The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1911-05-06

Badly, whenever he got time, and
watching Bill and his little Annie put
tering around the f1ower-beds and
truck patches. 1t seemed almost as
if jim and Badly had been wanting a
little girl to love for mighty long
time by the way they took up with
Annie. Both of them used to pack
eral times Jim took her on the round
trip to San Bernardino. And those
were great trips!
Then came the time when she made
all the trips with Jim and Badly It
was when Bill died, leaving no rela-
tiyes to whom he could send Annie.
Jim brought the news.
There was a big time on at the
dance-hall that night. More people
there than usual The lamps were
swinging, and the fiddles going and
the bar glasses clinking, when some
thing came into the door that made
everybody stop and take notice.
1t was Jim Upton, and in his arms
he held little girl who was crying
and staring wide-eyed through her
tears at the strangeness OF a place
she had never seen before
Jim, standing there in the doorway
with the black night behind him, put
out one hand with a gesture that was
part appeal and part command, and
everybody listened. He waited until
1t was SO still that you could almost
hear the lights flicker.
Boys" he said, in his slow voice,
"Old Bill Pape's dead. Died about an
hour ago, over in his cabin. l want
somebody to help me take care of the
girl tonight, and of him"
Now, death wasn't anything unusual
in that sixty-foot log dance-hall. Men
had died in 1t, and suddenly; but there
was something about Bill Papes dy-
ing, and something about that for
lorn, sobbing baby girl that made
every one feel little queer. Most
all the men volunteered to help, and
all the women wanted to care for An
ME. Probably they weren't the kind
most men would want to take care OF
their children, but, after all, they
might do worse. There's mighty few
women bad enough SO there isn't
something fine in them when it comes
to helpless little girl
They put Bill Pape away next day,
the best they knew how. There was
no preacher In the camp, SO it was
hard work to have a real ceremony,
but fellow who had served in the
Mexican war played tune on bugle.
Jim seemed to think Bill was the kind
of fellow who didn't need any pray
ers
From the very first Jim wouldn't
allow any one to have any hand in
the care of Annie, and it was trifle
awkward at times. There wasn't even
a "Chink' laundryman in the camp
in those days, every man being his
own Washerwoman. Jim had always
got along the way every one else did.
Used to tie a rope around his clothes
and anchor them in the creek where
the swish and whirl of the waters did
all the work. Did it well. too, al
though it was trifle hard on things.
That's why everybody around the
camp looked kind of bleached out, as
IL everything they had was from some
place where colors weren't very
strong.
When Jim fell heir to Annie, he
took to shopping around the laundry
end of some of the cabins, and 1t
didn't leak out for quite while that
he had taken lessons In ironing, and
brought fatirons up to his cabin from
San Bernardino The pains he used
to take with Annie's sunbonnets and
pinafores were probably more than
he had ever taken with anything else
In all his life. Got SO he was as proud
of his starching and ironing as wom-
an could be.
Some of the boys discovered him
one day, and with his white hat at an
angle on the back Of his head, his
blue shirtsleeves rolled up to the ell
bows, and laboriously ironing away on
q lot Of tucking. Jim was strong on
tucks and frills for Annie. It got
around the camp, and one day some
body who didn't know him very well
undertook to get funny about it. It
took the big packer in a place where
it evidently hurt. He declared him
self.
Seems to strike some of you sheep
herders as funny" he said, "the way
I take care of Annie.. Maybe It's be-
cause you don't like the way the
works done, and maybe It's jest be-
cause you cant mind your own lay
outs. Well, I'm here to remark that
the next Teller that butts his nose into
me and Annie's business is goin' to
git hurt I'll interfere with his fea-
tures!"
Then he walked away; but after
that he took more care with his laun-
dry work than ever, and folks got
used to it. Nobody ever said any
thing more, because, as one Of the
boys remarked: Jim had a fiat-iron
instead of a chip On his shoulder"
and wasn't safe man to have fun
with.
Annie regularly joined the pack
train for the summer season. Men
on the trail would hear the ''Tink-
tank of q bell, and then around a
sharp curve, maybe, would come q