The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1918-07-18
p l.
Goinp an"

Going an"
The midnight sun had set, but In a
crotch between two snow peaks II had
minded a vast caldron from which rose
q mist OF jewels, garnet and turquoise,
topaz and amethyst and opal, NIL
swimming In a sen OF molten gold. The
glow Of It still chung to the face Of the
broad Yukon, al a flush does to the
soft, wrinkled check Of a girl just
soused from deep sleep.
Except for q faint m~urkiness In the
air 1t was still day. There was light
enough for the four men playing pi-
hochle on the upper deck, though the
women Of their party, gosslplng in
chairs grouped near at hand, had Mt
last put aside their embroidery. The
girl who sat by herself at n little dis
lance held a magazine still open in
Der lap.
Gordon Elliot had taken the boat Mt
pierre's Portage. fifty miles farther
down the river. He had come direct
from the creeks, and his impressions
Of the motley pioneer life at the gold
dlgglngs were so vivid that he had
found an isolated corner OF the deck
book while still fresh.
But he had not been too busy to see
chat the girl In the wicker chair was
az much Of an outsider MS he was
Plainly this was her first trip In. Cor
don was q stranger In the Yukon rot
cry. one not likely to be overwelcome
when II became known what his mis-
zion was.
From where he was leaning agains,
the deckhouse Elliot could see only O
dne. chlseled profile shading Into
mass Of crisp. black hair, but som
quality In the detachment Of her per
sonality stimulated gently his imaglna
A short, thickset man who had riddeI
down on the stnge with Elliot 4
Picrre's Portage drlfted along the decl
coward him. He wore the careless
yarb Of a mining a In q countr!
which looks first to comfort.
Bound for K~usiakT" he asked. b.
way Of opening conversation.
yes answered Gordon.
The miner nodded toward the groul
nnder the awning. THAT bunch live
at Kusiak. They've got on at differen
places the last two or three days
except Selfridge and his wife; they'v
been out. Guess you can tell that from
hearing her talk-the little woman Il
red with the snappy black eyes. She
spiliin' over with talk about the style
In New York and the cabarets and tn
asw shows. That pot-bellied little fel
low In the checked suit Is Selfridgt
a II Colby M~acdonald's man Friday.
VIliot took In with a quickened In
tercst the group bound for Kusiak. II
had noticed that they monopolized a
a matter Of course the best places o.
the deck and In the dining The
we're civil enough to outsiders, bu
their tanner had the unconscious sell
tshness that often regulates social at
hvities. II excluded from their gay
ETY. everybody that did not belong (
che proper set.
'"That sort Of thing gets my goat" tn
miner went on sourly. "Those wome
over there have elected themselve
Society with a capital s. They put o
all the airs the Four Hundred do l
!. New York. And who are they an.
Aow4-wivss to q bunch Of graftin
politicians mostly"
'srhat's the way Of the world. ism
~ Our civilization 10 built on III
group system" suggested Elliot.
Maybe 60" grumbled the mine
"But I hate to see Alaska come to |
NJ, ! saw this country first in ninet.
seven-packed al OUTFIT In over tn
pass. Every man stood on his ow
hind legs then. He got there II b
vas strong-mebbe; he begged dow
on the trail good and plenty II he WI
weak. We didn't have any of the a
tincial stuff then. A mar had to ha,
the CUTS to stand the gan"
II suppose It was a wild countr
Mr.. Strong"
The little miners eyes gleame
BEST country In the world. We didr
stand for anything that wasn't on Il
level. II was a poor mans country.
wages fifteen dollars a day and plen'
OF work. Everybody had n chanC
Anybody could stake a claim ar
gamble on his luck. Now the big ca
porations have slipped In and grabb'
tn lest. II amt a prospectot's prop
sition any more. Instead of faro banl
we've got savings banks. The wild
open dance hal! has quit business
favor Of moving pictures. And. as
said before, we've got Society"
"All frontier countries have to con
to It."
"Hmp! In the days I'm telling "
about that crowd there couldn't
hustled meat to all their bellies thr
meals. Parasites, that's what tn
nre. They're living of that bunch
~rourhne~ks down there and folks III
'":n."