The Savannah morning news., 1903-07-19

sufficient.
So he used to look upon the face of
this other mans wife from under SOM
bre brows. but through clear eyes. No
one could have guessed what his slow
deep thoughts We're at such times. nor
what he found whether of peace or I'M
rest, in his contemplation of a portrait
of the past. He said it made him bet
ter. Perhaps it did.
But there came a time when the
windlasses over the ra bbit- burrow pros
pectors shafts had made their last nee
essary revolution. Jim Buckley knew
the cross section of that country as
we'll as you or / know the cross Sec
ton of an apple we have just cut in
two. Then, having satisfied his pur-
poses, he looked to his friendships. He
had never had many. Alfred, Billy
Knapp, Hal Townsend, Charley Fam
child-why you could count them on the
fingers of one hand-and two of these
were dead. and another was so far
away in the cattle country of Arizona
that he might as we'll have been so.
Jim would have liked we'll to have
gathered this old band of comrades
about him and said, Here, boys, is
what l have 1t is more than enough
for me; it is more than enough for all
of us Let us share 1t, just as we used
to share our bacon or our coffee in the
old days, and so we can grow old to-
gether in the way that suits us best,
the way of the pioneer" AS he sat in
the cabin now, or stalked the hills with
his rifle, this old comradeship took more
and more shape from the mists of the
past. and there grew up in his breast
a sharp craving for old times, old faces.
cid friends. 1t was a popularity of his
nature that his ideas possessed a sort
of cumulative force. They gathered
added reasons for their carrying out
as a rolling SNOWFALL gathers snow.
Toward the end of that month, he pack
ed a strange old valise with clothes
for the journey, strapped on his best
siX-shooter, put his cabin in order, and
rode his horse down to Crooked Horn.
There he left the animal with Billy
Powers and took the train for Edge
mont and thence to Rapid
He knew that Billy was somewhere
in the Hills. At Rapid he learned of
that individuals new Importance. His
; heart sank little at the thought that
this prosperity might forfend his own
scheme Of comradeship, but neverthe-
less he took Blair's stage for Copper
Creek and Custer.
Near Rockerville the axle gave way.
| The brake was repaired at a miner S
forge with some difficulty, but the job
carried on so late into the afternoon
that Blair refused to go farther that
night, and the party slept at Rocker
vile. The next morning they pushed
on again about daylight, in order that
Blair might start back from Custer
before noon, thus reducing his delay
by a few hours. A half mile below
Durands shack the axle again gave
way, this time with a sudden violence
that sent flying the baggage which had
been piled on top. Jim found his va
|, lise in the bushes. The catch had
l-w.r - 49,, L. \
so that 1t lay half open; but fortunate
~ its contents had not emptied Jim
closed it with the two end-clasps, and
set it by the side of the road. He did
not notice that the ivory miniature had
dropped out. and now lay face down
ward at the roots of a mesquite.
? Blair looked up from his inspection
Bad break" he said. with a string
of oaths. Copper Creeks under a mile
ahead. You'll save time by pushin' on
afoot. I'll be in as soon as l can get
this su1phurated axle tide together with
a strap.
mo hurry" replied Jim; "In help
you"
He began to unhitch the horses while
: Blair went to borrow an ak of Durand
The drivers intention was to splice the
, broken axle with bit of green wood
In a little time. he and the old man
returned together.
So Billy found them, straining away
with an impromptu crowbar. When he
and Jim saw each other. they agreed
that they'd be tee-totally chawed up!
After a time the stage moved doubt
fully on toward Copper Creek. Billy
and Jim went the other way in tbs
blackboard.
Billy explained that he was going tc
see Jim; and Jim explained that he
: had come to get Billy. Billy elabor-
ated on the tale of his doings since
their last meeting, and easily persuad-
: ed jim, as we'll as himself, that he was
a most wronged individual. To re-
: store his self-respect it only needed
a sympathetic listener so that he could
T hear the sound of his own voice. Fol
the moment he had doubted himself
] Now he saw plainly that he had beer
misled by false pretenses. If he hac
under stood clearly from the beginning
z the picayune policy expected of him by
these stingy Fasteners. he would have
~ graduated his scale of expenditures tc
suit it, but certainly they had implied
at least that they intended to get up a
good big mine Served a man right fol
going in with such sharpers!
Jim merely said that he had a first
: rate thing to share with Billy.
1t was a pleasant sight. the bearded
|, solemn miner, fairly glowing with
pleasure over finding Billy unfortunate
and therefore open to his own kind of.
! fees; the eager-faced ENTHUSIASTIC pro.
moter, elated and high-sp.&ted because
: of the relief of putting quite behind
hun a colossal failure: because of the
privilege of starting again with clear
slate; because of a hundred new and
promising schemes for the future
Michail Lafond's long planning had
awaited little. after all With all his
shrewdness he did not see that in the
personality of Billy Knapp he was at
tempting to quench the essence of en-.
thusiasm and hope and faith-inextin.
guishable fires. That is the American
frontiersman.
At Rapid they took the train tc
Crooked Horn. At Crooked Horn they
reclaimed the horse from Billy Pow
ers. Then they inaugurated the boom
At this very day Dec "a, 1899, they are
still living together in the new town
of Knapp City, Wyo., wealthy and re-
specte1 citizens. And Billy recounts
his Copper Creek experiences, general
ly with tolerance, as an example of the
deceit of his fellow creatures They
were the fruit of eighteen years OF
planning and waiting and working by a
man who thought he could shape great