| OCR Text |
Show reiuuwd from oilier dvjl!iiics, ard was not eaore odd ta its ateithbots than its strange ocatpa1;a man it middle height slight of .baud, avtth ot, light hair, a sesitive, schoUrly (ace. and a calm presence pres-ence that insured him respect. The tiny cottage consisted of three carpeted rooim with easy chairs and a plentiful supply of hooks. In front, and hnl in by a peeled willow fence, was a (lower Harden, at once the secret admiration ad-miration and open scorn of all the men in the valley; for this Mark Elden tended the flower j and made the fences with his own hands work only fit for women. Not a flower, perhaps, among the iweit old fashioned beauties but wakened in those time-calloused and crime seared breasts old, tender memories. Morning gloiis in profligate luxuiience climbed over the trellis; sweet peas waved a tmv fragrant banner of pink and white triumph above their tallest stakes; stately, hardy hollyhocks stood like decorous de-corous country maidens in sedate rows by the side fences; beds of pansies lifted their peaceful laces to the fragrant spice pinks, and the velvety richness of the marigold. Mark Elden came to this place atone; he hired his huuie built, he paid fajA(not dustjlor whatever he had done or .wanted, .want-ed, lie made a confidant of no man, and utterly declined to have a 'pard " He kept a horse, a sleek, slender beau tv, but had declined all overtures of parties part-ies of hunters to accompany them, or to go and witness the big cattle drives that occuted once a year, and latterly the inhabitants of Rocky Ford had left him J very much to himself. The law of supply and demand regulates regu-lates far more of our affaits than would seem possible at a glance; hence it was, that fiim muscle and brute or physical courage, were considered in this very primitive civilization the acme tA manhood. man-hood. So, when Mark Elden, slight of build and physically inferior to every man in the valley, began to show symptom sym-ptom ol a decided preference for tne society of pretty dashing Nora NcGlinn, the daughter ol tha richest ranchman in the valley, it was made a matter of unbounded un-bounded mirth . Scarcely a dav passed but bouquets of flo ers found their way to her hand.and at last when Mark Elden offered to under take U arrange her promiscuous learning, learn-ing, and add g,imisie and drawings there unto, the proposition was gratelullv received, re-ceived, and they bean their studies at once, Nora bravely facing the torrent of ridicule on every side. She had a noble nature, as well as beauty this Border Belle, with sloe-black eyes and a physical developementlhat was almost peifeclion Every glorious morning was a new lease of beautiful life to her.every bieatli ol virgin ail like new wine danced and sparkled through her blood, lighting light-ing the brown of her cheek like the red of the ripest pomegranite. Matk Elden read poetry to her. he taught her all Hie delicate beauties of nature, and many a day they rode far and free in search lor botanical specimens, speci-mens, which they mounted in ondcrfully beaut.ful design. Her mineral cabinet Lynch Law's Last Victim- By Ellen Jakeman From the Western Galaay. Nature had int!t)ded the place for an earthly piradise, but turn, savage and ruthless.hadmade of it a howling wilderness. wilder-ness. Almost ihe last remnant of the redman had disappeared before the invaders; wh.,lieiii then superiors, md Christians, gaiised a foothold bv cunning and deception, de-ception, and maintained il, by brute force, and a heathenish cateiing to the lowest vices of their victims, t il they were utterly wasted. Vs, this place was populated by a savage horde more heartless, more desperately des-perately cruel and lawless than the red-man red-man himself. Tne float of civization, the off-scouring was a source of great delight. Thev studied the birds and insect till her soul could hear the beating of their If tie hearts as they throbbed with worlds ol hope and (ear, till through the divine instinct she learned their sweet language and how near akin we ate to the humblest of God's creatures. Haw she enjoyed his gentle refined society! Accustomed only to the rude, not to sav positively coarse companions, of her father. When rallied by her father upon her "valuable" conquest, she questioned her own heart, and knew UiatMaik Elden could never be the hero ol her dicums, though she d.d like Is i in very, very much, loi had he not attuned her Soul to all the harmonies O n.iinie? The liont of chance mellows many a rosy apple and rutnlessly destroy many bud and bloom. There came a stranger to Rocky Fotd. That was not au unusual thing, but he-was he-was rather an unusual man. He was decidedly handsome, after a French pattern, well-knit and supple, suave and sleek, with a cat-like sleekness and good natuie, easy flow of wit and an instinctive appreciation of tempeiment and character, that made him a most charming companion when he chose to be, and the reverse when it suited his purpose. When he rode up to the McGlinn's abode and tossed his bridle rein to the half-breed Indian ooy in the vard, with the air of one accustomed to command, Nora and Mr. Elden were standing at a window looking ot. As the agile and graceful stranger ran up the broad stone steps and courtuously demandedfof the stout Irish woman, the master of the house, Mark Elden sank into a chair, his usually pale face ghastly, while a taint inarticulate cry rose lo his lips. To be Continued. of every land, many I them witn as many ai aises as fingers, w ho had left their country for that country's good; meu brought together by one common impulse gold! Burning with a lever more fierce and quenchless than a tiger's thirst fir blood, dead, it would seem, to every tender human emotion, these men toiled m.!I day and w itched all night; tiist to wiest from the Htubboru rocks their scanty grams of gold, and then to protect pro-tect them from robber and assasin; but when gamed thev valued the gold so little ilMt often the work of a whole year would be thrown away iu a single iiiKt. Such was the great m.tj irity of this population, yet here and theiewas a benevolent be-nevolent lace, 'overuig. under the regulation regula-tion dauuel shirt, i k udlv heart. There was als, a fair spriu cling of scholars; lor although cultuie Ussens crime in any Community, il can't kill the Cain if it is born in a man, and these men. more capable than their ignorant associates, , were perhaps dyed blacker in crime. Among them.too, were meu of wealth, speculators, liquor-dealeis, gamblers.but the only outward sign of difference between be-tween these and the poorest day-laborer was, perhaps, a heavy gold cord twisted around the broad sombrero, or a huge watch with a chain like a cable. There were representatives of many races:stolid Germans; self-centred English; sharp nosed nervous Americans; stealthy ltal-iiiis, ltal-iiiis, who seemed to be forever quarel-in; quarel-in; and fierce-mustached, treacherous, .ileut Portuguese and Spanish; all bristling brist-ling witb aims 'and indifferently alert. There was onu element, however, that carried neither pistol nor knife ohn Chinaman, sleek, mild eyed, cunning; whose ambling gait and obsequious manner it was exasperatingto look upon who, without weapon of offense.or defense defen-se is a desperate menace to the laud where, parasne-like, he feeds. 'Twas a place to find a foituue or a grave to bury anfidenty or hide a crime. No retrospective question were ever asked,n one seemed to care what their companions had been, or done, so that thev were "good square pards" now. The great excitement that brought thii drluge of miners to this vacinity began be-gan to abate, and as new discoveries were made in adj iuing districts, squads ol those most afflicted wi'h the gold fever, fe-ver, as haunted by fear, went hither and thither, and Kucky Ford saw them no aore. Lying to the west of the hills where the miners had found gold, lay a broad, green valley; too fertile, too verdant and iusiting to be very near an extensive mineral deposit. Iudeed.it seemed that the nuggets and dust that had iuspned the mad populace must be a wash from a highei region, as paying diit gradually diminished both in rienness and area. As the gold grew less so did the laborers, labor-ers, and a'ter a tew months, the five or six hundred brawny miners were reduced re-duced to a score or two, the fifty saloons to two, and the dozen supply depots to three small trading posts. But this mad human storm had opened open-ed a path for legitimate civilization. Stock men came, built rude, strong houses, brought their herd of cattle and horses, and made themselves peitectly at home. Some of them brought their families hostages to man, to nature and to Cod, of their good intention But few of them however, possessed such luxuries, and the air ttill seemed to be ksatured with lawlessness, as though those who had gone before had left their magnetism behind them. Differences Dif-ferences of opinion were summarily settled with pistol and knife, on rare occasions the survivor was strung up to a tree without lorm of law, Judge Lynch presiding; but could the murderer uiae good his escape for even twenty-lour hours, he might sneak back into camp unmolested. The grand crime tha: met no mercy. that armed every, tand to active vengeance, that was never forgotten or forgiven was horse stealing. Many an innocent man has been strung up by the Viligance committee for having hav-ing in his possession a hoise that he could not account fori the saisfaction ol judge Lvnch, but there will never be another at Lynch Ford. The stockman bntlt their strong, dark-browned dark-browned houses 011 the elevations, but down on the banks ol the clear stream, nestled in a sunny con er, was a tiny cottage with wide windows looking out ' upon a porch. The house was quite |
