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Show thirst for gold had led them into these mountain wilds. Nut a word was spoken spok-en for a tew seconds, and then old Job drew his horny hand across his watery eves and said in a husky voice ' Tige, ye wudii't bleak an oath, wud ye?" "No, Job Dawson.not for friend or loe Thar ain't a boy in the hills as can say thet Jim ever went back ou even his given word. I'm a rough un and do many mighty wicked things, but when I sav a tiling ye ran gamble every dollar you've got on it bein' straight." ''Weil, Tige, I had intended to swing ye, an' ye dcseive swingin'. but I can't git nd of that iiiitther' chiimin' ye give us. i 'spect the old lady's set her heart on seein' ye again, and is wear in' her old eyes out lunkin' fur ye. I've got an old mother myself, and tho' l heven' set eyes on her since "49, her pictti's right hy.it in my heatt, an' it's a ) lead in' (ur yer old 'ooinan, Tige. It's tough Tige, rough, and lemme see ves, I'll be darned il I don't du it, Jack fix them ar strings so's he can get his hands loose. Thar', thel's it. Now, Tige, hold up ver right hand, and il ever ye swoie strong do it now. Do you swer by the gieat God an' yer Messed old mother that it this couit discliaiges ve ye'il lite light out fur the stales and go hum to the old lady an' love her an' comfort her as she stays out of heaven Do ye swar to this, Tige, befoie Almighty God and this Court? A MOUNTAIN COURT SCENE. Selected, U!d Job Dawson had been duly elected elect-ed to till the responsible position of a Justice tf llie I'eace, and this was the first case which had detnaided his attention. at-tention. Job was an old veteran mount-a. mount-a. ncei and liad lived in the shadow of the lofty peaks, hunting, trapping and righting Indians, to use his own wolds, "sense Adam was a kid." In that rough reigoii an accusation of a great crime against any one is but a foie-runner ol a "hanging l ee," and a trial even is seldom sel-dom thought ol. But in the present instance in-stance a wild "cuss" ho had bten Ire-quenting Ire-quenting the settlements had appropriated appropri-ated a broncho (Ind.an pony) belonging to a neighboting lanciiman, and had been puisued, captuied and brought bick. Old Job was summoned to tty the culprit, and a spot in a rocky gulch near the Squirt's cabin was se ecled as the sue lor the investigation. A motley crowd of hunters, trappers, mine: s and rancheros had assembled. Sime wete lying 011 the ground and others sitting on the rocks, all anxiously awaiting the Squiie's coining. Job soon came liom towatd his cabin, and with a d;gnifiedair seated himself upon a boulder, lock of) his bearskin cap and said: "Felleis, the Couit are ready to git down to biz, an' 1 want ye all to cheeze yer racket and let up on that chin music according to law. Throw yer har in sight and pay tention to the Court Eveiyliat cam 1 i ff at his command and H.s lljnr, glancing round the circle, cir-cle, said: "Whar is the dam ens:-?" Three mountain! eis, aimed with Henry tilk-s and six-shootets. now siep-ptd siep-ptd forwaid with the llncf.a vouug man wearing a bold, devil-may-caie expression. expres-sion. 1 lis hanils wet j seem ely lastetied behind his back wi;h buckskin thoi gs. Clad in buckskin fiom head to fool, he presented a pictmesqtie appearance as lie faced the S.juiie. "Wat do they call you when jcr at li tue? ii'.kea llie ci.tiit. "Ain't s"' tuny home, leastwise in these pails'' sullenly replied tlieptisun-er. tlieptisun-er. "Ain't, liev? Well, wat's the name you ink wen you left the States, the ?" "The Ik ys hytr on the hills tall me Tigtr Jim." "Wall ,'Tigc yer SDOtled as a horse thief, and I lerkon there's siimthin in it ur the hoys wuUn't hr. tight you in. Ym can't expect a tuiiey ttial like you'd sit down tu I, it .nine ur in eny of them towns i!ong the toad. We hevn'l tny paper, pens or n.k, or eny of that suit of I ol-l-tuieis tip hver in the hills, and there tin'l one ul us as C( uld eng netr 'em el we had.su we'll jist grind her through and do the hest we kin (ur you. In the name of ihc law I now ax you did you cull r that uoki liut f tup het rite thar, do;g.neit, I foigut to swar ycu Come nii ey near taijjeit n it. Iluld up yet rifehi han'." "HulJ up notliin How kin I when they'ie tied tiler'n blazei?" ' Thais so. Yerk'itrt, Tiger. But guess eny member i f the bod v 'II be ac cotdiug to law 111 exlieme cases. Steddy li im a little, fellers, sn as that he kin raise his ryht (ool." Tige raised his nioccasin covtied loot, while a guide uu each side held him in posit on. "Now then, 1 ain't fly on them ar law yei's aflidavys, bul I'll make her slout enough to hold a Mexican mule Tiger im, do you swar by :he holv Moses ac-coidiu ac-coidiu tolhe laws ol WycmingTeiritory, that every time ye chip in yer racket ye'll give lis the stiuar liuth. An cf you dun'1 do you hope that ye may git chawtd up by a grizzly, chopped to pieces by S oux, stiung up lo a pir.e wi.li a rope round yer dam thiev'n uerk and fail to connect in heaven when yer life goes out, to the best of yer under-stai.din' under-stai.din' as provided by law, s'help er God, he?" 'That'sjist wot I does, paidy.' 'Now, Tige, yer tinder oath, an' eveiy tim; yei speak yer want ter hit the b'.dl's eye. Did vou nip that boss?' ' 'Well, Uuclejob, there's no use o'lyin' about it, an I'll tell youjist how it war. Last night you know thar war a jam boteeover lo Al Wilkin's raiiche in Mil er's gulch, and I war thar. Al had been in to Laramie City and got a keg of good old budge, and we all got puny full. Arter the dancin war over I pulled on. for Howies ranche, whar' I'm hangin out, and a I a as staggerin' down round Mountain Cat Hill I runs right on the b'oncho that war p cketed out in the grass, and I war just drunk enough to mount him an lite out. I know I'm goin' to swing fur it, and I'll die game too. I ain't worth a cuss anyway, and ef it want lor my good old mother back in the States (here the teats began to roll down hi3 bronzed cheeks) who nevei closes her eyes without prayin, fur God to send me back to her I'd laugh at death an' help ye to fix the rope, but w hen I think o' that darlin' old soul 1 git weaker'n a wounded autelope. I tell ye fellers, I've been a tuff cuss ever since I struck out for these mountains, and I spose the wouild'll be betler 'thout me in it. My old mother'II suffer. I know that, fur I'm her only kid an' hev sent her every ounce of dust that I could spare an' it's all she's had to live on. She's bin a good un to me, God bless her, and I'm sorry I haven't lived so's I can camp W illi her up thar (taising his teatful eyes toward heaven), and boys, won't some of ye write to her. Tom Kirk thar knows whar she lives, an' tell her I got let out by an Injun or pegged out nat'rally. For God's sake don't let her know I war strangled. The pews 'ud kill her. But then I'll cheese this gab, or ye'll think I'm weakening, an' tue man don't live as can skeer Tiger Jim. Elevate me boys jist as quick as ye please. I'm teady w hen yon are. During this recital Jim's eyes were filed fil-ed with tear.J, and a close obseiver would have detected si!ent weeping on all sides. That magic w rd"mother" had aw akened tender f collections in the breas'.s of every one of those hardy mountaineers. Men who Ci uld face death in any shape without a particle of leeling, did not try to bids the tears at the mention cf that sacred name, mother. How sweet it sounded in their ears. It carried them back to the happy days in the past when they were blessed wilh ill ? 1 jve of parents, before the insatiable |