The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1914-07-23

spoken during the pass
age of the last six miles,
since the jolting of the heavy vehicle
over the roughening road had spoiled
the Judges last poetical quotation.
The tall man beside the Judge was
asleep, his arm passed through the
swaying strap and his head resting
upon it--aitogether limp, helpless
looking object, as if he had hanged
himself and been cut down too late.
The French lady on the back seat was
asleep, too, yet in half conscious
propriety of attitude, shown even in
the disposition of the handkerchief
which she held to her forehead and
which partially yelled her face. The
lady from Virginia City, travelling
with her husband, had long since lost
all individuality in wild confusion of
ribbons, wells, furs and shawls. There
wheels and the dash of rain upon the
roof Suddenly the stage stopped and
we became dimly aware of voices. The
driver was evidently in the midst of
an exciting colloquy with some one in
the road, a colloquy of which such
fragments as bridge gone" twenty
feet of water" cant pass" were oc-
casionally distinguishable above the
storm. Then came lull, and mys-
FERROUS voice from the road shouted
parting adjuration-
"Try Miggles's."
We caught glimpse of our leaders
as the vehicle slowly turned, of a
horseman vanishing through the rain
and we were evidently on our way to
Miggles's.
Who and where was Miggles? A
ten minutes splashing through tan
gled by-road, scarcely wide enough
for the stage, and we drew up before
barred and boarded gate in wide
stone wall or fence about eight feet
high. Evidently Miggles's, and evil
IDENTIFY Miggles did not keep a hotel.
The driver got down and tried the
gate. 1t was securely locked.
Migglesl Oh Migglesl"
No answer.
"Migg-ellsl You Migglesw contin-
ued the driver with rising wrath.
But no reply came from the appar- !
emily inseusible Miggles. So we rose
up and called on Miggles in chorus; I
then separately. Yuba Bill hesitated !
no longer. Taking heavy stone from l
the road, he battered down the gate, {
and entered the enclosure. We fol- c
lowed. Nobody was to be seen. In {
the gathering darkness all that we
could distinguish was that we were 5
in a garden--from the rose bushes 7
that scattered over us a minute spray a
from their dripping leaves-and be- f
fore long, rambling wooden building. I
Yuba Bill pushed open the door of =
The building. A long room lighted s
only by the embers Of fire that was Fl
dying on the large hearth at its far u
her extremity; the walls curiously :
and the Pickering freight bj
bringing out its grotesqne pattern; in
sitting in large arm /
hair by the fireplace. All this we y, "
Jaw as we crowded together into the r
DOM, after the driver and express a,
nan.
"Hello be you Miggles?" SAID Yuba III
Bill to the solitary occupant.
The figure neither spoke nor stirred. in
Tuba Bill walked wrathfully toward it ev
nd turned the eye of his c9ach-lan- !.
ern upon its face. 1t was a mans ap
ace, prematurely old and wrinkled,
nth very large eyes, in which there yc
'as that expression of perfectly gra- ~
litous solemnity which / had some 81
mes seen in an OWLS The large sh
yes wandered from Bills face to the SIP
.ntern and finally fixed their gaze az ta
n that luminous object, without fur sa
her recognition. Bill restrained hir- hi
Elf with on effort. ag
"Migglesl Be you deaf? You amt W. W.
umb, anyhow, you know" and Yuba on
i'll shook the insensate figure by the Pc
loulder. To our great dismay, as ey
i'll removed his hand, the venerable e.,
ranger apparently collapsed, sink. an
x into half his size and an undistin- a
heap of clothing. ma
well, dern my skin" said Bill, pa
oking appealingly at us, and hope trr
ssly retiring from the contest. Sa
The Judge now stepped forward and 70
e lifted the mysterious invertebrate M
EEK into his original position. yor
ter
Bill had scarcely ceased growing ao
fore we heard quick step upon the vii
'rch, the trailing of wet skirt, the hol
,or was flung omen and with n flash Mi