Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-02-05

captain of a few hours ago. The river
bank was lined with canvas shelters, IL
, lumined duly by the tent lights within
! till they looked like nest of
glowworms in deep grass A
| long. hoarse blast of good
wishes rose from the steamer, then she
sighed her way around the point above,
bearing forth the message that new
camp had been born.
CHAPTER X.-Meade Burren Finds
a Path in the Moonlight.
mo Creek" Lee had come into his
own at last, and was hero, for the
story of his long ill-luck was common
gossip now, and men praised him for his
courage. He had never been praised for
anything before and was uncertain just
how to take 1t.
SAY, are these people kiddin' me?" he
inquired, confdentially, of Poleon.
ivy? wat you meanT'
well. there's a Teller maxim a speech
about me down by the landing"
wat he say?"
TT amt nothin' to fight over. He says
I'm another DanI Boom, leadin' the
, march of empire westward"
Oats nice, for sure"
Certainly sounds good, but is 1t on the
level?'
wal, 1 guess So" admitted Poleon.
The prospector swelled with indigna-
ton. 'Then, why in hell didn't you
fellers tell me long ago?"
The scanty ounce of two Of gold from
his claim lay in the scale at the post,
where every newcomer might examine
it, and, realizing that he was never
ending source of information, they
fawned on him for his tips, bribing him
with newspapers, worth a dollar each,
or with cigars, which he wrapped up
carefully and placed in his mackinaw till
every pocket of the rusty garment bulg-
ed so that he could not sit without los
ing them. They dwelt upon his lightest
word, and stood him up beside the bar
where they filled him with proofs of
friendliness until he shed tears from his
one good eye.
He had formed a habit of parsimony
born of his years of poverty, and was so
widely known as tight man by the
hundreds who had lent to him that his
/ creditors never at any time hoped for a
( reckoning. And he never offered one; on
the contrary, he had invariably flown
into a rage when dunneu, and exhibited
such resentment as to discourage the
practice. Now, however, the surly hui
NOR of the man began to mellow, and
in gradual stages he unloosened, the
process being attended by a dispropor-
tionate growth OF the traders cash re-
ceipts Cautiously, at f1rst ne let ouI
his wit which was logy from long dis
use, and as heavy on its feet as the
Jumping Frog of Calaveras, but when
they laughed at its labored leaps and
sallies his confidence grew. With the
regularity of a clock he planted cigars
and ordered "a little more hard stuff, -
while his rowing eye reJoiced in lachry-
NOSE profusion, its over-burden losing
itself in the tangle of his careless beard.
By-and-by he wandered through the
town, trailed by a troop OF tenderfeet,
till the women marked him, whereupon
he fed back to the post and Rugged the
bar, for he was bashful man. When
Stark's new place opened 1t offered him
another retreat OF which he awaited him
self for some time. But late in the
evening he reappeared at Old Man Gales
store, walking a bit unsteadily, and as
he mounted the flight OF logsNto the
door he stepped once too often.
Whats become of that fourth stepY'
/ he demanded, sharply, of Poleon.
''Dere she is" said the Frenchman.
I'm damned If 1t is. You moved II
since was here
'Tn have i'm put back" laughed the
other.
"sayI It's grand thing to be rich,
J amt it9"
/ 1T don know, 1 ain never try IT,"
well, II is; and now that I've arrived.
| I'm goin' to change my ways complete
No more extravagance in mine-IIl never
lend another cent"
WAITS dat2' calculated Doret, II
amaEement.
mo more hard-luck stories and hurry.
! ups for mine. I'm the stony-hearted jail
er, / am, from now, henceforth, WORLD
4 n htrCf Cd mir
apply. I've been a good thing, but to-
night 1 turn on the time-lock.'
''Ba goshl You're fonny feller," laughed
| Poelon, who had lent the one-eyed mar
much money in the past and, like others
| regarded him not merely as a bad rish
but as a total loss. ''Mebbe you t'inh
| you've been a spen't'rif all desc year."
1--WE certainly blowed a lot OF money
on my friends" Lee acknowledged, "anC
they're welcome TO what they've got sc
far, but I'm goin' to chop all them prodi-
| gal habits and put on the tin vest. III
run the solderin'-iron up my seams SC
they can't set to me without a can-open-
| er. I'm air-tight for life, am" He
fumbled in his pockets and unwrapped 6
gift cigaR then felt for a match. PoleoT
! tossed one on the bar, and he reached fol
ii twice, missing 1t each time.
| II guess dose new frien' OF yours Is
max you purity FULL Msieu' Tin Vest"
"Nothin' of the sort. I've got a bad
dose of Indigestion
Oats 'orrible diseased Dere's plalnte,
richie man die on dat seecknesse. Yol
! better lie down"
Doret took the hero of the day. by tn,
arm and led him to the rear of the store
where he bedded him on pile of fioul
sacks, but he had hardly returned to thu
bar when Lee came veering out of thu
dimness, making for the light like shil
lacking towards a beacon.
what kind of -four is that?" he splut
tered
Oats just plain w'eat -four"
mot on your life," said the miner, will
the firmness of a great conviction. "It'i
full of yeast powders. Why, it's rarin
and risin' like a buckin' boss. I'm plumb
seasick." He laid zigzag course for the
ldebr.