El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-02-21
DYING LIKE
a GENTLEMAN
A Story Of Australian Gold
Hunters.

x 4
3 Hunters. 8
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A dozen men sat around a campfire
alongside the trail which led from
Hope Valley to Woona Walla-
The trad was 300 miles long and ran
up hill and down, over plain and
through scrub and now and then cross
ed a river or climbed a mountain.
The feet Of 5000. Australian gold
hunters, accompanied for half the dis
lance by wagons and pack horses, had
left such q plain road behind that the
next 1900 could not go astray.
At no point on the trail could doz-
en- worse men have been picked out
than the IL who sat around Jim Ag-
news campfire. They had banded to-
gether because they were bad. Had
they travelled singly they would have
Jared badly at the hands of the crowd.
At 9 o'clock at night, with every
man ripe for mischief from the liquor
he had imbibed, the camp had a caller
two Of them.
A man turned in from the trail and
passed the fire and halted in the midst
of the Quarreling gang and dropped
burden from his back. 1t was a little
girl or 8 years old and sound asleep.
He pulled a blanket from under a
man and spread it out to make a bed
for the child. and he tucked her up
with tender hand before he straighten-
ed up and looked about him and said:
81 carried her on my back from Sgd
ney to Hope Valley, and, finding the
rush on. I'm bound for Woona Walla."
"And who may you be-" Queried Jim
Agnew Of the stranger.
"a gentleman, sir. or the wreck of
gentleman" was the reply. "You can
call me Scott
''And Is this your child?"
mo, sir; daughter of my ex-partner,
Mr.. Joe Taylor. He was another
wreck OF a gentleman. She was moth
erless, and when he died a few weeks
ago he left her in my charge. Couldn't
refuse to take her. sir-no gentleman
could. Very interesting young person;
bound to make a lady if properly rear
ed and educated. She'll be waking up
directly. and then We'll thank you for
q bite to eat
1t was boarding the lion in his den.
After two or three minutes the men
recovered from their feeling of aston
tshment. and then there was resent
ment at the cool and nervy way their
camp had been invaded.
The man before them was ragged
and unkempt. and dissipation was to
be read in every line of his face, but
yet instinct told them that he was not
Of their nix.
No matter what he was now, he had
one day been a gentleman. There were
muttefings and threats, and presently
Jim Agnew said:
"Say. I've heard of you! You are
Scott. the gambler. You used to hang
eut at Red Hills"
"Your information is correct, sir. I
used to be a gentleman. Then I was
Scott. the gambler. At present 1 am
Scott. the wreck Of a gentleman and
guardian Of that child. Quite correct,
air.
Hang your gentleman businessr'
shouted Jim as his temper began to
boil up. "Say. boys. let's chip in and
buy the kid. Mebbe she'll bring more
buck than a humpback."
Eyes; let's buy the kid!' shouted
half a dozen men In chorus.
"GentIemen." said the gambler as he
waved his hand toward the girl. who
had been awakened by the shouts.
permit me to Introduce Miss Ethel
Taylor of Sydney. daughter of Mr.. Jo-
seph Taylor. deceased. ex-convict. gam
bier. sharper and bad 'un generally.
In dying he left her in charge of his
partner, the wreck of a gentleman,
who has now been a day and a half
without food. but who wouldn't sell
out his trust for all the gold in Aus
fralia."
you'd better take a Walk exclaim-
ed Agnew after a long look at the
gambler.
after the girl has eaten. sir" was
The quiet reply.
1.-The girl stays here
+ mot unless I am dead"
! The. man Agnew backed of q few
feet and pulled a revolver from his
belt and raised his arm until the muz-
sic was on q line with the gamblers
night eye. The arm rested there. and
rs his fingers curled around the trig-
ger he said:
I'll give you till count FIVE"
"AIy dear Ethel. good night and good
Dr." said Scott as he half turned and
lifted bis ragged cap to the girl.
She did not rise up nor call out Ag-
aew meant to kill the man before him