Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1907-07-23

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What are you dotng autth those horses ("
Now, landlord" he continued when
that worthy appeared with lighted
candle. give me change out of that,
and don't you force me to give you any
out Of this!"
He presented a sovereign in his left
| hand. a pistol in his right, but 1t was
the great besotted face at which Tom
stood gazing. Besotted it still was, and
| brutal and low, but one virtue shone
out Of 1t In the candle light. There
was plenty of cool courage in the
bloodshot blue eyes and an indomita-
BILE determination about the pendulous
lower lip.
"Sir," whispered the landlord, falling
back, there's constable In the house.
I shall fetch him up. Such an outrage
upon lawabiding citizen"-
"Lawablding grandmother" cried
Mr.. Nat. II know all about you and
your inn. Who doesn't? l never would
have set foot inside such den If it
hadn't been your internal Sydney sun
that b0wled me over. You may know
my name. I'm Nat Sullivan of Castle
Sullivan, near the Hunter river, and
never was bested by convict yet, no,
nor an emancipist either, my fine fel-
low! There, keep the rest, but you
lead me straight downstairs and out to
| my horses or you may have something
else to keep besides"
In another minute they We're in their
saddles, and as they rode away Tom
put skeleton key in Ills masters hand,
saying he had picked it up outside the
bedroom door.
"And you give it to mer' cried Mr..
Nat. you don't keep 1t to use your
self? Well. well. you've not made a
bad beginning, Erickson. You looked
after me when was bowled over, and
you saved my horses when most Of
you chaps would have been the first
to take 'em. That landlords an old
lag himself. know how to treat the
breed. l never was bested by one Of
you yet, so put that in your pipe and
smoke 1t. But you're wonder, you
are! Seen the inside Of a Sydney pub
and come out sober! Well, there's one
like that to every hundred inhabitants,
to say nothing of the sly grogshops.
It's warm place, Sydney, l can tell
you. But the Sydney sun, that's hotter
still"
| 1t was under brilliant moon, how
ever. that Tom had his last glimpse Of
the town for several months to come.
Nor did he ever see Its sad sights again
with the same startled eyes nor hear
its sad sounds with the same thrill of
horror. 1t was a different nature-it
was another man-that came back to
Sydney after many weeks.
| The exodus in the meanwhile proved
pleasanter experience than Tad at
first appeared possible. The small adj
venture ut the Bull and Tumbledown
had established some degree of mu-
tual regard between Mr.. Nat and his
new groom. Their ride up country
spread over the better part Of week
during which time the master suffered
more than once as he had been suffer
ing when the man first met him. But
In the intervals he treated Tom with a
certain stupid good humor, which,
however, never for a moment conceal
ed the capacity for an equally stupid
cruelty, and the nearest approach to a
quarrel on the way was occasioned by
the brutal beating Of the pack horse,
In which Tom interfered. They were
good friends, however, on the whole,
and once or twice Mr.. Nat made quite
an interesting guide. In Parramatta
he pointed out large building, like a
poorhouse, and offered to wait outside
while Tom went in to choose wife.
"a wife!" said Tom, with shudder.
"What is the placer
| "They call 1t a factory. 1t is for the
| women what Hyde Park barracks are
to You fellows. They go there till
they're assigned and afterward when
they're turned into government. Cut
in and take your choice. Pm not jok-
ing I've chosen em for our men be-
!. fore today, and you're the sort that
4 AVoSA NCo VIC. SIGl u llSAlMGiSutt ullA
Wen take her UP on the pack horseu
Tom shook his head aud thought of
| Claire until they st.aDped Mt an Inn
where a new sur ~. awaited him,
| The Respondent landlord stared when
he saw Tom and tilted a white top hat
| over his eyes, but not before the latter
had recognized a fellow convict Per
Seahorse. They had parted in the bar
rack yard, where Tom had. seen the
other carried of by a gorgeous female
In a nankeen pelisse and bright green
veil, to whom he had been assigned.
Tom now caught Il glimpse of the nan
keen pelisse in The bar parlor, and as
he rode away he ASKED Mr.. Nat whcth-
err convlcts were ever assigned to their
wives.
'They have been often'enough." was
the reply, but It's being put stop to
now. Why, some Of the best shops in