The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1903-03-04
you have your man at last"

"You have your man at last"
"What manf"
"Tlic man you havo been waiting
for"
"Slayln?"
"Why not2"
81 never thought OF It."
NC more did lie or any OF u.s." Then,
after q pause, she added gently, "He
has been sent to u.s."
ID you know, 1 believe you are
right" Craig said slowly and then add.
ed. "But you always are"
81 fear not" she answered, but
thought she liked to bcar his words.
Ii whole town was astounded next
morning when Slayin went to work in
the mines. and It's establishment only
dcepencd as the days went on and no
stuck to his work. Before three weeks
had gone the league had bought and
rcmodeled the saloon and had secured
Slavin rs resident manager.
The evening Of the r%eopening of Sla-
wins saloon. us it was still called. was
long remembered In Black Rock. 1t
was the occasion of the first appear
ance of the League Minstrel and Ora
matte troupe. in what was described as
a chair lifting tragedy, with approprl-
ate musical selections" Then there
was n grand supper, with speeches and
great enthusiasm. which reached its
climax when Nixon rose to propose the
toast of the evening, "Our saloon" His
speech was simply n quiet. manly &C.
count Of his long struggle with the
deadly enemy. When he came to speak
Of his recent defeat, he said:
And, while l I'm blamin' no one
but myself. l am glad tonight this So.
loon is on II side, for my own sake
and for the sake Of those who have
been waitin' long to see me. But be-
fore | sit down I want to say that
while l live 1 shall not forget that I
w my life to the man that took me
that night to his own shack and put
me in his own bed and met me next
mornin' with an open hand, for I tell
you 1 had sworn to God that mornin'
would be my last"
Geordie's speech was aracteristic.
After n brief reference 10 the "myste.
rious ways o. Providence" which he
acknowledged he might sometimes fail
to understand, he went on to express
his unqualified approval Of the new
saloon.
Its a coy place, nm there's nae sui
phur ABBOTT. Besides a. that" he went
on enthusiastically, 'Itll be q terrible
savin'. I've just been coontin'."
you bet" calculated a voice, with
great emphasis.
give JUST been coontin'," went on
Geordie, ignoring the remark and the
laugh which followed, IAN it's an awful
Xix money We pit over WI the whusky.
Ye see we ann dae WI ane bit glass.
We maun haze twa or three at the vera
least, for it's no vera forrit We get WI
II glass. But WI yon coffee ye JUST
get n saxpence worth an we want nae
mair."
There was another shout OF laughter,
which puzzled Geordie much.
II dinna see the jowk, but I've slip.
pit over in whusky MAR nor q hummer
dollars"
Then he paused, looking hard before
him and twisting his face into extraor-
binary shapes till the men looked at
him in wonder.
I'm rale glad O. this saloon, but It's
over late for the lad that Gamma be
helpit the moo. He'll not be needin'
help o. oors, 1 doot, but there are it'll
ers." And he stopped abruptly and sat
down. with no applause following.
But when Slavin, our saloon keeper,
rose to reply the men jumped up on
the seats and yelled till they could yell
no more. Slavin stood, evidently in
trouble with himself, and finally broke
out:
"Its spccchless l am entirely. What
come to me l know not nor how it's
come, but III do my best for YOU"
And then the yelling broke out again.
/ did not yell myself. WAS too busy
watching the varying lights in Mrs. Ma
vor's eyes as she looked from Craig to
the yelling men on the benches and ia
bles and then to Siayin, and i found
myself wondering If she knew what 1t
was that came to Slavin.
Fno g, ,o<,r,NruD ri