and as
the latter had the reputation OF being
! Just as ready to shoot a man as &c
shake hands with him, his daughter
was treated with unusual respect, even
! by the rowdies, of whom there were
not a few in Gordon City. She was the
one person in the world whom the faro
king loved. Her mother had died years
before, and she had always been accus-
toned to the wild life of the new west
ern towns. Yet, in spite of such rough
associations, she had grown up like a
| single fair flower in a garden given
over to weeds.
Gordon City had not reached the
/
, insisted upon, so it was not long before
Park Raymond and his divinity were
excellent friends. They We're attracted
| toward each other by an innate natural
refinement, which both craved, but
which was lacking in most of their ac-
quaintances. 1t must not be supposed
| however, that these two young people
were in love. Park Raymond was, per
haps. very near it. though he himself
had never dreamed of such thing
The girls beauty and natural grace
were wholly charming TO his nature
I which. though he did not know il. had
been cast in an artistic mold. Her fig
ure filled his eye very pleasantly, ano
! for the time he was content to think OF
| her as a being from another world, &c
be looked up to and admired. AS foi
the girl, she had found an agreeable
companion, and that was enough. Love
did not appeal TO her. If the young
plainsman was disposed TO worship
/ her, she did not object, although she
did not understand it.
One morning Park Raymond, having
driven to town for load of supplies
was sauntering along the main street
of the town, when he saw ahead of him
the faro kings daughter. 1t was the
time of day when Gordon City seemed
almost deserted; the working popula-
tion was away at the diggings, and the
moths who fiuttered so boldly at night
were all asleep. Besides these two
there was but one person in sight in
the whole length of the irregular street
That was Long Pete, who was lounging
in the door of the Triangle saloon.
Pete had struck it rich two weeks be
fore, and since that time he had been
in a continuous state of the most bliss
full intoxication. He was now in the
first stages of the sobering-up process.
when a man becomes most dangerous
to himself and friends. AS Raymond
quickened his pace to join the faro
dealers daughter, she stopped for a
moment TO gaze into the window of
the shop next to the Triangle, and
Long Pete addressed her with tipsy
familiarity. The girl turned toward