The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1903-04-23

U0AYU QUESTION to his hOStelry
and never left an OppOr-
tunity go by in which he
might mention her.
Gentlemen" he was wont to say to
his guests in the large, bare dining
room, Gentlemen, there's cook fur
yer, direck from the east" AS she had
come from Cheyenne this was strictly
the truth.
She was a small, rather buxOn wom-
an with cOQuettish brown eyes, white
face, and away brown hair. She was
not particularly good looking, but she
must have been fascinating, If one OBJ
served the fact that she had disposed
face, and wavy brown hair. She was
now engaged to prospective fourth,
a miner named Jerry Burke.
Mrs. Frapp was very fond, passionate
ly so in fact, of sundry articles of dress,
to-wit: bonnets, which she tied with
butterfly knots under her dimpled chin,
cream colored and polka dot parasols,
gibbons, colored handkerchiefs, cologne,
jewelry and other things of like ma
ture. She, to be happy, must live where
she could be seen in her inery; where,
when she went out walking, there
would be people to look at her. She de-
sired to shine, as it were. Mrs. Frapp's
third husband with whom, she had no
hesitation in telling Jerry, she was
blissfully happy, had been the proprie-
tor of a general merchandise store in
Cheyenne; and she had declared that
Jerry must have a like business in a
like town before she could be his in
deed and fact. And Jerry, who was
without funds, felt sad to hear that
until that time she preferred to remain
the admired cook of the Beardville tav-
ern.
Jerry owned a partially developed
claim in a gulch off Colley Rock, and
it was upon his assertion that in time
his prospect would enable him to east
ly satisfy to the least detail all condi-
tions that the cook promised him her
heart and hand.
On the certain spring morning upon
which Jerry had stumbled across his
prospect, he hadn't had enough money
to pay for his bacon and flour, let alone
his tools. His friend, Popp, of the Mug
get" had to "grubstake" him to give
him start. Jerry then had been with
out funds and he was now without
funds. His much vaunted ability to
realize from his prospect seemed decid-
eddy dubious and mis- engagement show
ed but little likelihood of eliminating
in marriage.
In the awe-inspiring solitude of the
gulch, however, Jerry worked hard de-
veloping the property, driving a tun-
mel which exposed better rock every
day. In the evening after his work,
after he had fired and eaten his bacon,
and while he smoked his short briar
pipe, sitting in the door of his cabin,
he looked up the high mountains where
the pines were growing close and thick,
or down in the gulch where the creek S
crystal water was fOaming and dash
ing madly among the rocks. His
thoughts then were of the cook, for
Jerry loved Mrs. Frapp with all the fer
vor of his Irish heart.
One afternoon when Jerry came out
of the tunnel he was driving, he saw
two men coming up the gulch on horse
back. One was POpp, the other was, as
Popp explained to Jerry, party
with whom he was negotiating for a
sale of the prospect. The party" who
was a shrewd-looking man, did not
commit himself. He examined the sew
eral places where the ledge cropped out,
glanced in the tunnel, examined the
dump carelessly, kicked at some speci-
mems of the latest rock, disparaged ev-
erything while raking several sacks of
samples and finally, with an air of
seeming disappointment, mounted his
horse and with Popp left the gulch. A
| few days after this, however, Popp
came to tell Jerry that the party" had
closed with him for the property and
| that the money was deposited in the
Baker City bank.
Jerry did not trust banks. He did
not thoroughly understand their pur-
| pose So that when he received check
| for $4,000, drawn on the Baker City
| national bank, he cashed the. to him
| doubtful piece of paper forthwith and
disposed of it's equivalent snugly in his
| inside pocket.
AS he passed out of the bank he met
| a friend a man who had sledged fol
him in the Maggie Murphy mine.
Hello, Mike" he cried.
Hello, Jerry, old boy. What er you
! doin' here? Out of a job?'
mot by hundred foot drift l amt
| I'm goin' ter git married-an' I ain't
| lackin'' the stuff neither. Won't vel
| have somethin' on me?'
|
| together they entered the Blue Snake
saloon, where they each took large
helping of whisky.
What er you doin,' Mixer" asked
Jerry after they had finished theil
drink.
81 tryin' ter git some Teller to go in
with me prospectin' in the mOuntings
| I'D like fur you ter jine me, Jerry"
| Jerry smiled partonizingly anG
shook his head negatively. "No more
mimi fur me-" he said.
The barkeeper took up their glasses
and began wiping the bar with dirty
| towel.
''Take one on me-" said Mike, nod
ding to the barkeeper, and they filled
up again. They had hardly set dowr
| their empty glasses when friend Of
Mikes came in the door. He had &
[ friend with him. He introduced his
friend to Mike and Mike introduced
Jerry to the two newcomers Then fol
lowed a round of drinks. Then follow
ed another, and then came still an
other and one after that. Then came
an interval followed by a few more
rounds.
Presently eight or nine cowboys who
had been haranguing boisterously a.