The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1908-07-02

pretent10uS piaCeS were saloons. "A
very long tent caught Esther's eye.
That's the dancehouse," Sally B.
said. They've got an extra big troupe
Of hurdy-gurdies in n~ow-there's the
place where they sleep just to the left
there. Sufferin' ears! They make a
racket at night, they an the men.
Amt nothin' 20 bad's you might think
bout them girls. though. Most OF 'em
comes from furrin parts. where their
Job amt considered disrespectable."
All In the town carried arms. and
there were occasional brawls; yet no
stranger was molested who did not
first modest. Night drew on, and the
sleepy town awoke. Wood teams from
the mountain chopping camps ratified
In. The clatter of animals feeding,
human and otherwise, stirred the air.
The evening train whistled In from the
west, with mail. passengers, a few
workmen. much forage and supplies.
Coils P.'s done the job" cried the
first trainman to enter the hotel. His
little game o. talk with the president
won the tin. The bonds are issued"
When was IT." asked Sally b., ex-
citedly.
"Oh. weeks ago. probably. 1t was
done fore Andy Johnson went out OF
the White House. anyway"
How much bonds?"
Two million four hundred thou.
sand" the man said, rolling out the
words slowly and respectfully.
A small sum enough for eyes that
read to-day. Yet to a railroad of the
present, forty millions could not mean
more than that sum e to the
struggling Central Pacific.
The train came In from the Front, a
lot OF empty cars humping over un-
settled track. Tonight came Louis
McLane, a distinguished looking gen.
tleman; yet great man as he was, and
earnestly as Sally b. tried to make
him comfortable, other matters over
Swallowed him.
Them u. p. fellers laid seven and
a half miles of track the other day"
The story ran from lip to lip.
Huh! l bet a game rooster George
Gregory'll beat that when the iron
comes. It's on the way now, they
say" Sally b. looked challengingly
about.
Waiting at table did not prevent her
keeping up with all the railroad news,
II rather aided her In doing so; and
her comments were a sort of daily oral
editorial that most Of her patrons be-
lieved in, and all enjoyed.
THE u. P.'s discharged IL engi-
neers cause they wouldn't run at
night" another ~loquacious diner re-
marked.
Don't wonder they refused" a man
from the east replied. THE grades
are ticklish: the track amt half fin
ished. to say nothin' o. being settled:
and the Iniuns are raisin' Cain in
triplets."
That's the way it's been all the
time over on the u. p" a second
stranger added. "Workmen never have
had the proper protection. | was on
the Denver line, and the chief of con
%struction telegraphed for more force.
saying. L have to fight while I dig.
But the company didn't help him out.
Why, we had ten Injun fights In ten
weeks. From one to seven white men
killed every time. II wasn't fun, you
can bet!"
Esther was In the dining room and
heard. The dreadful day at the stage
station came to her. Across the way
violins began to twang, arousing
Esther from her reverie. The callers
voice came clear, and the low, seduc-
tive rumble of dancing feet. One by
one the men finished eating and went
out. The voice of the town called
louder and louder. Esther wondered,
were she a man. II the calls would
seem hideous as now; or would she.
In the very joy Of masculine freedom.
lock around. Join the fringe Of the
cu.ious onlookers. be caught by the
siren. Temptation. and drawn into
the human vortex. carried down
down:
or all the guests, Mr.. McLane alone
was left. He ate slowly In dignifed
silence, pried upon Internationally by
Vic Wah. The wheedling voice Of the
town had no fascination for MI. Nc
Lane. He went at once to his room.
attended by Sally b.
Then the two women chatted q little
longer. when Esther. still tired from
her night spent sitting up in the car.
went to her bed.