Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-05-06

sudden outburst of tears. and the uneasi-
ness of his own conscience, persuaded him
10 postpone the plan for a time at least.
But he went more and more frequently 70
Gordon City. Often, when the necessary
work upon the ranch was done, he saddled
his pony and went away. to be gone almost
till the next morning. The cheap display.
the noise the stir and hustle of the place
fascinated him. There he met rough men
and brazen women. unlike any he had ever
seen before. His eyes were opened to many
things that no gallop across the plains
would ever have revealed to him. 1t was
his first glimpse of life. And yet unlike
most butterflies who first see the lighted
wick, he was not singed by its flame. He
liked to lounge about the dance halls and
gambling houses, but he was content TO
remain merely a spectator. If he had but
known il. he could not have gone very far
without protest interference, for every
movement was watched with constant al
most painful interest by the gray-haired
man whom everybody knew the Judge.
Park Raymond had never known any girl
except his own sister before he visited Cor
don City, and he was disappointed in most
Of those he saw there but there was one
whose beauty fairly held him speechless the
first time he saw her She was the daugh-
ter OF Bill Price, the faro king. and as the
latter had the reputation Of being just as
ready 70 shoot a man as to shake hands
with him. his daughter was treated with
unusual respect. even by the rowdies. of
She was the person in the world whom
the faro king loved. Her mother had died
years before. and she had always been &C
.customed to the wild life of the new west
ern towns. Yet in spite of such rough
sociations, she had grown up like single
fair flower in garden given over to weeds.
Gordon City had not reached the point
where rigid conventionalities are insisted
upon, so It was not long before Park Ray
mond and his divinity were excellent
friends. They were attracted toward each
other by an innate natural refinement,
which both craved. but which was lacking
in most of their acquaintance. 1t must
not be supposed. however, that these two
young people were in love. Park Raymond
was, perhaps, very near 1t, though he him
self had never dreamed of such thing.
The girls beauty and natural grace were
wholly charming to his nature, which,
though he did not know 1t, had been east
in an artistic mold. Her figure filled his
eye very pleasantly, and for the time he
was content to think of her as being from
another world, to be looked up to and ad-
mired. AS for the girl she had found
agreeable companion, and that was enough.
Love. as she had seen it in the mining
camps, did not appeal to her. If the young
plainsman was disposed to worship her,
she did not object, although she did not I'M
derstand it.
One morning Park Raymond. having
driven 10 town for load of supplies, was
saunterng 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 population was away at the
diggings and the moths who futtered 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
louneing in the door of the Triangle saloon.
Pete had struck il rich two weeks before,
and since that time he had been in con-
tinuous state of the most blissful intoXica-
ton. He was now in the first stages Of
the sooering-up process, when a man be-
comes most dangerous to himself and to his
friends. As Raymond quickened his pace
TO join the faro dealers daughter she stop
ped 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 him: she raised one
hand which held a parasol. Down came
the parasOl swiftly toward the mans head
and his hat rolled to the ground. Then
with a ringing laugh the girl hurried along
toward home Raymond, who had witness
ed the encounter from a little distance
down the street, halted opposite Pete 10
laugh at his discontinue. but his laugh
low recovered himself and ais hand went
toward his hip pocket. Pete's greatest ac-
oornplishment, one of which he boasted un-
duly perhaps, was that he was dead shot.
drunk or sober. In fact, If there was any
choice in the matter of craftsmanship
Pete inclined TO the opinion that he ex-
celled when he had his regular three quarts
aboard Many feelings, aided by not a few
ocular demonstrations. had convinced Cor
don City of the validity of Pe.e's unique
claim to distinction. AT either extreme,