El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1901-03-19
The Mon Of 0 Thousand.
By NJ. Quad.
Copyright, 1900, by C. Z. Lewis.

| cause in the far west you never mis-
| ter man when you can call him
colonel or Judge" AS James Dale
looked more like n judge than a colo
| mel, they called him as l have said.
He was mine owner. and when things
went wrong he could make hot times
for his engineers and foremen, but he
didn't do it in Il vulgar way. He was
always n gentleman even when he
cussed the hardest. As n matter of
fact. the judges motto was good
FORM" and he carried it out in his
clothes, his cigars, his dinner and the
way he took the news when a fall of
rock in the Emma mine buried IL men
at once. What he said on that occa-
sion was. please wipe your feet on the
rug next time" What he did was TO
fill out l. checks for 81 .O0G apiece for
the respective widows.
1 have it on good authority that
Judge Dale was not vulgarly startled
when he received word from Denver
that his handsome wife, to whom he
had been married five years and who
was visiting friends. had taken an old
lovers arm and severed conjugal rela-
tons by clipping. Others got the news
about the same time. and they couldn't
find anything to criticise in his con-
duct. He went through the daily rou-
tine just the same for three or four
days, and he had the same placid look
and the same even voice as he called
his head clerk into the private office
and said:
Thomas. l am going away for few
days, and you will take charge"
Yes. SIR replied Thomas, and next
morning the judge was on his way to
Denver. He picked up his clew there
without having elbowed anybody or
sOiled the polish of his shoes. He
met friends and talked politics and
real estate and mines. and. lighting
fresh cigar. lie took a train for the
east. Arriving in New York city. he
paid a detective to locate the couple.
but he didn't lug out gun and shout
at the top of his voice that he was an
injured husband thirsting for gore. He
simply threw n couple of big goldpieces
on the table to pay for the information
and descended to the cafe for lunch. \
steamer was sailing for the Mcditerra-
mean at the end of the fourth day, and
when she departed the judge was one
of her passengers. There We're more
than hundred others, and as the
weather was also stormy for the first
two or three days out no one comment
ed on the fact that the passenger who
was registered as Major Davis stuck
close to his cabin and had his meals
brought to him by a steward. Judge
Dale had changed his name, but he had
no idea of changing his identity There
We're laughter and converse ton and n
clatter of dishes as all the passengers
finally gathered for dinner for the first
time since leaving Sandy Hook. To
the right Of the captain sat one of the
handsomcst adde's and one of the finest
looking gen. 'rmen on the list. but TAX
en- al,ocr.lrI il was grand array of
wealth and culture Dinner was fairly
under WHY and the. lady on the cap
tain's right was beaming, when she
happened to cast her eyes down the
table and her face went as white as
death in second. Half a dozen pco-
pie caught her words as she whispered
to her supposed husband:
My God. John. but there is the
judge
The man looked. and the color went
out of his checks. and his jaw fell.
Near the foot of the table sat the man
who had taken new name. He was
cool and placid. and only the ghost of
a smile lowered around his mouth. He
looked the woman and the man full in
the eyes for Il minute. but made no
sign of recognition.
What is it:'' asked the captain as
"Mrs. Bcmis'' shuddercd and gasped
and seemed on the point of fainting.
'A-a sudden illness-heart trouble"'
she stammered as she left the table for
her stateroom, followed by her suppos-
ed husband.
There were wonder and curiosity. but
little was said. Good form" demands
that such Incidents he passed over as
easily as possible. There were those
who thought it might he heart trouble
and others who suspected the presence
OF the major had something to do
with il. but that was no place to com
pare notes. Neither of the pair was
seen again that evening. though Ma
jor Davis was very much in evidence
until Il late hour. At breakfast next
morning Mr.. Bemis appeared alone.
His wife was better. thank you, was
his reply tn inquircrs. but thought 1t
best To remain quiet for day or two.
Not once did he let his eyes roam
around the table, but he knew that
Major Davis WAS there among the
rest. He knew that Il pair of steel blue
eyes We're scanning his troubled face
and that a pair of soft white hands
were aching to grip his throat. After
breakfast, as the men sought the smok-
ing room. Mr. Bemis started to act on
a plan which had doubtless been talk