The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1902-02-20

ward the tent flap.
I'VE hadn't been asked to be made
lmpires and none Of us felt cxuctly
ike pushing to the front and handing
1own any decision as to the respective
irtuoso abilities of Bitf and Alec. We
'aw that Biff's eyes were blazing and
!hat his nigh hand was sort o. twid-
ding nervously in the direction of
his gun. And SO our tide Just nat
urally set toward the tent flap.
"Alec set the fiddle and bow down
after he'd got through and grinned
quizzically and powerful irritatingly
at Biff. Bif had chagrined, evil
look on his map that ought to've
caused Alec to be careful, but Alec
was flushed with triumph and his
four days souse, and he kept right
on grinning in Biff's teeth.
'Ombrey,' said Biff, strengthening
himself up and glaring hard at his
partner, femme tell you somethin'.
You're a ringer. You're a -
Nov, it was ut this very instant,
when the hands of both men were
travelling toward their guns, that 1
noticed squat, heavy-set man, clad
in dark clothes, and with fiat
topped derby pushed back from a
very bald head, standing in the en-
trance of the tent. l knew him right
away-had seen him in Denver the
week before.
I'VE of the bunch were just about
to execute our timely hike when Biff
and Alec were on the point of max
ing their gun play, when the little
man, who appeared to be quite aware
OF what was in progress, walked jerk
ily up to where they stood confront
ing each other, and almost on the
pinpoint of plugging each other, and
he said, addressing them both, and
looking smilingly from one to the
other:
I heard some blaying-nod? yes?'
"Bif and Alec both turned and
gazed with open mouths at the queer
looking little man with the bald head.
Neither Of them said word, but
they just stared at him.
"'Oh, here is re veeoleen' said the
squat man, picking up the instru-
ment from tl~ bar and scrutinlzing
1t. Then he picked up the bow. Biff
and Alec continued to stare at him.
"'Vell, blay for you,' said the lit
tie man, and he snuggled the violin
up under his chin like as II it was a
pet kitten, and he gave flourish with
the bow, and then he brought 1t down
for a crashing chord on all four
strings at once-and then Biff's and
Alec's guns went back into their belts
and they forgot about everything
else except the sounds that were COM
ing out of that catgut and, know
ing that the making Of war medicine
was over for the time being, we all
gathered around the squat man.
Did any of you ever hear Edouard
Remenyi, the Hungarian viclinist,
piayP Because tfat's who the sduat
man was-Remenyi. He had run down
rom Denver to Cripple Creek TO see
what new American mining camp
vas like, and prowling around. and
hearing Alec's scraping of 'The
DEVILS Dream he had just dropped
nto the honkatonk on an impulse,
"ithoutany idea ofwhat was going on.
"Well, Remenyi played all right.
lie just nursed that old thing under
MS fat neck like boy cu1dles
guinea pig with broken leg, and he
hadn't been playing more than two
minutes before every man in the gang
ooked as If he had a sneaking sort
II feeling that he hadn't done right
with his life.
"Bitf and Alec sidled over to the
oar and leaned their backs against
t, side by side, and every time that
squat man pulled out q
.remolo that was particularly meaty
md reproachful and full O. meaning,
,hey'd exchange kind o. entranced
smiles with each other and shake
heir heads sadly at each other.
II don't know what it was that
'quat foreign man played. I never
will know. But know that what he
played made me feel like I'd been neg ,,
Getting the folks back home, and when
reached my shack I sat down and
wrote 'em letters until daylight.
when after ten minutes of straight
'laying, he wound up with a lot of
ow things way down on the G. string
hat sounded like brook gurgling |
o itself in the night, and when he |
ook the violin from under his chin
With a sort of dreamy smile on his
'udgy face, there was an amount of |
oughing from those fellows standing
round such as never heard outside
It hotel for 'lungers.' And none
II the bunch seemed to want to look |
t each other except, Biff and Alec.
"They looked at each other silently
nd sheepishly for about two min
ties after Remenyi put down the vio-
in and mopped his forehead with a
ig white silk handkerchief. Then
'iff walked up to the stocky virtuoso,
leared his throat, and said in tone
hat was pretty hoarse: