Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1900-03-01
DYING LIKE A GENTLEMAN.
A Story of Australian Gold Hunters.

A dozen men sat around camp
fire alongside the trail which led
from Hope Valley to Woona Walla.
The trail was 800 miles long aud
ran up bill and down, over plain
and through scrub and now and
then crossed q river or climbed a
mountain.
The feet Of 5000 Australian gold
hunters, accompanied for half the
distance by wagons and pack horses,
had left such plain road behind
that the next 5000 could not 60
astray.
AT no point on the trail could a
dozen worse men have been picked
out than the twelve who sat around
Jim Agnew's campfire. They had
banded together because they were
bad. Had they Travelled singly
they would have Jared badly at the
hands OF the crowd.
! At 0 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 quarrelIug gang
and dropped burden from his
back. 1t was little girl or S
I years old and sound asleep.
lie pulled blanket from under
a man and spread it out to make o
bed for the child. and he tucked
her up with teuder hand before he
Strengthened up and looked about
him and said
4 carried her on my back from
Sydney to Hope Valley, and, find
ing the rush on, m bound for
Woona Walla,'
And who may you be 2 queried
Jim Agnew Of the stranger.
"A gentleman. sir, or the wreck
OF a gentleman, WAS the reply.
you can call me Scott.
( And is this your child ::
No, sir daughter OK my eK part
ner, Mr. Joe Taylor. lie was
another wreck Of gentleman. She
was motherIess, and when be died
q few weeks ago he left her in my
charge. Couldn't refuse to take
her, sir--no gentleman could VERY
interesting young person, bound "a
make lady II properly reared and
educated. She'll be waking mp d.
rectly, aud then we'll thank you
for a bite to eat.
1t was boarding the lion IN his
den. After two or three minutes
the men recovered from their feeling
Of astonishment. aud then there
was resentment at the cool and
nervy way their camp had been in.
vaded.
The man before them was ragged
aud unkempt, and dissipation was
to be read in every line Of his face,
but yet instinct told them that ht
was not Of their ilk.
! No matter what he was now, he
had one day been gentleman.
There were mutterings and threats,
and presently Jim Agnew said
Say, I've heard Of you ! You
are Scott, the gambler. You used
to hang ont at Red Hills
Your information is correct, sir.
used to be a gentleman. Then
was Scott, the gambler. At present
| am Scott, the wreck Of a gentle.
man and guardian of that child,
| Quite correct, sir
Hang your gentleman business 7
shouted Jim as his temper began tC
boil up. Say, boys, let's chip in
and buy the kid. Mebbe shell
bring more lack than humpback.
Yes; let's buy the kid = shout
ed half dozen men in chorus. !.
Gentlemen, said the gambler al
he waved his hand toward the girl
who had been awakened by til,
shouts, permit me to INTRODUCES
Miss Ethel Taylor Of Sidney
daughter Of Mr.. Joseph Taylor de
ceased, ex-convict, gambler, sharp
err and bad 'un generally. In dy
ing he left her in charge of hi
partner, the wreck of gentleman
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