The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1910-02-15
Ioor. A man with gaunt face looked

door. A man with a gaunt face looked
In.
"Room enough fer two?" he in
quired. Rhoda's heart was beating at
his ears.
II shall probably be killed." he re-
fiected. and remembered with anger
that he had no weapon Of any sort,
not even a pocketknife. The other
man had entered and closed the door
behind him, standing with his back to
it. He was short and rather stout, and
his head sat almost upon his shout
ders. His heavy nose and mouth be-
spoke an obstinate, but not particular
" ill-natured temperament. His eyes
were sunken in his head, but Rhoda
could see that they were black and
singularly sharp in their expression.
The feet of the man protruded from
his shoes, and his clothes were in =
ragged and filthy state. He took his
hat from his head and dashed the
moisture from 1t.
II guess yer givin' house warmin',
amt YEP" he asked. smiling in as re-
assuring a manner as possible. i've
been logging it fer 10 hours, and I'm
At to drop"
Rhoda would never have encoun-
tered all Of those embarrassments
which had made him an outcast it he
had not been of a whimsical tempera-
ment. Now, suddenly, his fear de-
serted him. He desired an adventure.
1t certainly had been devoid OF adj
venture in the place Of his residence
for the last two years.
He held out his hand.
"Come in," said he. "There are two
chairs and fire enough for forty. 1t is
pity cannot give you something to
eat and drink"
He was smiling, and actually, for
moment. n glow went through him
like that which comes from the exer-
else of hospitality. The other man
advanced almost jauntily.
'"Well, call this white!" he said,
in commentator. you're a gentle
man. ken see that, if you are down
on your luck"
Don't speak of that, please" said
Rhoda, lightly. II was just making
up my mind to forget it for time"
"Eh? Well, that's a good idee,
Something to eat and drink, did yeh
say? Man, I've got it'll"
mol"
Here yeh are" He took two slices
Of dried bread out of his.pocket.
"That's the eatin'."
He produced flask in which there
was, perhaps. four mouthfuls of am
: Der liquid "And that's the drinkin'
and there might be more"
/ 1--WE can toast the bread" suggest
: ed Rhoda. His guest drew a formid
t able knife from his pocket and opened
{ its one terrible blade slowly. Rhode
Z smiled with infantile grace and seat
E ed himself cross-legged before thu
r fire. He was not entirely sure of the
\ purpose of that unsheathing of thu
4 weapon, ~but he determined to maxi
n light of it, However, he had appur
4 emily no cause for apprehension. Hi
n companion stuck slice of bread OF
), the point of the blade and held it VI
e before the fire.
+ 1T smells good" remarked Rhoda
l. II wish to heaven there was a smel
: Of hot coffee going with it,"
!, The other man looked pensivel
into the fire.
. EYES," he said, refectively, II wis
t 80, too" He got to the second sic
S Of bread and toasted it to a war;
, brown. Then they began to eat.
& was quite ceremony. The me
10 talked Of going to climate wher
s there was no winter and they wer
e truly magnificent. No one listenin
e would have doubted their ability
% visit such place If they had pleased
IT Afterward they made the fire safe an
s. laid down with their feet toward tn
A. glowing ashes and slept.
n Maybe I'll be l when I wake Il
"a and maybe l WON'T" thought Rhod,
~ humorously, as sleep came over hin
"a but it doesn't matter, really. The
II knife, howexrr, is an ugly sleepiu
IL companion. 1 dare say l shall kno
more about it by morning than
10 now"
in He fell asleep easily for all of tina
ID and he dreamt of walking undo
ID palms with the man by his side, an
Is Of sailing with him over summer sea
ID He dreamt of fighting by his sid
n and of struggling to defend him fro
"a some danger; and then, suddenly,
P sat up and saw the dawn peepiI
n about the edges of the curtain.
IN $50 the knife isn't in me, after all
70 he commented, and looked about fl
his companion. But he was not
r be found. Inc room was unoccupi'
re save by himself. 1nstinctively he fe
s. for his money. 1t was safe. And {
nc the floor by his side lay the knit
~ Rhoda lifted it and stared at it st
pidly. Then, by degrees, the signi
: canoe of it came over him. 1t was
he gift for remembrance, and all tn
OF its owner had to bestow. 1t was t
he first evidence OF friendship that t
ne man who held it in his trembli
III hand had received for years. Son
thing that he had thought de
nd stirred in him. He put the gift in