The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1899-01-06

sale. or We'll all drop down dead. And
"e'": got to have it in style"
~ like to know where you're 60
Ing to get It," replied one Of the boys.
"'Taint money that'll get 1t. I'd put
up all I've saved since I've been here
to get one good meal, if that would
fetch 1t. But there's no one in these
parts that knows how to get it up"
well, we'll manage it somehow"
said Parvin. "You just follow me and
do as 1 say, and We'll see how we'll
we can do. And the old man here
is to be our guest. Sabe? And" he
turned to the old man and said kind
ly, If we give your stomach such a
surprise that you never get over 1t,
0 won't have any hard feelings
against us. will you?"
BY this time the old mans equanim-
1ty was restored, and he manifested
considerable interest in the prepara-
tons which went on forthwith for the
Christmas dinner.
You say this Christmas dinner has
got to be in STYLE" said one of the
boys. Full dress?"
"Well--yes,' said Parvin, h%esitating-
ly. "At least you must all wear billed
shirts and stiff collars, and it wouldn't
hurt if O BACKED your shoes. Let's
try to imagine ourselves back in civil
lzatlon for a little while on Christmas
day. Do you think you could raise a
piled shirt for the occasion, old man."
he asked kindly.
oh. yes,' said the old fellow. "You
Fellows mustn't think that 1 am a
pauper. I'm going to do my share to-
VAR this Christmas dinner. I'm no
as rich as l hoped to be, but it amt
lack OF money that made me feel so
bad and make a fool of myself a little
while ago I've got a hole in the
ground down here in Mexico, and l
reckon you boys know what that is"
vi course we do" said Parvin,
laughing. "But you're not so bad off
II you only have one hole in the
ground. It's the man that has lots
OF mines that's poor"
Trouble is" said the old man, 1--WE
got several, and more has gone into
them than will ever come out. But
III keep up my end of the log"
The preparations for the Christmas
feast went gaily IN. All the groceries
in El Paso were ransacked for edibles,
and each of the boys telegraphed home
for a Christmas box. A telegram 10
the nearest market town brought a
turkey. AS good luck would have it,
Parvin secured for that day the serv-
Ices OF the general superintendent
private car cook, and being a sort of
Ward McAllister himself he was able
to give explicit instructions as to how
everything was to be done. A draughts-
man In the chief engineers Office pre-
pared menu cards in a most artistic
style. The crockery stores in Ell Paso
lent dishes Of Parvin's selection, and
Parvin imported them into Mexico un-
der bond. He had to buy napkins and
sell them afterward to a hotel for one
third what he paid for them. He Sc
cured the use of a pleasant patio in
Paso del Norte. and all sat down to
the Christmas dinner at 5 o'clock.
When their plans became known
they received applications from a large
number Of their fellow exiles to be al
lowed to join them. And they learned
that they might have made a big fnan-
cial profit by selling covers at their
dinner at ten dollars apiece. But that
was not their object, and they politely
refused to extend the number of bar
Elephants in their dinner beyond the
six boys who had originated it and the
old man who was to be their guest.
And 1t was a great success. The men
who sat down to the table were all
we'll dressed and we'll behaved. They
took pride in dropping the uncouth
habits OF the frontier and resuming
the habits Of refinement to which they
had been accustomed in the East. The
old man looked as we'll and behaved
as we'll as any Of them. Parvin pre-
sided with grace and dignity. The
talk was naturally reminiscent, and
each Of the boys revealed himself and
his history in a story of his early
days. The old man contributed but
little to the conversation, though he
told his story when his turn came.
1t was a funny little episode that had
occurred to him in Mexico twenty
years before. 1t escaped attention at
the time what deep interest he had
taken in Parvin's story.
But the dinner and the conversa-
ton that went on there would make
a long story in themselves, and we
must hasten to relate a curious Sc
quel to his Christmas episode. The
party broke up and the boys went
back to their work, we'll fortified
against inconsistencies until the time Of
their exile should be over.
I'VE can't do this every Christmas"
said one of the boys, rather ruefully.
III We did we'd never get back home.
For it cost us about all we saved dur
ing the year. But, boys. it was worth
it. I wouldn't have missed it for twice
what it cost. And I'm ready to tackle
~frijoles and chile-con-carne all the
rest of my time in Mexico"