The Ely miner., 1911-07-14


tried to resume his reading, but the
interest of the story was gone. He
simply looked out on the landscape
| without seeing it and thought and
wondered. Four hours later he was a
guest at hotel in the mountains, and
almost the first man he met after
registering slapped him on the back
and exclaimed:
We'll, if here isn't Tom Throop!
Why, old man, I thought you were
thousands of miles away. Glad to see
you looking fairly WELL"
Next day as Throop sat on one Of
the verandas smoking, some one
crowded between the chairs and
leaned over his knee with a merry
train.
Got that peanut-brittle YETI" she
| asked.
Gracious, no! / didn't think I'd
ever meet you again. and / haven't
seen any candy stores around here"
"Oh. but they have it. There's a
place back of the hotel called the grot-
to. l found it the first thing this
morning. Lots of peanut-brittle there.
Just made yesterday"
Then come right along and you
shall have your pound"
"Yes. but let me whisper to you
first. They charge double price. Will
that make any difference to you?
She was told with laugh that 1t
wouldn't, and hand in hand they
tripped away. AS a child wise beyond
her years she asked no impertinent
questions; as a gentleman, Throop
| asked none. Her mother, and perhaps
| her father as well, were staying at the
| same hotel.
The next day it was not peanut-brit-
| tie, but a long walk. The next day 1t
was some more of the sweet stuff and
visit" on the veranda. On the next
as the child had not appeared up to
| mid-afternoon, the lonesome man went
| wandering over the grounds in search
of her. He was told by one Of the
! caretakers of the grounds that she had
taken certain path an hour before.
but she could come to no harm.
The man followed the path for al
most half a mile up the mountain, and
then he got sight of the child. She
had scrambled up the rugged face Of
cliff thirty feet high, and stood cow.
ering there. He saw at once that she
was in fear, and he called out to her
| to stand still until he reached her side.
In two minutes of climbing he was
| within ten feet of her. Then she said
| in a voice that quavered jast trif1e:
Lonesome Man, it isnx that I'm
| afraid to come down, but there's big
| snake here!"
What kind of snake?"
'T don't know, but every time
move he goes buz-z-z-z with his tall"
Then don't move-on your life
don't move. will come up another
way"
And scrambling down. he made his
escalade at a point fifty feet away, and
| in a few minutes was above the girl
Within three feet of her, and coiled to
strike and keeping up constant rat
I tling, was deadly snake. When the
man recognized the species hts heart
came into his throat and choked him
for moment. Then he called in a
voice hardly above a whisper:
Don't move, and don't try to answer
me! Keep just as still as you possibly
can. There's lady down below beck
oning to you, but never mind her. I'm
going to drop big stone on the snake.
l.
ing!"
The stone hit the serpent fairly and
| crushed out its life in second. Halt
minute later Throop was down be-
side the child. She was swaying and
tottering as his hands reached out
She was unconscious as he reached
the path with her to find lady hold
ing out her arms in mute appeal. but
unable to utter a sound. She had
somehow understood the peril of the
child.
Toni"
"Gracie!"
He laid down the burden and stepped
back and looked at the woman.
'Tom-husband-y were all wrong
to go away" she sobbed.
That's our Oracle, named after me.
She was only a year old when you
you"
And he opened his arms and she
sobbed on his breast. They we're still
clinging to each other when they
heard a voice saying:
Men do cry sometimes-so there!
And, mamma, If you and the Lone
some Man will only get married / can
have heaps of peanut-brittle every day
as long as / live!"
What They All Say.
Employer hope you save some