The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-06-17
lit De m0Q0d OF DamdeI50Mg.
ONE WHO SOUGHT AND FOUND.


| bell rot far above her head, had spoken
the words with its iron tongue.
With her eyes still riveted on the GENE
terry. raised for an instant to meet the
faces Of passers-by, she reached her
room at the hotel. With a moan OF
mingled hope and despair she fell on her
knees at the bedside and poured out d
| fearful petition, praying that asking, she
might receive; seeking, she mighth lind
knocking, it might be opened uuto her.
1t was late in the afternoon when shG
! reached the graveyard gate. With trem-
bling rand She pressed the latch, and
passed slowly up the path over which
the buds, full-blown blooms, and
withered leaves Of life are borne through.
out the changing year, no matter what
the month may be, June or December.
As she made her way among the graves.
an angel must have held her hand she
seemed so calm and composed; perhaps
His voice had said unto the waves OF
her troubled spirit Peace be still!''
As she turned into a side-path at the
further end of the graveyard, a mound
Of iandeliOns met her eye. On approach
Ing 1t. she noticed that, although 1t was
shaped like a grave neither head nor foot
bOara WAS visible. With All eXclama ton
CT JOY at finding in this strange land a
flower So dear to other scenes, she kneIt
to kiss the golden blossoms, when she
was startled by footstep. Springing TO
her feet, she was not more surprised than
was the unintentional intruder, who
stood there with an old watering pot in
his hand-only the grave between them.
Beg pardon, ma am" said the man,
who appeared to be about forty years OF
age, and was dressed in canvas oYeralls
ana a red flannel shirt" but, you see, 1
alius come up here every Sunday to water
them flowers. l wouldn't disturb you for
the world; it makes me feel kind O. good
to see d lady a-bendtn' over his grave,
for we was the best O. friends, Dick and
me-"
What was his other name?" gasped
Mrs ThaXter, as she quickly passed
around the grave and clutched the mans
sleeve.
We'll. there you've got me: It's gofn'
on leVen years since he kicked the buck
ct, and whether it was Jackson or Jami-
son l can't say. He never went by any
other name down in the diggins, 'cept
Dick. but one day when / axed him
what was his other name, he tole me one
of them two but l dasnt swear which"
Did he have no relatives out here?"
asked Mrs. Thaxter, as she calmly re-
sumed her former position at the grave.
Out here? Well, I reckon not: Them
things is mighty scarce round these
diggin's! But most likely back in the
states, somewhere. somebody may be
spectin him home any day, but you see
he stands a mighty poor show of ever
gettia' there Seem that you be q
stranger, ma'am from the states,
pr apS"'-Mrs. ThaXter bowed an assent
- don't mind tellin you the story bout
Dick. cause mebbe you might run across
somebody as knowed him. and then you
could tell EN- he was past goin' home,
tho p'r'aps you wouldn't care to tell EN-
just how he come to miss it,"
'One touch of nature makes the whole
world kim and here a simple mound Of
dande)ons drew two stranger hearts to-
gether. They both sat down on the
warm, dry grass Not far above their
heads, in weeping willow, a bird twit-
tered q twilight song, and far awaYlfh
the west the angels were unlocking the
sunset gates and preparing to nail the
stars to the evening sky. z3E5
You see, ma am, | was his pard We
was the best o friends, and down there
IN the Manzanita mine we bunked In the
same cabin. Dick was awful high-tem-
pered, but he had one fault worse than
thaU-he liked the black bottle too well
and tho he never lOafed round the
saloons-he was too heightened for that
he used to get on sprees unbel1nownst to
me, and then, them times he'd be off to
some other town where he. weren't
known for days at d time, and I didn't
have no tdee where he was. Well one
night, arter he'd been off for a whole
week, L happened to drop into Pat
y Brien'S, when l seed gang o. men,
all strangers to me; but as soon as l
put my eyes on 'em, / knowed there was
somethin done or a-goin to be done
Jist as l passed along by the door, one
of the Teller says to one of the other
fellers, in whisp rim Tone says he
Wonder if he's got any relations
round here?"
We'll, let EN- go and tie him loose"
says the second fellerr l reckon he wcntt
skip very far from the BRIDGE
Did they put the knife in his hand?
says the first one. ao!p
You bet they did! says the other
and Pete King blood hardly dry on it!
I'm jolly glad Murphy proposed a.
hangin him hear to home, says a third
man, ia a muff1ed kind O. voice it'll be
a warnin to this part o the country
81 seed in a minute somebody had been
lynched, either down to Frenchnaans
Crossin', or down to the bridge past the
Chinese graveyard, though I don't think
they intended anybody in San Juan
should know it till they got out O. town
Jtst as 1 slipped out the door, the leader.
he says to the crowd: Wen have another
drink boys up to Jim Carrolrs.'
KNOWN, as | did, Jim Carroll was a
whisky-slinger up to Comptonville, l SAYS
to myself, there's where they're FRONT
''Jedgin' from their talk he belonged
round here, l jumped on my horse and
flew down the road like lightnin'. Do
You know, 1 was afeared 1t was Dick!
When I got to the Chinese graveyard I
tried to laugh at myself for bein' such
fool to so way down there, but somethil'
or other drew me along, when jist as
made turn in the road, the MOONLIGHT
showed me man a-danglin' by a rope
from the bridge AFTER you've seen as
many men a-hangin' from trees as I've
SEEN ma am, you won't think 1t so
strange I ran right down to the BRIDGE