Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1900-02-02
BRET HARTE'S STORIES
The Stnge Passenger Who Wanted to
Sleep Discovered He Had
Lost an Opportunity.

"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 I felt so inclined. A good
many years ago I was in the far west,
where stage coaches were considered
a luxury. I took my place in one from
the door of q miners tavern in a noun
tain town, the name of which 1 long
ago forgot. 1t was dark when the
driver started the horses. / was the
sole occupant of the old rattletrap, and
drawing my buffalo robe about me /
turned in for sleep. Somewhere, L
never knew where, I awoke to find the
stage at a standstill. The driver and
some one afoot were engaged in con-
versation. / could hear only the sound
of the voice of the man in the road,
but L distinctly heard the driver say
that it was darned strange-perhaps
the language was stronger-that 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 I
hear anything out of you I'll put you
! down in a coyote camp and you won't
know you was ever liyin'.'
'The stranger got in and was my
| vis-a-vis. I concluded to return to my
| sleep. The stranger concluded he would
| like to be companionable. He began
by saying he didn't blame the driver.
Picking up a passenger in the dead of
| night in such bowling wilderness was
not safe. I said, mo- and shut up.
The stranger said it was a country full
of adventures, and that he had wit
messed a lot of them. made no reply,
| but he proceeded. The last heard him
say at that time was something about
| a noun tain storm in which he had an
| experience he would never forget. 1
determined not to hear it, and didn't.
L went to sleep. I don't know how long
1 slept. When I 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 l never knew. I heard him
growl at the stranger:
| You shut up and keep quiet, or you
| get out. You was the last in, and
| tother 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, and
| 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 naturally
and began another story. was deter
| mined I would not listen, and didn't
L 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 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
a class they were the soul of honor.
Then he handed me his card. It seemed
odd in that god-forsaken country, in a
stage coach, too, for a stranger to be
so courteous. People seldom do that
IN railroad train 1 showed the card
IN my pocket. was still drowsy. ]
fear I might have appeared gruff. I
slept until I reached my destination.
Later in the day I un1oaded my pocket
and the card turned mp. Then knew
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 writers of
ais time. The name on the card was
Sret Harte."-N. 7. Sun.
Rejection On the Brand.
Rivers Oighting eigar)-Afy doctor
Ays 1 must rednce my consumption of
| hese things to one dav.