The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1913-03-13
CHAPTER E
Tin Bonanza kInn.

NC occupants VI luS surrey "eAO "
cramped and stiffened by 1t, and to
Uncomfortably enwrapped against Il
TO speak. Silence as complete as tina
which lay like a spell on the lanc
scape brooded over them. At tn
last stopping place, Chinese Gulch,
scattering Of houses six miles behin'
them on the mountain road, they ha'
halted at the main saloon, and whlsk.
and water had been passed to TN
driver and to the burlier figure OF
the back seat. The watchers. tina
thronged to the saloon door had eye'
the third occupant of the carriage will
the intent, sheepish curiosity OF th'
isolated man in presence OF the stran
ger female. Afterward, each one wa
voluble in his impressions OF her face
pale in the smoky lamplight, and the
hand that slid, small and white, ou
OF It's loose glove when the warming
glass was offered her.
Since then both she and her com
panion had leaned back In their sew
eral corners and preserved an un
broken silence.
The surrey sped swiftly along the
road which wound in spectral pallol
over the shoulder OF the foot-hill, now
dipping into the blackness Of ravine
then creeping up a bare slope, where
the horses hoofs dug in laboriously
amid loosened stones. The solemn
loneliness Of the landscape, family
revealed by the light Of large, clear
stars, seemed to find appropriate ex'
preston In this frosty, smoke-breath'
ing stiffness.
The larger figure on the back seat
moved, and turned face, all OF which
was hidden save the eyes. toward its
companion.
Hungry" queried a deep bass
voice; the inquiring polysyllable shot
out suddenly over an upturned bull
Wark Of collars.
"Fearfuliy," came the answer in a
muffled feminine treble. that suited
the more diminutive bulk.
Get a move on, jake" to the dr1v-
er. This girls most famished."
Hold your horses" growled the
other man; we're just about there"
At these words the woman pricked
up her ears. and, leaning forward,
peered ahead. AS they rounded pro-
truding angle of the hill, huddle of
roofs and walls spotted with lights
came into view, and the sight drew
her hand forward with an eagerly
pointing finger.
$50 that's Rocky Bari" she cried.
Have We really got there at last?"
The driver chuckled.
That's Rocky Bar all right. Now
get your appetite good and ready"
mo need" she responded gaily;
ITS been ready and waiting for hours.
/ was beginning to think that you'd
lost your way"
Mel" with an accent OF incred-
ulous scorn. "Ah, get out! How does
1t come, Governor, that Bill Cannon's
girl don't know no more about these
parts than a young lady from New
York;"
She's never been up here before,
said the man on the back seat, begin
ming to untangle himself from his en-
folding rugs. I've brought her up
with me this time to show her some
Of the places where her pa used to-,
work round with the boys, long before
she was ever thought Of"
A loud barking Of dogs broke out
as they approached the first detached
houses Of the settlement. Shapes ap-
peared at the lighted doorways, and
as the surrey drew UP at the hotel
balcony Crowding of heads was seen
III the windows. The entire popula.
lion Of Rocky Bar spent Its evenings
at this hOsptable resort, in summer
on the balcony under the shade of the
locust trees. in winter round the Office
stove splitting and smoking in CHEEKY
sociability. But at this hour the great
event of Rocky Bars day was over
The eight stages. the passengers of |
which dined at the hotel, had long |
passed onward on their various routes |
up and down the mother lode" and |
into the camps of the Sierra. That the |
nightly excitement Of the "victualing
up" was to be supplemented by late
arrival in surrey, driven by Jake |
McVeigh, the proprietor of the San |
Jacinto stables, and accompanied by |
a woman, was a sensational event not |
often awarded to Rocky Bar, even in
the heyday Of summertime.
The occupants of the Office crowded |
into the doorway and pressed them.
selves against the windows.
The hotel proprietor, an ancient
man with a loosened vest, and trou.
sers tucked into long boots. dispersed |
them as be ushere1 the strangers into |
the Office. That they were travellers |
Of distinction was obvious, as much |
from their own appearance as from |
the fact that Jake McVeigh was driv- !
ing them himself, in his best surrey |
and with his finest team. But Just
how important they were no one
guessed till McVeigh followed them |
in, and into ears stretched for the In.
formation dropped the sentence, half. /,
heard. like a stage aside;
ITS Bill Cannon and his daughter
Rose"
Upon the proprietor it had an elec-
tric effect. He sped from the room |
with the alertness of youth, promising I
"a cold lunch" in a minute To the
Others it came as a piece Of intelli
gence that added awe to the lighter
emotions of the occasion. BY common
consent their eyes focused on the
great man who stood warming his |
hands at the stove. Even the rare,
unusual woman, revealed now as suffi- !
ciently pretty to be an object of fu-
ture dreams. was interesting only to |
the younger and more impressionable
members of the throng. All but these
-,a~ad ohnn,I,aa ,,,nt,ItoI,1rn - pt1i |