Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-12-19

wide strip Of n beer-case both elbows
planted on the table, and his seven hn-
gers screwed about the greasy cards.
He had been winning Tor the last 40
minutes. The chips In front Of him
were stacked I'm piles that "wobbed.'
II they had all belonged to Canary II
Is probable that even his iron nerve
might have been shaken, although he
was used TO the excitement that col
ored the smox OF McPoln's back room.
But Canary, II must be stated, played
what might be called a "vlcarious'
game. That L., he was a sort OF under
study for McPolln himself who drank 20
much that he had to lay OF occasional
~ for repairs to his damaged eQuili-
brlum. During these periods Canary
ran the little game that was 80 pro-
life "A source OF income to the lmbibing
bar-kecper
No one knew exactly how old Canary
was, his wi2end. scanned face having
long since lost all likenes to youth and
his bent. thin body itself giving no
clue. That he was still In his early
teens, however, was betrayed by the
clear, girlish soprano that had gained
him his nickname. He had been found
IN burned out lumber camp, from
which all the inhabitants either had
iled, or remaining, mad been crema ed.
only this Walt dabbling In the shallow
river-bed, had survived, and he was
burned almost beyond resemblance to
humankind.
II was "Reddy' Newell who had
come into camp one day with the little
mite held tenderly I'm his old arms that
for years had known no softer burden
than pick or an ore-sack, IT'S
queer sample, boys" he explained To
l..I h..s
in his shack and | reckon 1t wouldn't
assay n grain Of gold to a ton. But
likewise reckon that pay-dirt amt the
only thing worth digging for In this
world, and 1t amt likely it'll break me
20 grub-stake this little tad TIL he's
old enough to work his own claim
Doubtful grunts had greeted these In
troductOry remarks, but the old man
was not TO be daunted, VIXEN asked If he
had any idea as to the boys identity,
Reddy shook his head, 1.-THE only man
/ know on In that particlp camp that
had any children was a fool parson
that like as not was Trader of forest
fires than the sort OF fire he preached
about. and III out without gathering up
all his famlly,-or mebbe he was
burned along with his house. 1t don't
much mntter--fer here's the property
OH my hands without n name or pat
ont and lest somebody jumps II,
reckon III have to pay the ASSESS
ments" And with that Newell had en-
tered into formal possession and the
waif was installed as part of the min
er's household.
All might have gone fairly well with
the boy II Reddy's calling had not kept
him away so much, but the old pros
pector made trips" that stretched over
months, and during these absences the
poor child Jared hardly. From one OF
these expeditions Newell failed TO re-
turn whether he had merely wan
dered to pastures new, or been lost IN
som OF the mountain Businesses, no one
could tell. The idea Of Reddy NewelPs
being lost anywhere was secuted by
those who knew him best, but the fact
of his absence remained unrefuted,
And the fact remained the same for
the NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. as well as par
ents had ceased to exist for him. II
seemed n pity that he had thrlved--that
nature had reserved him for the worse
fate OF being the only child In rough
mining camp, errand-boy for every
man In II, from Morton, the mill boss,
10 Fong Yup the boarding-hous COOK
whose shanty was his only home De-
MED the amusements Of normal boys,
Canary had developed a passion for
gambling. The miners had treated II
as huge joke at first and lent MIN
chips to add zest to mock games Tor
the mere sport of beating the other
man. But after some seasons or THIS
Canary Caught on" for himself, and
then the men lent him no more chips.
His lmmobile, SCARED features were as
incapable OF expressing emotion as
though they had been carved In hard
wood, and this made him formidable
antagonist mt poker.
Natures only gift TO him was sweet
soprano voice, that was as TUT az
woman's and flexible as birds. He
had learned the Swiss yodel from one
of the Dutch" miners, and as he
trudged daily on some errand from the
mill to the dump, or to the cSbins ne
low, his high, clear notes would sound
even above the pounding OF the stamps,
and the over hangng cliffs OF the
Rockies would echo in true Alpine
fashion. At night he was generally In
demand somewhere, chiefly ut Nc
Polins, where II he was not gambling,
the men would have him In to sing
Have Courage, My Boy, to Say MOI
and then they would roar and punch
each other and have another"
Tonight Canarys streak of luck was
interrupted by the entrance OF crowd
of men Just off shift, who demanded
that the game stop and everybody go
IN for a time"
Whats up2" growled Harmon,
grabbing back his ante
"Lordy, man, why It's Christmas eve
haven't you got any Christian spirit?'
retorted the most notorious heather In
Little Chief.
"Shure. and what We goin' to do
about IT." asked McPolin, ready for
any celebration that portended profit,
"Goin to the Revival meetln up at
Jerry MaIns--more fun n box OF
monkeys"
And we're goin' to dres up the kid
here In buds OF Mary's and let him sing
in the choir"
"Pm Tor it," cried Canary. breaking
Immediately into Rock of Ages In
his womanlsh soprano, sending the
men into ecstacies over the brilliancy
Of their design
Il took hardly moment TO array
Canary: an old black skirt buttoned up
under his arms, a shapeles cape ana a
cavernous sun -bonnet--all articles
nlched from the the wardrobe OF Mary
Jane Appleby camp washerwoman'
known Familiarity I'm Little Chief as
Jerry Mainland he stood as perfect
a little old lady as ever graced camp
meeting, When Canary clasped his long,
thin hands in front, bowed his head
and roured forth tremulous soprano,
the mems merriment increased to
bitch that threatened the ROOF OF Me-
Polin's rather riCkety establishment.
Jerry Mains cabin was crowded that
nlght-an experience unprecedented In
the course of the Rev. Mr.. Stookey's
labors among mining camps, and his
dense, kindly soul overlicwed with
thankfulness. He was small man
with an enormous voice which long
practise I'm out of door speaking had de-
veloped into perfect below, so that
now although he was within four walls
he could not moderate It's volume, but
roared until the iafters shook. His vile,
two small boys, n smaller girl and a
sallow young man, evidently relative,
were the choir After some hesitation
cnnntu lnlnah tho liffln crOun. Mherent