The Irish standard., 1901-11-23
CHAPTER III.
A WORD AND A RLOW

When | awoke on the morning fol-
lowing the day Of episodes it, was
late, and the bunk-room was desert
cd by all save he master. Macpher-
son was smoking peacefully and
reading the papers brought up from
Fort Cowan by Kilgore, and his
greeting was cheerfully obliterative
of the overnight attack of ill-humor.
"rhe dregs of the morning to you;
| thought you were going to sleep
he clock around. How do you feel
this morning?"
IL feel as if could punish square
meal. What time is it?"
Mine o'clock, and worse. Oh,
Andy!-is The water boilng?"
yep" came the answer from the
cool-house in the rear.
"Put the eggs in, and be ready to
die if they come out hard" And then
to me: you like 'em underdone,
don't you?"
"Yes. When did you put eggs on
the menu?"
Last night. Milt had you in mind,
and he brought them down from the
settlement in his hat"
A mist not of the atmosphere
blurred the homcly interior of the
bunk-room for me. Scf-control is
but a crater-crust in a we'll man, and
the hot lava of illness thins it to the
fracturing point.
eff were sick child you fellows
conldn't be more lovingkind to me-"
ooh, you be" The affectionate
madison stuck in his throat, and he
made hollow pretense of relighting
his pipc-which had not gone out.
When the air was fairly blue with
tobacco-smokc. he said: "I'm going
down to the fort to-day. Want any
thing?"
"ies; ] want to know how the
He got up and began to tramp,
with his hands behind him and his
head in dense cloud of the pipes
making.
81 had hoped you'd forget that"
he said, after Il turn or two.
as it anything ought not to
know?"
'Not on my account; but you've
troubles enough of you own"
"A friends share Of yours won't
make mine any heavier"
"l'm not so sure of that"
"You may he. Besides, it's only
the details that are lacking; you had
row with the engineer"
"flow do you know"
I'm only guessing at it. How did
it happcn?'
ut happened because it's written
in the book of fate that one of US
is to cfface the other, think. 1t be-
gan to grind itself into me yester-
day, when that fellow rode out to
parley with Dan Connolly. If | be-
lievcd in transmigration, should say
that we had worried through some
past avatar as rcd-dog and wolf"
"But the bronco-stumble? said I.
"lm coming to that. When 1
saddlcd El Cato last night, had it
in mind to go and wrestle it out with
SETTER for not keeping faith with me-
\ mile this side of the settlement I
met Milt. and when he told me that
Nykamp was at Settlers, 1 killed
time to give him Il chance to get
away. What | had to say to Setter
wouldn't brook witnesses"
g! can imagine"
"When I reached the schoolhouse,
Miss Sanhorn WAS locking up, and
H.
"Non stopped to talk it over with
her. Go on
"She boards at the Settlers, you
know. and it struck me all at once
that didn't want her to meet that
fellow Wykamp. | don't know why,
and | didn't stop to reason it out. I
made her sit down on the step of the
schoolhousc. and we talked for au
hour or more, ! should say. When
thought | had given Wyllamp time
to vanish, l drew the line. The moon
was up and it was getting chilly, and
l can't make Winif-Miss Sanborn be-
licve that thin sleeves and pneumonia
are cause and effect at this altitude"
"Confound your digressions! Will
you never come to the point?"
"All in good time. We were half
way to Sellers when I heard the en-.
gineer coming. He pulled his horse
down to a walk when he saw us, and
l gave him plenty of room. I saw
him bend to stare at us us he passed
and before knew what was happen.
! ing he was blocking the way with a
sheer on his face and her name on