Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-12-18

twenty-three. She looked barely TWEEN
ty. Her swift glance swept over tn
group of miners at the hotel door ant
then rested on the mountains standin,
in all their autumn glory
II was proud of our mountains tina
evening. Turning to her husband, sh,
exclaimed:
"sOh, Lewis, are they not grand ant
lovely too?
Every miner lost his heart then anG
there, but all waited for Abe, the driv
er, to give his verdict before venturine
an opinion. Abe said nothing until he
had taken preliminary drink, and
then, calling all hands to ill up, he
lifted his glass high and said solemnly
Boys, here's to her.
"Like flash every glass was emp.
tied, and Abe called out:
"'Fill her up again, boys; my treatv'
"He was evidently quite worked up.
Then he began, with solemn emphasis
"'Boys, you hear me; she's a No. 1,
triple X, the pure quill with bead on
it; she's a.
"And for the first time in his Black
Rock history Abe was stuck for a
word. Some one suggested angel
"'Angely repeated Abe, with infinite
contempt. Angel be blowedv para
| phrase here. Angels amt in the same
month with her. I'd like to see any
BANKED angel swing my team around
them curves without shiver.'
"'Held the lines herself, AbeY asked
miner
"'That's what said Abe, and then
he went off into fusillade of scientific
profanity expressive Of his esteem for
the girl who had swung his team
round the curves, and the miners nod
ded to each other and winked their en-
tire approval of Abe's performance,
for this was his speciality.
Every decent fellow, Abe, but his
talk wouldn't print"
Here Craig paused, as If balancing
Abe's virtues and vices.
"Well," urged, "who is she?"
ooh, yes" he said, recalling himself.
"She is an Edinburgh young lady; met
Lewis Mavor, a young Scotch-English-
man, in London, wealthy, good family
and oil that, but fast and going to
pieces at home. His people, who own
large shares in these mines here, as a
last resort send him out here to reform.
Curiously innocent ideas those old
country people have of the reforming
properties of this atmosphere. They
send their young bloods here to re-
form-here in this devils camp ground,
where mans lust is his only law and
when, from sheer monotony, man
must betake himself to the only ex-
element of the place, that offered by
the saloon. Good people in the east
hold up holy hands of horror at these
goddess miners, but tell you it's ask
ing these boys a good deal to keep
straight and clean in a place like this.
I take my excitement in fighting the
devil and doing my work generally,
and that gives me enough, but these
poor chaps, hard worked, homeless,
with no break or change-God help
them and me!'' And his voice sank
low.
"Well," persisted, "did Mavor re-
form?"
Again he reused himself.
Reform? Not exactly. In six
months he had broken through all re-
straint, and. mind you, not the miners
fault. Not miner helped him down.
1t was sight to make angels weep
when Mrs. Mayor would come to the
saloon door for her husband. Every
miner would vanish. They could not
look upon her shame, and they would
send Mavor forth in charge of Billy
Breen, a queer little chap who had be-
longed to the MAYORS in some way in
the old country, and between them they
would get him home. How she stood
1t puzzles me to this day, but she never
made any sign, and her courage never
failed. 1t was always bright, brave,
proud face she held up to the world,
except in church. There it was differ
ent used to preach my sermons, 1
believe. mostly for her-but never so
that she could suspect-as bravely and
as cheerily as I could, and as she lis
tened, and especially as she sang-how
she used to sing in those days!-there
was no touch of pride in her face,
though the courage never died out, but
appeal, appeal! could have cursed
aloud the cause Of her misery or wept
for the pity Of it. Before her baby
was born he seemed to pull himself to-
gether, for he was quite mad about
her, and from the day the baby came
talk about miracles!-from that day
he never drank drop. She gave the
baby over to him, and the baby simply
absorbed him.
"He was a new man. He could not
drink whisky and kiss his baby. And
the miners-it was really absurd if it
were not SO pathetic. 1t was the first
baby in Black Rock, and they used to
crowd MAYORS shop and peep into the
room at the back Of It'll forgot to tell
you that when he lost his position as
manager he opened hardware shop,
for his people chucked him, and he was
too proud to write home for money
just for a chance to be asked in to see
the baby. I came upon Nixon standing
at the back of the shop after he had
seen the baby for the first time, Sob
III