Show i I BLACK Rock I A A. Talc of tire tile L By Ralph it 4 1 J IV E 1 Mrs Minors Minor's Story Th Th r days that followed time the Black Rock flock Christmas were anxious days and weary but not for or flip Iho brightest of my life would I change them now j after the heat or u. u rocking the lying dying day lies beautiful In the tender glow of the evening so sot t those these days have lost their 4 n I He lie bathed In a misty glory The y years that bring us many III ni taos pass so over ovet us bear away with them the tho ugliness the s the pain that are theirs hut ut the beauty the sweetness th thi rot rost they leave untouched for Or trios are eternal As the tho mountains that near at hand stand jagged and 4 TO lu lie tho far distance In their son sofi robes Of or purple ha e so en tin lit fades Into time the pastS past soft and sweet eveet and beautiful 1 I have set myself to recall the pain anxiety of thoRe days and nights when we wr walled In fear for the turn k of tIme the fever ever hut I can only think of ih ibm patience and and courto conr- conr to of lir who stood beside me ne hear bear ing more than half my burden And 1 I can see nee the face of Leslie Lelie ghastly or 1 and hear his low how moaning or time the broken word 01 his delirium 1 i of the ht h-f-ht over oVel and of The cool fIrm swift moving hands that I r. r and smoother and rested and voice like the soft Song of a hint in the twilight that never tithed I. I lo bring peace Mrs irs Mayor Mavor and I wore were much to together to- to gether during those days I made mado my tny home hame In Mr Craigs Craig's shack but most of or my time rune was tas spent nt beside my friend Wo Vo did not see much of Craig for or heI ho he WOK heart deep with the miners miners- I layIng lay lay- hit Ing- plans for foi the making of the league p I the lie following Thursday nd lid though 1 h shared our anxiety and was ever I ready to ci relieve u us his thought and I lila talk hail had mostly to do 10 with the I league I E Mrs Mayors Mavor's evenings were given lo to lothe the minors but her hor afternoons mostly to Graeme and to rue me and then them It was waa I 5 aw tw another side of her char char- acter Ve would sit In her sun sun- leg room where the pictures on the walls the quaint old silver anti and bits of cut glass all spoke of i other oilier arid and different days layR anti and thence we would roam the world of literature and art Keenly sensitive to all the good and beautiful In these she had bad hor favorites among the masters for whom thom she was ready to battle anti and when her argument Instinct with fancy anti ami vivid imagination failed ailed t she swept away nil cli opposing opinion with the he swift rush of her hor enthusiasm Co o that though I fell cit she was beaten I was left without words l t. t reply Shakespeare and Tennyson and ami hums Burn she loved but not Shelley nor Hymen c. c nor even Wordsworth Wordsworth- Browning she knew not arid therefore could not rank him with sith her hor noblest three hut I z when I read to hor A Death hi lii th the Desert anti and came caine to the noble word nt fit time the did of time the tale tale tale- For all was vas as J I thy say and aid now nov the theman man once lay to br breast u r is and great 1 shall get much out of him I had hi always feared ho was Impossible AnsI And too stirred her but when I recited the thrilling frag fragment rag rag- meat ment on to that closing rapturous cry cry cry- Then a light then thy breast O 0 thou soul of my y soul I shall clasp lice again And with God be he the tho rest resti ti r the tho red color faded from her cheek hoc hor breath came In a sob ana sh she p. p rose quickly and passed out a word Ever after Drowning Browning wa was among her gods Hut But when wo we talked talked talk talk- ed of music she adoring Wagner Wagne I soared upon wings of the tho mighty might far above Into regions region unknown leaving me mc to walk soberly with Beethoven anti and Ye Yet with all our tJUI free frank talk there wa was all the while that In her gentle cou courtesy cour- cour lesy tesy which kept me inc from roni venturing Into any chamber of her life whose door she did not hOt set freely open to Inc me So I vexed myself about her ant and when Mr Craig returned tile the next nex 1 week from mom the Landing whore he ha had been for fm some Seine days my first was Who is Mrs Mavor And how in filch tho name of all that is wonderful and unlikely tInes docs she come lo to be here And why does she sta stay Ho lie would not answer then er CL Jt i. was that his mind was vas full of the coming struggle or whether he lie shrank from coin the tale T I know not hot but tInI ni hi when we sat together be be- side his tire lire he told me Inc the story while I smoked lie was worn with his long hard drive and with the butS but'S but S den tien of his work hut but as he went on with the tale looking Into the fire tuie an as astie he tie told It it he lie forgot nil all his present anti and lived again the scenes he painted for me was hi his story I r remember well vell my sight of from the front her a an site sie sprang t teat ent of the stage to the ground barthly hard barth- hardly Site her husbands husband's hand ly touching looked a mere inere girl Lets t's see ee years ago couldn't have been a aday day over twenty She looked swift glance barely twenty Itch Her of tf minors millets at over the group he hotel door and ami then routed rested on ott the tho mountains standing In alt all their lr glory I was proud of our mountains that evening Turning to her husband she SS aimed Oh Lewis are they not grand grain anti and lovely too ton Every minor mine hW his heart then and there hut but all waited for Alto Abo the driver to give an before his verdict venturing until hr Abe said nothing opinion drink and r had taken u L preliminary thou calling all au hands to till fill up iii ho lil find said itald lifted lila his high solemnly U hero's heros to tier her I. I Boys was crop emp Like a flush every glass U d and Abe called out mit Tin Fill her het up titi again boys My treat worked up up lie lie was evidently quite with solemn em em- Then he began 1 1 h hais Inch She's A N Nt e you hear bead a 1 triple X g the flit or t It sites site's a- a lunch flock Abe his iii was for a Some one 1 angel Abe with infinite In- In Angel Angel be contemPt finite here angels aint In I paraphrase Id I'd T with hel r angel swing mY ree iy without a around theta them curves curvos learn t lines herself Abe ask ask- 4 held the red ft miner Abe then said what of scientifiC off intO a hc of his fot Itati his the girl and the the r nodded t to anti and winked their entire approval of Abos Abes i por- por I for thin his specialty Vory ihm fellow Abe Abo hut but hi talk wouldn't prim here ilorA i ai cd a n if it ami Vell I who Is she sho Oh y yoM V In li wild recalling hint hint- self solf sJ sho is Is E young lady nit mot n a Scotch Scotch- In wealthy good rini ami till all that hut but fast amid going and going to nt at homo Ills His people who large shares harf in those these mines s here na its a last T ort sent hint him out hero here to reform Curiously Innocent man Inno cent lucas Ideas f old country people have of the reforming properties of this Oils atmosphere They send their yOung bloods Iu re to reform iv Ih-iv In I this hits devil wh ri riman it man maims lust IK Is only law and 1 from rota monotony a man inami must ir to Che he only ex excitement ex- ex nf mf this the place that pInc-that that offered by time the Good al people In iii the unIt hold up holy of horror at these minors miners limit hut I tell you its it's asking the these e hoys lOys a good deal to keep anti and clean in a place like Ibis I take my excitement excite float ment In n fighting the devil and amid doing my 11 work cork generally ansi and gives gis me Inc enough hut but poor chaps hard chaps hard hard- worked with no break or change GotI chiango-GotI Hod help them anti and mo and bbs hla voice sank low bw Wall I 1 persisted lid did Mavor tavor re reform rc- rc form Again he lie aroused himself Ro Re facet Torm Not exactly In six months ho hail had broken through all restraint and mind you not hot the minors miners fault not fault not nota a miner helped him him down It was a sight lo to make malce angels weep when hen Mrs would come lo the saloon door for her hr husband husland Every minor would vanish they could not look upon her shame anti and they would send Mayor Mavor forth hi p the charge of ot hilly Billy Breen a queer little chap who had belonged LI to the flavors In some way wiy In the thu old country country and between them theft tIle they would get him home she stood It puzzles pus pus- ales me to this tiny day but she never mieor made any sign sight and her courage never failed It wax tas always a bright brave proud face she held up to the tho world except in church there Jt ft was differ slit dif fer ont I to preach my f-er- f mons I believe mostly to for her but he but never net so that sIte she could suspect suspect suspect-as as bravely and cheerily as I could And as she listened and especially as site she sang she u c l to sing in iii those days there clays there was as no touch of pride In her face though the courage never out Ut hut appeal appeal I could have Cursed eur aloud the lie cause comise of r hi-r i misery or wept for the pit of iu it Before ln her r baby was horn born he j to pull hi himself together for fr he was quite mail about her and from the day the iby b canie talk about miracles mir mir- acles thin that day ho Ito never neve drunk drank dranka a drop Sho hmo gave the baby over to him ii I ti und ml th tho e ha baby l situ simply 8 ali hun him Tie TIc was a ties new mart lie TIo could not lot drink dr whisky am ami kl kiss his bis baby laby Ansi the miners it It was aH really absurd if f It wore not w 50 pathetic It IL wa- wa the rat baby In lit hiJack and they KOI to f ansi and pep time room nt at the of it it I I tv that lla Ift position ii a aj b for his him timid and he was too proud to o home for money money just just tom for a chance hanco lo to be asked In lo to see the baby I came upon Nixon standing at the hack ack of the tho shop hop after ho had liati seen ho the baby for the first fim time sobbing hard and amid to my question he lie replied Its It's just DUst like my ITLy own You cant can't un- un this But to tacit men who have ham hived Ived so long In the mountains that thai they have forgotten what a baby looks like hike who have hail had experience of hu inanity manity silly only in Its roughest foulest form this little mite sweet anti and clean was like nn an angel fresh from rolE heaven the one link In all that black camp that bound them to what was purest anti and lest best in their past And to see sec he mother and her baby handle the miners Oh it was alt beautiful beyond words I shall never forget the shock I got one night when I found Old nursing the baby A 4 drunken drunk en old beast ho he was but there he lie was sitting Kilting sober enough making extraordinary extra extra- ordinary faces at the baby who was grabbing at his nose anti and whiskers and cooing In blissful delight Poor Old looked as If he had been caught stealing and muttered something about having to go gazed wildly round for some seine place In which to lay tho baby when in came caine the iho mother saying Haying in her own frank way Oh Mr Ricketts' Ricketts she didn't find out till tili afterward his name was Shaw would you yet mInt mind keeping Item her just a hittl longer 1 I shall be back in a few minutes Anti Anil SOld Old Ricketts' Ricketts guessed he could wait flat Bot In six months mother anti and baby between them transformed Old Ricketts' Ricketts Rick Rick- oiLs etts' Into Mr Mm Shaw lire boss boits of tIle the mines And then in the evenings evening when sho would be singing her baby sleep the little shop would be full of miners millets listening In dead silence to the songs balmy and the English songs anti and the songs she poured forth without stint for she sang more for fat them than for lid her baby No wonder vonder they adored her hem Site She was BO sun bright so gay sIte hc brought light with item hor when when he site went into the camp into hue the pits tot pita for sIte ho went down to see the themon themen mon men work work work-or or Into a sick miners miner's shack and many a mail lonely antI and sick for home or wife or baby or mother found in Ill that hack back room cheer cheel arid and comfort anti and courage ansi and to many manya a poor 1001 broken wY that room bo- bo tame ax as put It the anteroom ante room to heaven Mr Craig paused lund and I walled Then he went vent on Pal For a IL year and unil a halt half that was the tho happiest home In iii all the tho world till one day He Ito putt put hb Liis face in lii his hands and aini shut shuddered cid ered I dont don't think J I can ever forget v vI tIle awful horror of that bright afternoon when Old Olti came ps to me inc anti and Come tot for the dear Lords Lord's antI and r T rushed after him At ilir mouth of the lay three men dead One was Lewis Mayor Mavor lie had hati gone down to superintend the running of new drift the two men nien half drunk with Slaving whisky set off a shot elIot prematurely to their own anti and Mayors Mayor's destruction The They were sere badly burned but his face wa was untouched 4 V minor was sponging off cit the bloody froth oozing train from his lips I The others were standing about wait ing irig for or me Tile to i i. mm no word for iD my heart was sick thinking think think- in ing as they were of if the young mother ami her baby waiting at home So SoI I stood looking stupidly from one to find some reason reason- the other othet trying to coward that I was why was why another should bour the lite news rather tuna than I. I Anti nd white wo stood there looking at atone atone one another in fear thero broke upon us the sound of a it voice mounting high high bight above the birch tops singing singing- Will yo no come back again Will yo ye no nO como back again Better loed y yo canna be Will Ihl ye yc no cOrnO back again A strange terror seized us In- In he tilo men inca closed chosei up un In front of the tite hotly body anti and stood In silence Nearer anti and nearer the clear sweet t voice oice ringing like hike a silver bell Up lip the sleep sleep- Sweet the he note itoh and lung long wildly up time the glen Emit But aye tat tuc me inc he Ite sings ae ac wing sang Will ye no no come back agnin Before time the vi rite was finished Old had 1151 dropped on oil his sobbing out brokenly O 0 Coil Cod O 0 God have pity have pity have pity and every ivr my man look off his hat bitt AntI And still tIme tho voice came nearer singing so brightly the refrain Will hIl yo ye no come hack back again It became unbearable Old Rick lUck eUs' eUs sprang suddenly to his feet feel und and gripping me molly by the arm said Oh go to her for Heavens Heaven's fake go goto goto to Item her I next remember standing In her path and seeing her holding out omit Item her hands full of red lilies cryIng crying cry cry- Ing out Are Aie they riot not lovely Lewis Is so o fond of thorn With time the promise of much liner ones 1 turned her down downa a path toward the tho river talking I know not what fully till till her hor great eyes grew grave giave then anxious and tongue stammered ansi and became silent Then laying haying her hand upon my arm nini site she said with gentle Toll lehl mo Inc your trouble troubie Mr Craig and amid I knew my agony had come and I burst out nit Ob Oh if It were only mine She quite white an ani 1 with lie her deep eyes you eyes youve you've ye noticed her lioi eyes eyes tI drawIng draw draw- raw raw- lug Ing the truth out of nf mine mimic she said It is mine Sir Mr Craig and my baby's I Waited thinking with what words to begin she put one hand lo to lice her heart |