Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1905-11-21
q s@@s@@@ssa q q p q q <: I {

Mary tlptOpH To me door ana pPepCu
over. but the room WAS deserted save
for Simpson hudded III q corner bit
ing his finger nails. The nasty thing.
exploded Mrs. Clark when she mad re-
ccived the bulletin. I'D turn him out
if it wasn't for the notoriety he might
bring my place in gettin' killed in front
of it.
81 dare say I'd better go and see
after my trunk it's still on the station
PLATFORM Mary wondered what her
prim aunts would think of her for
sitting in Mrs Clark's kitchen, but it
had seemed SO much more Of refuge
than the sordid streets of the hideous
little town, with it's droves OF men and
never a glimpse Of woman, that she
had only been too glad to avail her
self Of the invitation of the proprietress
to make herself at home till the stage
left"
well. good luck to you" said Mrs
Clark, wiping her hand only partially
free from dough and presenting it to
Miss Carmichael She had not in
Quired where the girl was going nor
even limited to discover where she
came from, but she gave her the god
speed that the west knows how to
give, and the girl felt better for It.
At the station, where Mary shortly
presented herself in the interest of that
old man of the sea Of all travellers, lug
gage she learned that the stage did
not leave town for some three quarters
ne hon y.nt EhA ut
poSal before the stage would embark
OH that unknown sea Of prairieS she
spent in the delectablc pastime of shop
ping The financial and social interests
of the town seemed to converge in
Hugous & co.'s trading store,' where
Miss Carmichael invested in an extra
package of needles for the mere ex-
citement of being one of the shoppers,
though her Aunt Adelaide had stocked
the little plaid silk workbag to reple
ton with every variety of needle
! known to woman. She pricked up her
! ears meanwhile at some of the pur-
| chases made by the cowboys for their
camp larders-dcviled ham, sardines
| and canned tomatoes heading the list as
prime favorites. Did these Strapping
border lads live by the fruit Of the tin
| alone? Apparently yes with the So
nilisticated accompaniment of soda
biscuit, to Judge by the quantity Of
baking powder they invested in--lit-
! orally pounds of it. Men in any other
condition Of life would have died Of
slow poisoning as the result of it.
There We're other customers at HUI
gous' that morning besides the spurrel
| and booted COW puncher and his de
spised compeer. the sheep herder That
restless migrant class whose origin
! as Il class lay in the community of its
own uncertain schemes Of fortune. the
west. With her splendid lavish prom
ises. called them from their thrftlesS
farms in the south and their gray cab
! ills in New England They began their
iOurneyingS toward the land of prom
ise long before the Indians had ever
seen the shrieking fire wagon" All
day they would toll over the infinituqe
Of prairie the sun that hid nightly be-
hind that maddeniugly elusive vanish
ing point. the horizon. their only guide
| But the makeshifts of the wagon life
were not without charm. They began
| to wander in quest of they knew not
precisely what, and from these vague
beginnings there had sprung into exist
ence that nomadic population that was