I THE LOGIC OF J
'$ JOrtV MILLS, MINER.
o KI te olmnlr n nlnln fltorV Of
A Thii Mills, miner, no Introduc-
ii n statement of the
coursed melody most fenrsome. but
duly applouded. The usual memo or
conversation was Sue. Gradually the
two built un an meal Wl"" mm. u
ed
Ibc
lid
Us
be
Hi.
Ids
visitor's slioe flapped at right angles
with every step. "I'll cobble It after
supper," was his comment.
"Bu"t about a job, you know," the
boy put In, timidly, stepping high on
account of the loose sole.'
"Oh, that's all right," answered
Mills; "ye'ro hired. Didn't I tell yen?"
And they walked on.
In the evening they grew In a meas
ure confidential, although Hubo did
most of the talking, as Mills cobbled
the defective shoe Into a state of use
fulness. Before bed-time Rube had
told of Susie Campbell. She was back
In Missouri, where he himself had been
"born and raised."
"I didn't hnve much money after
father and mother died," he went on,
simply, "and Sue her father has a
pile. I'll bet old man Campbell has
two thousand dollars out on mortgage
right now." Ho paused to note the
effect; Mills drove another peg, while
Hubo laughed nervously. "I fell In love
with Sue," he continued, "but she
wouldn't have It; that Is," he corrected,
recognizing the awkwardness of the
expression, "she didn't seem to be In
earnest about It Not like me, any
how, but fin'ly she laughed and said
that if I'd get a fortune she'd marry
me. So I struck out West."
"Must be a flno gal," said Mills.
'Hope It ain't serious. Has she got
any holt on yeh?"
Rube laughed again. "I wish she
had," was his rejoinder; "but since I
came away she hasn't written. Sue's
Just tryln' me, that's what she's doln'.
It's a way women have. When I go
back with a pocketful of money she'll
bo ready. Oh, I know what women
ore."
John took a last stitch In silence, and
held up the reconstructed shoe. Thus
began, between John Mills, miuer, nnd
Rubo Jackson, boyish, hopeful tramp,
ono of the serene friendships which
last until death. Let the limit not bo
placed even there; perhaps, strength
ened and renewed, they last forever.
During the days the pair worked,
Bpoaklug little. Ia the ovening they
read and talked, or Mills brought out
an nuclent fiddle whereupon he dls-
kst
hie
lie-to-
Pig
i-d
le
ft
lc
Is
n'
ies
Ibe
nd
:s;
las
I do
ers
Ills,
re-
kny
Ills,
led
Ion-
ills-
Don
to
re-
lllls
Bup-
Jlor
lie's
Igns
forever,' which the document would
mention, so be we had one.
He started for the cabin, but Rubo
lingered. "Better come to grura," coun
seled Mills. "The old hole won't be
fitten to live in fur an hour."
Rube seemed to assent, but he did
not follow. As Mills reached the cabin
there was muflled sound, a tremor of
rock as the granite mountain quivered,
and out from the slope rolled a cloud of
smoke. Mills was soon In the cabin
getting supper.
In twenty minutes the coffee had
been made, the bacon fried, mid biscuit
were crisping In the oven. Still Rube
did not come. "I wonder where ho Is,"
said Mills. "Boys is so reckless," nnd
with nn uneasy feeling he started back
up the trail.
"Rube, come to supper!" ho called.
His voice bounded from side to side
of the canon, but there was no response.
The heart of Mills sauk with the
thought of impending evil. Calling
again and again, he went to the mouth
of the slope, out of which an acrid
vapor floated, hovering In the air. "I'm
afeard Rube went in," conjectured
Mills, and hastily removing his coat
he dropped It In a powder keg of water,
swatched It about his face, and started
blindly down the slope.
At the foot of it, held down by a cruel
block, he found Rube, Inert, apparent
ly lifeless. With a giant effort ho nl
most hurled the block aside, and tak
ing Rube In his arms staggered, stum
bled, crept to the outer air. Oh! the
blessed balm of that air as It touched
his face. He took one breath, laid his
burden down, and fell beside It, prone,
motionless. The sun was giving the
loftiest peak its farewell caress. Be
low a bird was singing a good-night
song. The rosy glow passed; the bird
was still; tho shadows crept higher.
But there lay tho dead nnd tho stricken.
Tho Inquest was short, resulting In
tho finding that Reuben Jackson had
come to his death by n dispensation of
Providence, "aided and abetted by his
own carelessness, for tho which, ho be
ing a boy, wo do not blamo him."
There wns a funeral, too, picturesque
and pathetic, where the music was tho
harping of tho wind In tho plno-topn,
i t,n iinpst trllmtu tho tears of John
Mills. Then tho grnvo was rounded i
over, tho partlclpant.s-nll but ono
withdrew, and that night tho moon
shono down on n solitary figure. Hit
ting by ft mound, lilR head bowed In Ills
i.-.win "Too lute, loo lute." the figure
murmured. "We're rich, my tmrdner
and nn, mid It won't do him no good."
Nor was Mills speaking Idly, Mr,
clutched In tho rigid fingers of Rubo,
iimi iliKi-ovored a fragment of
quartz threaded and bound by wires of
virgin gold.
imw. Hurt clnv Mills wns In Denver.
Ills first visit was to a mining expert
somewhat familiar with the district.
"The Millennium." said Johu. pointing
over his shoulder In tho general direc
tion of Rocky Canon, "she's fur sale.
The price Is two hundred inousnim.
Take her or leave her."
Next ho took his way to a lawyer.
"Draw me up one of them papers," he
said, "niakln' over to Susan Campbell,
of Missouri, a half-Interest In tho Mil
lennium."
"What consideration?" nsued mo
man of business.
"Consideration? Why, for my pard
nor, of course."
Necessary explanations followed, nnd
iii. eonslderatloti was placed at $10.
which Mills conscientiously took out
of one pocket nnd put Into another.
"It's best to have every thlug on the
squar'." he thought.
"Want this recorded';" continued the
lawyer, when the dips, spurn, anil
angles had been described with tech
nical nicety.
"Not fur n spell." replied Mills. "Jest
give It to me." An hour later ho was
ou nn east-bound train.
He reached a little town In Missouri.
As he walked the streets, he thought,
with a strange thrill of affection, that
he was where Rube had been "born
nnd raised." Kvery villager knew the
residence of Henry Gnmpbell. and soon
Mills wns ringing the bell. The door
was opened by a young woman Sue!
But surely not the Suo of Rube's
dreams and his own Imaginings. She
wns pretty, lu a careless way, but her
wrapper was begrimed, her slippers,
one of which protruded, dlsplnyed a
hole, and her hair was In papers. Mills
was shocked and puzzled. The girl
said "Good morning," and awaited de
velopments. "I'm from out West," said tho visitor
"Colorado." Then, nfter a pause,
conscious of nn Important omission,
he added: "My name's John Mills."
"Colorado," rejoined the young wo
man; "I knew a fellow that went out
there-Rube Jnckson. Come In. I sup
pose you wnnt to see paw. Ever meet
Rube?" She almost laughed. "Rubo
used to think I'd marry him; but gra
cious, I never thought of It. Come In.
Did you sny you'd met Rube?"
"Him and mo's pardners," answered
Mills, quietly.
"Do tell! And how's Rubo getting
along?"
"Rube? Oh. he's all right. He's had
a streak o' luck lately. Thought like
ly you'd want to hear about It. Well,
I must be goln'. Good-by."
Once In the street, he took a paper
from his breast a document of legal
aspect tore It Into minute pieces and
scattered them In the mud of the thor
oughfare. "God knows," he mutter
ed, "that I've tried to be squar with
my pardner, but It appears Rubo didn't
leave no 'uelrs nr assigns forever.' "
"Paw, remarked Susan, that even
ing, "there was an awful funny mnn
called here to-day. Said ho knew Rubo
Jackson out West."
"Didn't know no good of him," re
turned . e father. "That Jackson
place'U never bring the amount of tho
mortgage."
A few days later Mills was In tho
ofllce of tho mining expert. "The Mil
lennium," ho began; "take her er leave
her?"
"Ta-o her," exclaimed the expert,
trying to conceal his Jubilation. "Here's
tho papers and your check, all ready
to sign. Where in thunder'd you go
to?"
"jest took a little business trip fur
my pardner," answered John. Argonaut
DRIDE3 OUY WEDDING fllNGS.
OroittiiK I'rnntleo Which Oiip Jeweler
Think Hun an Ailvntnue,
"Isn't that a new wrinkle?" nuked
tho chance observer.
"What?" tald the clerk.
"For tho bride to buy the wedding
ring," icplled th'J observer, turning 10
look at tne young woman who had Just
gone out with her purchase of ft 14.
U.uat, gold-lllkd ring.
The clerk, w io turned out to bs tho
proprietor also, hniuhcd. "Not nl nil In
this part of town." he said. "Tne prac
tice has been In vogue here for ni-vcral
years and Iiiim continued to grow In
popularity until It has become quite the
proper caper. Indeed, wnen n nmu
comes In here now and asks to look nl
plain gold rings we ronslder him ft lit
tle off color, and fed rather mean io
ward him. as though he were usurp.
Ing n feinlnlno prerogative, looking at
tho matter from ft common i-cnne
standpoint. It wivh no end of tiou
We. A ring from n wonmn'H point of
view Ih n matter not only of sentiment,
tint also of adornment. She wants her
Jewelrv. however cheap It may be, to
1V of "the proper cut and tho proper
plze Now, what mail. I'd like to know,
cnn'go In and -elect the right kind of
ring even If be has got the measure?
Not one out of twenty, it is u an more
sullsfaetorr f" " concerned for the
bride to come In nnd pick out what :dio
wants without troubling tho bride
groom, except, of course, for the
money. He alway settles the bill; ftt
least, I ctio-e he does.
"You Ke, this t n neighborhood
whero the people don't stand much on
the fine points of etlqtietto. They In
sist upon the ring to tie up the contract
with, but two-lhlrd.s of these rings nro
unengraved and sell for frowi W to $1.
It's fun to see sonic of the women
when they first state their envnd.
They beat about the hush and make
their wants known In such a coquettish
way that I don't wonder, Kometlmes,
that the young man, whoever ho may
be. has lost his head. Maidenly mod
esty. I suppose, makes them by. and
they begin by saying thy are looking
for a plain gold ring for :i friend with
a finger 'about the size of mine. v ucn
thov nv that. I always smile; 1 knew
what It means." Chicago Inter Ocean.
Mrs.
Iirmil liorr
many friends. " to I
iiuhiohh wearllvi v.. .
... r ' "' I wi
I...1.. "vu
Tho Firth Ago.
Until n few days ago I had always
supposed that there were but four
ages In a woman's life the young, tiro
still young, the well preserved and the
elderly but a moJi"I know has added
to my knowledge a fifth age. It comes
In somewhere between the still young
and the well preserved, I Imagine. I
Bald to him, maliciously:
"How old Is Mrs. Blank? Is she a
young woman?"
"Not exactly," ho made answer;
"Bhe's well, she's at the ngo when a
woman always tells you, when sho In
troduces her eldest son to you, thnt sho
was married ridiculously young."
Washington Post.
I'ionoer Creole Ijottrr Society.
Tho first Greek letter society Phi
Beta Kappa was originated at Will
iam and Mary ln 1770, and among tho
charter members were John Marshall,
Chief Justice, and Bushrod Washing
ton, associate Justice, of tho Supremo
Court; Spencer Roane, who wns con
sidered the ablest Jurist ever produced
in Virginia; John Brown nnd Stephen
T. Mnson, Senators from Virginia; and
Wllllnm Short, Minister to Spain and
Holland.
LEO END OF A PHMHIE GRAVE.
Kencuth tne I'lower Lie Uw Hemiiln
if n -flejlrr' Yomi- Wife.
Near the top of the highest knoll on
the rolling jirnlrle three miles south
west of old Fort Hays, lu Kansas. Is a
lonely grave in tho prairie gras.. There
Is a board at the head and another at
the foot. Tliwe boards may once have
borne an epitaph, but now they are
browned nnd worn by the sun nnd
storms of many years, nnd they are do
cayed at the ground and stand at an
angle, nlmost ready to fall. A prairie
rabbit lias made Its burrow at the foot
of the grave. All around It the grass
Is full of inn pie nud yellow (lowers.
Standing by the grave and looking
north and east there lies stretched out
a landscape of wondrous beauty. The
green sod of the plains lope gradually
down from the grave a distance of
three miles to the cluster of long gray
and yellow eniply building which wore
the barracks and otllecrs' quartcm of
Fort Hays when this wns the far West
years before there was a railroad In
KnuBus Beyond the fort Is the town
of Hays City, a group of yellow Htono
nnd red brick buildings. Beyond
stretches tho prairie, north nnd enst. to
the horizon Hue twenty mid thirty miles
away. Diagonally across this stretch
of level nlnln runs a thread of vivid
green from northwest to southeast, the
trees that fringe Big Creek. There nro
no other trees nuywhere else lu the
landscape.
The legend of the lonely grave Is that
years ago, when the Fort Hays bar
racks were full of troopi, an army hos
pltal steward brought his young wlfo
thero to live with him. IJftfli Sunday
the ofllcer and his wlfo walked out to
this hill, and they UBcd to sit down on
the shady side of It near tho summit
and gazo for hours out nt the landscape
below. Then they could see the herds
of buffalo roaming over the prairie, and
onco ln a whllo a band of Indians scur
rying ncrosfl It
One day tho young wife wns stricken
with a deadly fever. Before sho died
she asked her husband to promise thnt
ho would bury her body near tho top of
tho hill, at the very spot where they
used to sit and look out over the won
derful landscape. He kept the promlso
and thero Is her grave. Tho only flow
ers ho could get to plant upon It wero
the wild flowors of tho prairies and
they are blooming there yet
. ....... .... , j
how hliu iniuiitgcK It?
A l'.af I .. .1 ,
Itccm.tly tmvel,,! , . '"'!'
.i . . ' "tint m ivin
ii in tut uimit v ii.ii. ' '
"
the Minio unv , r, , '"!
tnient whlrh in.. . Mtl
lie 1 1
any
nets
Hint
The
he I
for
Niil I'll......... . "
h. fladalout nmt'',M J
next door ,wa '
I, II... t. "Willi.. ,1
liken. It ,llH " """nil
iiilfiicentiirv. "wn ful
train rinmlii., u . . 1
...fill Uff Va H
llOMtotl tun. Ill ft,.... u,. ,, 'Orfl
u Franco advertHlnv. .,..
.r rovnmio Miunm ,, '!
i i. " . '"K "Mi
i., nnu ui mi' Kilter
A
eo
I
lieu
101'
Annoyed by Cook'n Slnglnc.
A lady on Walnut nills, Cincinnati,
who was suffering from a severe hend
acho one day last week wns annoyed
by tho loud singing of tho cook In tho
kitchen. Going to tho head of tho
BtalrB, she said: "Bridget, I have a
frightful headache nnd I do wish you
would stop singing that song." "AH
rolght, mum," wna tho answer. "Pfat
song shall 01 sing?"
Slavery to Fashion In Oh I tin.
A missionary paper reports that tho
opposition to tho Natural Foot Society
ln China comes chiefly from tho wom
en, who are afraid to go against fashion.
Circumstances
In eases of scrofuU, stU ,4
r "i
-tviii hiw j t..n
All Oilillly In I nilrintillnf,
ino enr.o lor Hint tunc on rallJ
Is taking a new fi at olmtn.
prominent riillromi lh. ml to a
writer recently. "It i-. tl10 nhortJ
..i a... i . . . l
UI llllim liliu riM iillirii. linn qi im.j
in order to make n Kntn hnil
strninlit as trfwMlile i.i tuirn twoivJ
IV in, in mri, u miiriur io make III
by saving dlstaiii e. A rnilwuv J
out ft curve or a ciittin,- ih ol coyrJ
Hplcudid thing f nun na tngi.neifl
stHiidM)iuti but it is n very toil
affair to the passenger. To thorouj
realize how extremely inouotoaoi
long journey on a nuhwiy Hho J
curve or cutting is, one tnnut travtfl
tho road (nun lluemm Ayrtu to
Audo. That railroad Ixats illkil
record for having ami milts of tri
almost on a Hue, such as mathem
clans describe as the nliMrto.it dUta
between any two joints No one i
hart not Hueii this rcnmrkuMo itrtt 1
road, straight in In. tit nail Ufcinl
far un the eve can reu h own 1
uided by a field gloss, m ttrwiiwli
means or what an amount of uearfc
mmioUiiiv it involves and cnUilt.
Washington Star.
IiimriiVfiil Train KiiuliMiwit.
Tho O. It. & N. and Ortton Sh
Line have milled a bullet, imolinj
lilimrv car to their I'ortlatiilCliia
tlitoitli tiain, and a iiinng oirMtf
litis been iiinugimrnted. Hie train
eiiulniiuil with tho latett chair cj
day touches and luxurioiu flnkJ
and ordinary hieepem. Uuectcons
linn iiiiulii ul (iraiiL't-r with Union)
clflo, ami at Ogduti with lllo Oral
line, from nil noints in Oiecon, Wa
iiiKton and Idaho to all Kaitemciti
For information, ritten, etc., cin
nnv O. It. & N. nuetit. or adilrwi
II. Hurlburt, General I'aniengerAM
l'Olllllllll.
'I itu llxtnillllll KIM.
i.irr lionrlnr Did von hear the
jiort of tho engagement of our Lfl
lady's daughter.'
KnrniHl Boarder I should Bay I
I was Hitting ill tho next room at!
i,.. nmi it u'iiu H nrnttv louil reii
let ino tell you. Uichmonil Diipa
An Excellent Combinatloj
The pleasant method e3
effects of tho well Una va rem 4
Synur OF Flos, manufactu " "JJ
tho valuo of obtaining w. tom
tlvo principles of plunt i knflWJ M
medicinally laxative and P e
them in the form most refrwhW
tnsto and acceptable to v ,
is tho ono perfect strenB J
tive, cleansing tho svste m cc, feV
dispelling colds, iienu - -utaff c
gently yet promptly an e" tIon r
to overcome habitual f Kom fr
manently. Its If'in,uv d s
every oCjcctionab e qunh V m
stance, and ys aul'"ft,"" t wcake
liver and bowels, Tjlitto li
or irritating them, make n
laxative. mniifncturlng
In tho process o'"nTkont to
aro used, as they "Silticsol
i,f. tim medicinal quu,"
Remedy nro "obtained from
other aromauo pi ; r Fl0 d'i
Co. only. In order to
effects and to nvol 'mti.oCoP3
remember the full nomo oi w cka
printed on the front of every l
CALIFORNIA-
OA" f. NEW VO'boi
Por inle by all DruKSi"-