Year: 1872

the mingled admiration and amusement of
Mrs. Shaughnessy.


The only affair which seemed to have a
kernel of seriousness in it was that of Mr..
Samuel Rice. Regularly, when the stage
was in, on Sans night, he paid his re-
spects to Mrs. Page. And Mrs. Page al
ways received him with graceful friendli-
ness, asking after the horses; and even
sometimes going SO far as to accompany
him to their stables. On these occasions
she never failed to carry several Jumps of
sugar in her pocket which she fed to the
handsome brutes off her own pink palm,
until there was not one of them she could
not handle at her will.


Thus passed many weeks, until summer
was drawing to a close. Two or three
times she had gone down to Pineywoods
Station and back on Sans coach and al
ways sat on the box, and drove part of
the way, but never where her driving could
excite remark. 1t is superfuous to state
that on these occasions there was happy
heart beneath Sans linen duster, or that





vers were borne with smiling equanimity
not to say pride, for Sam was well aware
that Mrs. Dolly Pages brunette beauty and
his blonde bearded style were personal
charms. Besides Sans motto was "Let
those laugh who win," and he seemed to
himself to be ON the road to heights of
happiness beyond the ken of ordinary NOR
tails especially ordinary stage drivers


81 don't kalkelate to drive stage more
than year or two longer" Sam said to
Mrs. Page confidently, on the return from
their last trip together to Pineywoods Sta
ton. "I've got a little place down in
Amador and an interest in the Nip-and-
tuck gold mine, besides few hundred in
in the bank. I've notion to settle down
some day, in cottage with vines over the
porch, with little women to tend the
flowers in the front garden.


AS if Sans heightened color and shining
eyes had not sufficiently pointed this con-
fession to his desires, it chanced that at
this moment the eyes of both were attract
ed to wayside picture, cottage, flower
bordered walk, a fair young woman stand
ing at the gate with Growing baby in her
arms lifting its little white hands to the
sun-browned face of stalwart young far
mer who was smiling proudly on the two.
At this sudden apparition of his inmost
thoughts Sans heart gave bound, and
there was simultaneous ringing in his
ears. His first instructive act was to crack
his whip so fiercely as to set the leaders off
prancing and when by this diversion he had
partly recovered self possession to glance
at the face of his companion, new en-
barrassment seized him when he discovered
two little rivers of tears running over the
crimsoned cheeks. But coach-box is not
convenient place for sentiment to display
itself; and, though the temptation was
great to inquire into the cause of the tears,
with view Of offering consolation, Sam
prudently looked the other way, and main
tanned silence. The reader, however, knows
that those tears sank into the beholder's
soul, and caused to germinate countless





on some future occasion to be laid upon the
alter of his devotion to Mrs. Dolly Page.
And none the less that, in few minutes,
the eyes that shed them resumed their roug-
ish brightness, and the lady was totally
unconscious of having heard, seen or felt
any embarrassment. Sentiment between
them was put aside SO far as utterance
wa sconcerned, for that time. And so Sam
found somewhat to his disappointment, it
continued to fall out that, whenever he got
on delicate ground, the lady was off like a
humming bird, darting hither and yon, so
that 1t was impossible to put finger upon
her, or to get 80 much as look at her bril-
liant and restless wings. But nobody ever
tired of trying to find humming bird at
rest and SO Sam never gave up looking for
the opportune moment of speaking his
mind.


Meanwhile Lucky Dog Camp was hav-
ing fresh sensation. An organized band
of gamblers, robbers and "road agents"
had made a swoop upon It's property of va
rious kinds, and had succeeded in making
off with it. The very night after the ride
above mentioned the best horses in Sam
Rice's team were stolen, making IL necessa-
ry Ito substitute what Sam called ga pair
of ornery cayuses." To put the climax to
his misfortunes, the " road agents" at
tackled him next morning when the 'ornery
cayuses, becoming unmanagable, Sam was
forced to surrender his treasure box and