The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-11-26
DICKS PARTNER.
GA Thanksgiving Story.) By Mrs. Gen. George E. Pickett.

GA Thanksgiving Story.) By Mrs. Gen. George E. Pickett. Copyright. 1903. by Daily Story Pub. Go. There was snow on the peaks and tn l wind swept down through the slopes an. skurried wildly through the canyon. The train pulled out from the littl mountain station and left a passenger who stood on the platform looking ovel suddenly from another planet into al unknown life, which presented puzzles O bewildering character Be you Miss Lyleford?"
 The girl looked attentively at the shag gy face as if with a view of classifyin, 1t and assigning 1t a place in the vas museum of human nature before admit ting her identity. t yer"
 Vas; I'm Dicks pard."
 Miss Lyleford extended her hand tc him. while smile lit up her face bril-. liantly.
 T am deeply indebted to Dicks pard, ' she said.
 No; it's t'other way round. I'm owin you for sight O. things; more par ticlarly Dicks life"
 She. clasped her hands and a look of anxiety replaced the smile with which she greeted him.
 He will get well?'
 "Sure-now. The sight O you'd call back man what had already staked his claim in tother world and filed his application with the land office up wonder. He wouldn't want no land patent when he could take out the patent for the happi- ness O jest lookin' at you.'
 The winning smile came back and dim pied her cheeks and filled each curve of her face with ripples of light "A girl what can make sunshine out O all the clouds around her can take the grumps out O any man." thought Dicks pard," looking at her admiringly.
 Now, miss, we'd better mosey," he said, fer it's gittin' dark and the road long to our place isn't jist the path I'd recommend delicate young lady to take when she wanted a constitutional to brace up run down system. You ain't skeered O most things, are yep T don't think so." "NoA should think if a river of fire and birthstone was here and somebody you wanted to see was over wonder you'd go to that person." Possibly
 'Then you won't mind a little run like this. You see, we haven't any railroad to our mine. Sometime we'll have, when the workin's Is more forwarder and we're tahn' the rocks out by tons But il takes time and while we're peggin away we've got to git across the noun. tains the best We can, and that's burrC | train"
 The expositor of mountain travel gave peculiar cluck, what he called "winl | of his voice." and his own personally | conducted train drew up beside hlm nqiSxy T.uy1aford tl, | strange little beast, with its pathetic ex. pression of unvarying patience and stric | devotion to duty.
 'T never had pass over this route, she said.
 You won't find it such bad goin' | though it isn't ekal to the lightnin' ex press for speed. It gets there just tht | same and lays over the express in the matter O landin' you most generally ir one place."
 He assisted Miss Lyleford to mount the palfrey of the hills and the journey was begun, the miner leading the burro along narrow winding path that ran across the foothills and along the edge of the canyon that opened darElyN into the heat 1 of the range. The sun went suddenly be. hind the mountains and night closed down early here while yet 1t was day fir the valley. Over in the southwest flashes LII ilBuIulHS Bledneu dcrOSS the purple heights and thunder rolled faintly up tho canyon.
 You must not be afraid of our noun tain storms They don't amount to much. cept to look pretty. An this little cuss will take you safe as a rockin' hoss. ''
 She smiled up at the rugged, kindly face that was dimly visible by the flashes of light.
 T shall not be afraid of anything with you to take care of me. I remember how good you were to Dick"
 'Sho', now! I didn't do anything for him. He was mighty good to me when hit the slag pile; that is. when I was down on my luck, you know.''
 T know what you did," she said, softly, and her voice was like a strain of music across the wind that drifted down from the mountain. "He told me how you were his friend when he first came to the mines, a 'tenderfoot,' he called it, and how you knocked out Big Stoker when he tried to play pranks on him. Then he told me about the time you went pro- specting together on the west slope. It seems to me that I have gone over that trail scores of times. I nave felt the desert sun blaze down on me till every drop of blood in my veins turned to fire"
 Tt was little warm there, I reckon. We didn't take thermometers along,
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