Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1905-10-17

!
assistant at tie po>totee and WAS pos
sessed of Il well developed curiosity
concerning other peoples correspond
ence
"Hunph." exclaimed Captain Eri.
that's so, Well write the letter. and
! I'll ask Mary Emma for the address
| when go up to mail it,
so Captain Perez went upstairs to
take Mrs Shows place as nurse while
] that lady turned in Captain Jerry
/ went into the kitchen to wash the
dishes and Captain Fri sat down to
write the note that should inform
Elizabeth Preston of her grandfather's
illness 1t was very short note and
merely stated the fact without further
information. Having had some ex-
perience in that line. the captain placed
very little reliance upon the help to
be expected from relatives.
DR.. Palmer had spread the news as
he went upon his round of visits that
morning. and callers began to drop in
to inquire after the sick man.
Ralph HaZeltine came in a little lat
er and was introduced to Mrs. Snow,
that lady's nap having been but a
short one. Ralph was favorably i'm
pressed with the capable appearance
of the new nurse and so expressed
himself to Captain Fri as they walked
together toward the postoffice
Il like her." he said emphaticalIy.
''She's quiet and sensible and cheerful
besides. She looks as if trouble didn't
trouble her very much"
Miss Cahoon remembered the Pres
ton girls address. 1t was Cambridge
Kirkland street, but the number. she
did declare. had skipped her mind
The captain said he would chance il
without the number SO the letter was
posted. Then, with the electrician. he
strolled over to inspect the remains of
the billiard saloon.
There was small crowd gathered
about the building. prominent among
its members being the train commit
tee" who We're evidently holding
special session on this momentous Oc-
casion. The busy Squealer, a trife
wet goods that Lad escaped the efforts
of the volunteer salvage corps hailed
the new arrivals as brother heroes.
web found out how the fire started
yit:' inquired the captain, with ap-
parent unconcern.
NO. he hain't for sure. There was
Il lot of us thought old Baxter might
nf f.i -
have been him. cause he was took
down runnin to the fire. Web, he's
sort of changed his tune and don't
seem to think anybody set it; thinks it
r,,tcileu il & lf''
MI. S;:ul. orS. bis smooth self again,
with ,;ll traces Of mental disturbance
gone from his face and all rougllness
from i!S tongue, came DriSkly up,
smiling as if the burning of his place
of business WAS but Il tril1ing incl
dent, little annoying Of course, but
rot worth frettlng about. He thanked
the captain and HaZeltine effusively
for their service of the previous night
and pied the weight of his obligati ions
upon them until. as Captain Fri said
afterward,' the sirup fairly drippeu
off his cbin.'' The captain broke in
upon the sugary flow as soon as he
could
''How d'you think it started Web:'
he asked
well" replied Mr. Saunders slow
ly, Il kind of callate she started her
self. There was some of the boys ia
nf in5 -,
not cigar butt or Il match or some
thin dropped somewhcres and got to
smolderin' and smoldcred along Till
bimeby-puff" An expressive wave
of Il fat hand finished the sentence
"Humph.' grunted the captain.
Changed your mind sence last night.
Seems to me heard you then swearin
you knew twas set and who set it,
'Well, ye-es. l was considerable
shook up last night, and maybe said
things hadn't ought to. You see,
there's been Il good deal of hard feel
ms toward me in town. and for
spell thought some feller d tried to
barn me out. But guess mott guess
not. More ! think of it. more l think
it catched itself. Seems Il m,c | re-
member smellin' sort of Il scorchin'
smell when l was lockin' up. Oh. say.
l was mighty sorry to hear bout Cap'n
Baxter bein' took sick. HOw's he git
tin along:"
Captain Fri brusquely replied that
his friend was "'bout the same" and
asked if Mr.. Saunders intended to re-
build. Web didn't know just yet. He
was poor man. didn't carry much
insurance, and SO on. Thought likely
he should fix up again if it didn't cost
too much. Did the doctor say whether
Captain Baxter would pull through or
not? !
ITO Be CAntinued