The Republican journal., 1903-11-19
The 0utwitting of Sorrow
full Jim.


he drew in great breaths of it, feeling a
wild sort of pleasure in the mere fact
of being alive.
For once in three years he was happy
and he had been in that beatiic state
for two whole days. The rest of the
cowboys of the outfit did not know
what to make of it. Cayuse Ike swOre
he had been 'locoed." For Allyn had
been nicknamed by the camp Sorrow
full Jim, and to see him boyishly ex-
uberant and in gay humor was an
unheard-of thing-until the last day or
Allyn had once made the mistake Of
considering life very serious matter,
indeed And when, after trying tor
year to practice law, and not getting
any one to practice upon, he had given
it up in disgust. and migrated to the
home of opportunity in hope OF getting
rich. But there was another reason
woman.
During his. idle hours, Allyn had
fallen in love. And he took that very
seriously also. 1t went hard with him,
for he had nothing on earth except a
few bonds an old aunt had left him,
and the revenue from them did not
amount to $500 year. At this rate his
practice was not increasing. Methu-
selah would have been a youngster
compared with Allyn, if he waited for
the revenue from his profession to en-
able him to marry.
Nelly, however, looked at the matter
in very common sense light. COM
mon sense was her strong point, until
she met him. Then it deserted her
and an unreasoEing love for him took
its place. Still, even then, she had
more of it left than he had to start
with.
Jim she said, you are acting very
foolishly. What does it matter if you
haven't any money: l don't want
money-Ive got enough, or Will have.
when | get control of it. The income
from $500, 900 would keep us very nice
". and would hold us up until you
could establish paying practice. Now
don't be silly
y ely" he replied, solemnly. II can
lot afford to marry you now. People
would say that l married you for
Your money-and | don't intend to put
myself in position where such
motive could be imputed to me-. 1t
would be unjust to me, and to you.
We'll jim" and there were tears IN
her voice Il don't think you are act
ing fairly to me. Here | am, an or
phan. with nobody on the earth to love
except an old guardian-and l desplse
him. You've made me love you so that
lite without you would be worse than
no life at all-and now you say you
cannot marry me until you make what
II took nv father a lifetime to accu-
mulate Why, by that time, I'll have
wrinkles. and maybe, false teeth and
glasses. and be a horrid, snutfy, fussy
old woman"
NO. Nell. l don't want to make
5000, 00o-if | had 100000 it would be
all right. And it will not take long
ont west l will make it quickly. Just
YOU stand fast, and wait for me-.
ooh. I'll wait, but | think you are
hateful and pig-headed, just the same.
Would you marry me if | didn't have
any money at all:''
Yes, gladly. and we would be happy,
too. We would manage, somehow. But
now, my st!f-respect will not allow
mt.
80 it was that he went to make his
fortune. and at the same time, peace
Will his undulv active conscience. To
his utter disgust, however, he found,
after years prospecting, that gold
mines were not at all plentiful. and
that every foot of the mountains had
been prospected over time and again.
4 year in Mexico assured him that the
business of finding silver mines lying
around loose had also played out long
ago. and that it took lots of capital to
start ranching on paying basis
Funds We're getting low, so he secured
place as one of the herdsmen of the
XXX "outfit," and. Oh account of his
grave demeanor, was promptly named
bv the other cowpuncherS ''SorrO Wful
Jim'-and the name stuck to him.
During all his Wanderlngs he had
written to Nelly as regularly as pos
siDle, and had begun to regret in
measure his Puritanical conscience. At
$40 a month and grub, he did not see
that fortune was in immediate pros
pect Absence had indeed made his
heart grow fonder, and he longed for
a sight of NelIy's laughing eyes and
dimpled face.
Yet he would not acknowledge him
self beaten, or that he would give in.
Much against his inclination he re-
NAMED, consumed with desire to see
her, yet impelled to remain in stiff
necked pride, acting as avant courier
and escort for lot of wild-eyed, long
horned steers, all the while curslng
himself for fool So he and the rest
of the outfit did not have very much
in common together, and he grew more
and more unsociable and lonely.
Small wonder was it, then, that when
he received a letter from her, he felt
that his voluntary exile was broken
his penance was done, and he was free
to return to civilization and Nelly.
"You can come on. Jim, DEAR" the
letter said; that is, of course, if you
care to take an almost doWerless bride,
| have only enough left to bring
me in $500 year exactly what you
had. | do not own another thing on
earth. have concluded that the mon
ey without you is not worth having,
and as long as you are so stubborn
about it, | saw that must give in, SO
have done SO, gladly. have gotten to
be "A, as you know, and have absolute
control over my property. So in order
to get you, | have given away my for
tune.
You have cost me nearly 100000,
so | am of the opinion that you had bet
ter come on and deliver yourself up as
victim. | don't propose to tell you
another thing about it, as you have no
right TO know, now. After-after-
oh, well, some time / will tell you what
| did with the rest of the money, but
just now it is no affair of yours. You