The National tribune., 1911-04-27
WITHIN The FOLD.

iittie SldNfSbI over inc NIL IulN
half of them had died by violence. and
were buried with scraping of violins
and firing of Winchesters. Men had
bcen planted" with as little ceremony
as potatoes; professional descendants
OF DeIilah were laid away amid the
hlare Of brass instruments and break
ing of champagne bottles.
! But said Buckskin Bill. with
grave. unconscious profanity. that
sort ul Il roundup won't GO this time.
The Gospel brand has got to bc put
OF, aud who is to do it,
That was the problem which dis
tractcd Logan through four anxious
days. Men had died as hunted wild
beasts die. women had yielded up
their souls as warriors gave way in
Ebattlc. But this time" the fair haired
idol of the camp had gone out into
the great silence without struggle.
Saturday afternoon she dcigned to
ride uptown with Bob Stedman and
exhibit the bsque marvel imported
| by her worshiperS from Chicago.
whcrcupon the leading citizens united
with Kentucky Smitty in drinking
the health of the fairest child and
! the finest doll baby west of the Mis-
souri, In the gray darkness of Mon
day morning her soul slipped over
the divide-and the town was desc
late.
Slantiug Annie closed her dance
house i'll Difference TO the public grief.
Wheeier's Hell and Phil Natsons
Ladder OF Heaven Uogan abounded
in picturesque nomcnclaturc) bore
signs shut up until after the funeral"
Miners, cow-punchcrs and ranchmcn
gathered in groups at the corner, 81
lent, forlorn and uncontrolled.
Down at Maryin's the young mother
looked the floor and rocked
chanically. Mrs. Marvin was one OF
the four chastc women of whom Lo-
gan was justly proud. Her morals
were above suspicion. AS Bob Sted
man phrassd il:
She amt no beauty, but she's
straight, you bet She's n slayer.
She don't need no props"
Beyond that she was what COW
camps had made her-a vain and
careless woman. Concerning spiritual
things she knew nothing. Religion
did not flourish in q town with n brew
cry, Ia saloons, nine gambling houses,
two dance halls and neither church
nor Clergyman. The Sunday diver
sions were dancing, faro, poker and
irrigation" OF az alcoholic nature. AS
the mother of the infant divinity Lo-
gan worsfiped. Mrs. Marvin headed
the list of desirable partners at the
dance
When she looked into the face OF
her little dead child, longing for
something better was born in Mrs.
Marvin's soul She spoke fierccly to
the men who talked of d procession
and music at the hall:
You sllan't bury my baby like
that--you shan't! | won't have her
Somebody's got 10 pray or do some
thing! She shan't be buried that
way"
That's straight" said Tom Gibson.
THE pious is the thing. We must
find somebody 10 do that praying
AS men seek for a lost lead. so they
searched, with no result save Buck
skin Bill's despairing query of Mon
day night. The nearest clergyman
mountains. and hence out of the ques-
tion. Once. in its beginning. Logan
Hospitality. entertained a parson for
three weeks. He was cordially vel
coined. and invited 10 take up his
residence and open d Gospel shop"
His experiments in faro, however. ne
cessitated a nocturnal exit from the
town. This coupled with the fact that
another mans horse was his means Of
transportation, destroyed public con-
fdence in his cloth, and no preacher
had since been permitted to abide in
Logan. 1t was Tom Gibson's horse
he took, and Tom sWore at great
length and with much profane par
Of detail that he would
plug him full of lead on sight"
Now the greatness of his anxiety en-
quilted his desire for revenge. He
said, wistfullys "jf only Magce were
here. he could''-----
NO. lie couldn't" interrupted Bob
Stedman. That misera BILE sCoundrnl |
couldn't pray over a maverick in this
town, let alone that little He |
chokcd and went TO the door. Before /
his eyes came a fair vision with soft
yellow curls. round blue eyes and d |
carcssing baby voice, saying:
'Fant you for the vide and the dol |
lie. You may tiss me. Bob
10 card sharper or horse thief could /
pray over Bobs child angel.
Tuesday morning dawned. Per-
sonal appeal had been made to every
man in, the town. Wheeler. popularly t
known as Parsen Jim because he once |
was d local preacher among the Meth |
odists in Ohio, was urged and pressed
to officiste.
NO, boys he answered. most OF /
you don't know any better but | do. .
] am mean. but | am not insulting
the Almighty; ! am not mean enough .
for that vet. | have made d He'll /
for you and myself. The fellow who
keeps He'll" he smiled. bitterly. was
never known to- lead in prayer; and |
will not begin"
Logan possessed no facilities for
or preserving bodies:
funerals were usually held within
tpeuty-four hours after death. Tues
day morning WAS the time fixed for
the baby's burial. An embarrassed
delegation explained the cause of de-
lay 10 the bewiIdcred father and
mother. Mrs. Marvin rose, looked
wildly at the self constituted commit
tee. and cried shrilly:
Nobody TO pray over my baby!
Oh, my God. will nobody pray over
my baby? She was 80 little and so
sweet She never hurt nybody. VIII
nobody pray over my baby"
Swiftly she took the little body
from the bed, wrapped a shawl about
1t. ran through the door and down
the street To gambler. cowpuncher
and harIot-every one she met-she
held out the dead child. and said. be-
seechingly:
Pray over my baby; for Gods
sake. pray over my baby!"
Blind to fearful appeals. deaf 70
and entreaties, she wan
dered on, repeating the cry. At night
fall her husband led her home: but
the long darkness she Shrek