The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1925-11-20

moment to the admiring gaze of all
present before resuming his narrative
"'Give that my friend says. with
my good wishes an a touch O. my re
grets, to the young lady on Twenty.
two, with the compliments o. Sergeant
Brook he says" and so Jake placed
the little golden trinket in Jeans
hands. It was a difficult stu.
alton. jeans first impulse was to
hand 1t back.
Better accept it." I whispered to
her. 1.-THE fewer explanations the
| better"
"But tits a wedding present" she
demonstrated. How can l . . :?
Keep it until you need it." I sug-
gested. Jean was very lovely in the
heightened color of her embarrassment,
and as her hand fell by my side !
seized 1t surreptitiously in my own.
"Oh, Jean, why not make it tonight?'
1 whispered, mad with her beauty and
her nearness.
tits quite impossible" she answered,
but she did not Immediately withdraw
her hand. She left me marveling
more and more over the tantalizing
complexity of her attitude toward me.
Fortunately, the interest of those
about US had been quickly rearrested
by Jake. "Havin' a little weakness o
my own" Jake was continuing, al
though / never said nothin' about it,
not wishing to start a scene with
Bella Donna, 1 bought its mate fer
the lady on Fourteen" And with this
little speech he placed another pend
ant in the hands of Marjorie.
"When l came to Canada to farm
said Spool, after the excitement over
Jake's gift had died down, Il came
equipped for everything but farming.
L could have started a secondhand
store, a curiosity shop, an arsenal, or a
music hall much better than l could
start a farm. In fact, / feel like all
of these things, except, perhaps, the
music hall, when l look around my
shack. Particularly well was /
equipped against savages, grizzly bears,
and mountain lions. / remember the
days 1 spent in picking out my rifles,
weighing the qualities of this arm and
that, and the penetrating power of the
different bullets. My biggest game so
far has been a badger, whose hide
now adorns the den of my immediate
and admiring ancestor. Out of the
oh,,I,-oo 90 INV lnfoncoc I noun brine
to you, John Lane, this piece of artil-
lery, with the injunction that 1t must
never be pointed toward section Two,
and, preferably, not at anything else.
Hang it over your portal, as evidence
that you can be a desperate man upon
occasion, and let ii go at that. l have
been thoughtful enough not to bring
any ammunition" Spool then pro-
duced, out of the bedroom where
Brown, acting as he agent, had Sc
cretly cached it, a repeating rifle,
which Jack handled with as much ad-
miration as Marjorie spent on her
pendant and then placed it lovingly
away.
"Now I believe that's all,' said
Spool.
"Not yet" Reddy interrupted. 81
want to be in on this, although / didn't
come prepared" He had written
something in a notebook. which he
now tore out and handed to Jack. 1t
was q receipt for the price of his we'd
ding ring. Jack protested, but Reddy
would have it no other way.
The only one not represented by a
presentation was the minister, but he
proved equal to the occasion.
my cn.ldren,H he said-he was not
much older than Jack or ], perhaps
about the age of Spoof-"I am not a
man of the world, and consequently
cannot give you of the good things
which the world provides. The theory
that a minister should lay up his
treasure in heaven is taken rather lit
orally in these times. l am not quar-
reling with that. Materialism is the
murderous outlaw of the age, an en-
envy that goes bullying through the
land, outraging our finer natures, over
turning u ideals, polluting our am
billions. 1 hope l am not envious Of
his followers. And to you, 1 give
something that money could not buy
my blessing, with a promise of my
m~inistrations, without charge, on those
future occasions upon which 1t may
be assumed you will be in need of
them"
The minister had escaped from a
somewhat embarrassing position with
the dignity that became his calling,
and with a gentle joke hat showed
how very human he was at heart.
"Clear out the pork and the seed
wheat" Spool ordered, as there
seemed likely to be a lull in the nights
enjoyment. "Ole, it is fortunate that
Mrs. Burke persuaded you not to bring
In your load Of hay"