The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1909-04-09
CHAPTER XVII. (continued.>

mene. What were all their troubles
now-the treachery of the manager,
the ten-mile tramp after their fight
from their dSdgiugs and fMrs. sGridesf
or the twenty miles that yet lay be.
tween them and their destination. not
to mention the more tahnsprobablea at,
titude of the landlord when he learned
their financial condition? What dia
ANYTHING matter? Here they were in
a farm. cosy Doom, with an excellent
dimer on dtssway to. them Joesfelt'
th4t he hadn't q careein the world. =
The landlord had sdrSvns upstintihg-a.
ly on the resource of his larder to DO
honor To- guests fec6mme ended by Mr.
Gabbitas, who were evidently people
offs some Importance, despite their
shabbine;";; that was. doubtless,
- Etrieity The dish Of chops
made itslahpearance,, thanked .hSsslabss
ofsfried potato. beautifully Drowned
POEMS of color Joe called them. as he
pulled his chair up to the table and
gr3spef the caryers with, the i light. OF
enthusiasm kinding his, eye.s Even
Monty seemed to forget his pessimis-
tic forebodings in that blissful mos
msnt.
No gessin.ism about Joe!, r.ey-k
SIT the landlord has any: sences or
hqmor hen simply roar when. we ok.
plain teekimahow We are situated, u. he
remarked, presently, piling his friends
plate. The chops had vanished; the
fowl under Joe's business-like carving
was rapidly becoming = fmere sani-
totntcal study. Hell simply roar With
laughter atrQN little, bit of .spoof!" - :
Monty WAS rot QUITE so sarguine. :
"I-Im afraid we can't build too
MICH on that, Joe; he hardly stfikesl
me as beingethat sort of man." he
said, dout0Ak, I LOOKING across at. h;ss
frtend-not that. at the mem lent. much
Of Joe's face exas visible; indeed,
Only the margin Of it could be seen
shining rPafd the rim of what ,looked
like big crown piece. - : - ~ = =
1t was the bottom of the tankard;
joe set it down e.ppts,, and denberates
lyrang for a freeir~sapply- with a COM
p9sure that his more timid friend en-
Wed with all his heart.
s'You see, 1--WE may as iwe,I do. our:
selves PROPERLY. The explanations
got to come, anyhow; may as we'll be
hang for sheep as a lamb said joe
tightly. Already Richard is iiimSselr'
again-or getting on that way. After
feed like this, what will twenty miles
Be7Hes-ssHKalr be like giants refreshed
and when the moment comes for
breaking the news gently, to mine host,
{ Don't talk about it, Joe," put in
the heavy man, hastily. with gulp.
II wa4t rP7stob hag py Whist Lean" ~
; Joe tayelied. ~ - ( ! Isy,Ss {.
"Oh, you leave me to manage the
IL. ef N, Montys he said e9m q q IS
Iof an excellent dinner and blind
!t, Tist in nin 1a' 25,St E;s{}l hd ;{,is
sthere'll be no trouble, dear boy Leave
it all to me. Have sb8 @Is 90
old chap"
Dinner was a leisurely proceeding.
Cold appls& FiH%sslr Rhe sa
followed; he gG Dds Ar e.
steadily through the courses, doing
execution that made the landlord open
his eyes as he brought in the sweets.
1t was not until the cfeesay Wa3t
reached that Joe Grisson's exuberant
spirits showed any signs of tagging.
At last he rang the bell.
There was a piece of paper in the
hand of the landlord as he answered
the summons. Montys observant eye
saw it almost before the man had
crossed the threshold, and he gave
a little SILVER; still, Joe had said it
would be all right-Monty fervently
hoped that it would be. 1t struck Joe
himself that the man had betrayed a
somewhat indecent promptness in
making out the bill.
Il see you have brought in the &C.
count. landlord" he murmured, pleas
antly, leaning back in his chair,
though 1t wasn't that rang for. oh,
q perfectly natural mistake on your
part. By the way. present my compli-
ments to your good lady on her Gull
nary powers. Excellent apple tart.
Haven't tasted better at the Cafe
Royal. Why rang really was that
We will put the GROWING touch on an
excellent repast with couple of the
best cigars you can supply"
The landlord was scarcely gone a
moment in the execution of the order:
but time enough for Joe and the heavy
man simultaneously to crane their
heads forward to look at the slip of pa-
per. Their eyes met. though neither
spoke. The appalling total of the bill
without the cigars, was nine shillings
and twopence.
Somehow at the sight of that bit of
paper, with it's long array of figures,
Joe began to feel his courage oozing
from him, his confidence in his ability
TO carry the situation. through stead.
Nv diminishing. How on earth was he
e beStn, aov thAE the fatal moment