HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Signal, 1882-12-01, Page 6THE HURON SIGNAL, FRIDAY DEC. 1, 1882.
C4-7/311.310.41LnIr GF10NZTINE BALL
`Extraordinary s Unparallelled Bargains
C
CIDTLOCO!S
On Monday, Nov. 27th, They Began Their Great Genuine Sale.
Twenty Thousand Dollars Worth
of Choice Fall Goods will be offered Without Reserve. The Cash does it.
';:!EY SELL fOR CASH, AND AT NARVELLOUSLY LOW PRICES.
SWEEPING REDUCTIONS IN DRESS GOODS
Silks, Ulster Cloths and Tweeds, Shawls, Velvets, Flannels and Blankets, Corsets, &c., &c.
W�IUtHFUL VALUE IN TABLE LINENS ANO TOWELLINCS.
A Large Lot of Mantles at a Reduction of Twenty -Five Per Cent
1301ATIV PCP girrt-IMIEFL WINICMITIS
Don't Forget to Price their Furs. See their. New Dress Goods at 12Cents per yard.
See their Melton Cloth Dress Goods.
SOIHN 0_ D TI.,OR 8z CO_
Til f; Outcasts of Poker Flat..
B1 BREI HARTS.
As Mr. John Oakhurst, gambler, step-
ped into the main street of Poker Flat
on the morning of the twenty-third of
November, 1850, hetwas conscious of a
change in its mural atmosphere since the
preceding night. Two or three men,
conversing earnestly together, ceased as
he nppto:tched, and etahanged signifi-
cant glances. There was a Sabbath lull
in the air, which, in a settlement un-
used to Sabbath influences, looked outs
i• eels.
Mr. Oakhurst's calm handsome face
;tray elf small concern in these indiat-
tic ns. Whether he was tx,neciotts of any
predisposing cam, wmanother question.
"I reckon they're after somebody," he
reliected ; "likely it's me," He return-
ed to •hip pocket the handkerchief with
whirl: he ' had been whieiping the red
dust of Poker Flat from his neat boots,
and quietly discharge(} his mind of any
future conjecture.
In point of fact, Poker Flat was 'after
smiehody.' It had lately suffered the
loss of several thousand dollars, two val-
uahie horses. and a preeminent citizen.
It was experiencing a spasm of virtuous
re.'tcti..n, quite as lawless and ungovern-
able as any of the acts that had provok-
ed it. A secret committee had deter-
mined to rid the town of all improper
petsots. This was done permanently in
Regard to two men who were then hang-
ing from the loughs of a sycamore in the
gulch, and temporarily in the banish-
ment of certain other ohjecti..nal charac-
ters. I regret to say that some of these
were ladies. It but doe t", the sex, how-
ever, to state that their impropriety was
professional, and it was only in su.;h
cosily established' stan.lerds of es it that
Poker Flat rgnture.l to sit in judg-
�f Oatihiutst vita riiht ,u supposing
that he was included in the category.
A few of the committee had urged hang.
lag him u a possible rumple, and a
stere method rJ reimbursing themselves
from his pockets o1 the sums he had
won frim them. "it's agin justice,"
esu 1 Jim Whirler, "to let this ger young
t,,au 'nee Roaring ('amp --an entire
stranger-- carry away our money." But
crude sentiment of equity residing in
the breast* of thea, who had been for-
tunate enough to win from Mr Oak-
' ersf nrerrule.l thea nsrrewer b,ca1 per --
lice
Mr Oakhurst received his senteflce
I.teloenphic ealuanem, none the leas
that he was aware of th.hes►tai. a
of his judges. He was too much of a
gambler not to accept Fate. With him
life was at best an uncertain game, and
be recognized the usual percentage in
favour of the dealer.
A body of armed men men accoutpaui-
ed the departed wickedness of Poker
Flat to the outskirts of the settlement.
Besides Mr. Oakhurst, who waa known
to be a coldly desperate man, and for
whose intimidation the armed escort was
intended, the ezl.atriated party consist-
ed of s young woman familiarly known
as 'The Dutcl.ess ;' another who had
won the title nt 'Mother Shipton ;' and
`Uucle Billy,' a suspected sluice -rubber
and confirmed drunkard. The caval-
cade provoked no comments from the
spectatora, nor was any word uttered by
the escort. Only when the gulch which
marked the uttermost lint of P. her
Flat was reached, the leader spoke
;briefly and to the point. The exiles
were forbidden to return upon peril of
their lives. •
As the eicort disappeared, their pent-
up feelings found vent in a few hyster-
ical tears from the Duchess, some lad
language from tMother Shipton, anti a
Parthian volley- of expletives from Uncle
Billy. The philosophic Oakhurst alone
remained silent. He listened calmly to
Mother Shipton's desire to cut some-
body's -heart out, to the repeated state-
ments of the Duchess that she would die
in the road, and to the alarming Laths
that seemed to be bumped out of Uncle
Billy as he rode forward. With the
good -humour characteristic of his cissa,
he insisted upon exchanging his own
riding 'Five Spot,' for the sorry mule
which the Duchess node. But even this
did not draw the party into any closer
sympathy. The young woman resdjost-
ed her sousewkat draggled plumes with
a feeble, faded crgnetry ; Mother Shit -
ton eyed the p'.asessor of 'Five Spot:
with malevolence, and I -nets Billy in•
eluded the whole party in one .wee;,ing
anathema
The road to Sandy Bar- a cain . th .t,
not haring as yet experienced the tonne
manna influences .f Pekoe hist, eons.
geently seemed to offer ,fume invitation
to the emigrenta lay elver s steep moun-
tain range. It was distant • days .were
travel. in that advanced season. the
party ao..n passed out of the moist, tem-
perate regions et the foot bulla into the
dry, sold, bracing an of the Sienna The
triol was narrow and diflkiJt. At noon
the Duchess, retitle, out of the saddle
open the ground declared she would go
no farther, and the party hal.etl
The spot was aieeelarly wild an.I on
pressive A wooden amphitheatre. stir
tousled on three sides by precipitous
cliffs of naked granite, sloped gently .to-
ward
topsward the crest, of wether pr$cipice that
overlooked the valley. It eas undoubt-
edly, the most suitable spot for a camp,
had camping been advisable. But Mr. t.
Oakhurst knew that scarcely half the •
journey to Sandy Bar was accomplished .'
and the } arty were not equipped or pro-
visioned fur delay. This fact he point-
ed out to his companions curtly, with
a philoeophic commentary on the folly i
of "throwing up their hand before the
game was played out.' But they were
furnished with liquor, which is this em-
ergency stood thein in place of Rant, rest
and preacence. In spite ..f his remon-
' atrtncea, it was not lung before they
were more or leas under its influence.
Uncle Billy lapsed rapidly from a bell-!
cose state into one of stupor, the Duch-
ess became maudlin, and Dlother Ship-
ton snure.l. Mr. Oakhurst alone re-
mained erect, leaning against a rock,
calmly surveying them
'Mr. (Oakhurst diol Wit .run.:. It iu-
terfere•l trich a profession which requir-
ed coolness, impaasiyness, and presence
of mind, an 1, ill 11i3 'own t-tngntee, he
"couldn't a:T o -d it." ss ice g -,/,.;d at hit
recumbent felIoa -exiles, the loneliness
begutlen of his pariah -untie, bit habits
of life, his very vices, for the first time
seriously oppressed hien. Hu bestirred
himself in .lusting his black clothes,
waahiuy his t,nnds and faro, and other
acts cbatacteristic "f his studiously pert
habits, and, for a moment fereo.t his an:
noyanct'. The thought of deserting his
weaker ami niers pitiable comp¢siene
never perhaps metered to him Yet he
could not help feeling the want i f that
excitement which. singularly enough,
was mart c..udacttve to that calttetluan-
iru'ty for which he was teenriow. He
looked at the gloomy walls that rose n
themwu.1 feet sheer above the circling
pines around hint ; at the sky, own.
testilyclouded ; at the valley below,
shady deepentna int.. shadow. And,
d.•ine a.. seiblenly lie hemi his own
,ate called
A horesunan slowly ascended the trail.
In the fresh, open fsee of the new -comae
Mr oakhur•at ree..gnuatid Tem Simon.
otherw,se known as "The innocent of
Sandy tier He had met hind some
months before, over a 'little game.' and
had, with perfect etluaniruity-, won the
entire fortune amountin•j to Irmo• forty
dollars of that guileless youth After
the game www laishe.l kir. Oak hues
drew the yuiutMd sperulater behind the
l...r and thou addressed hum 'Tommy,
you're a good little man, hut you t'en't
ii:unLle sorth • cent 1),wa t try at "ser
satin He then handed loam los money
heel pushed him gently from the room
and so mode s devoted slave of Tom Sim-
eon.
There was a remembrance of this ill
his boyish and enthusiastic greeting of
Mr. Oakhurst. He had started, he said,
to go to Poker Flat to seek his fcrtuue.
'Alone T No, not exactly al, ne; in (act
(a giggle), he hal run away with Piney
Worms. Didn't Mr. Oakhurst remem-
ber Piney ? She that used to wait on the
table at the Temperance House ? They
had been engaged a long time, but old
Jake Woods had ubjected, and so they
had rut away, and were eying to o,ker
Flat to be married, and here they were.
And they were tired out, and how lucky
it was they had found a piece to camp
and company. All this the Innocent dt.-
livered rapidly, while Titley, a stout,
comely d:unscl of fifteen, eeueroed fn ni
behind the pine -tree, w here she had been
blushing (maven, and r• Je to the side o f
her lover.
Dir. Oakhurst seldom try tilled himself
with sentiment, still less with propriety;
but he had a segue idea. that the situa-
tion was not fortunate. He retained,
believer, his presence mind sufficient
to kick Uncle I3i11r. ,wh"o was about
to ,r,ty a,,iioaihdnK, n,.d Uncle Billy
was sober enough to rvcognixe in
Mr. Onkhnrat's kick a icperiut power
that wouldnot bear iridin;. He then
endeavored to dissuade Tom Simeon
from delaying further, bnt in vair. He
even pointed oJt the feet that there was
tM provision, mor moans of making a
camp. But, unluckily, thtln•t•,ceut met
this objection by ameriug the ,arty that
he was 1tn.vided w ith ea extra mule load-
ed with protisions, and by the diiceve;y
"f a rwleattempt at a lug house tear the
tavl. "Piney can't stay with Mr. Oak-
hurst,' said the Inn-,ceet, poitting to the
Duchess, "and i can shift ler myself."
`ethiug but Mr t►akh•.trst s id, lottish-
ing hast ..reed 1 uclp fli'.:> fr 1,1 bursting
into a roar of Laughter As it woe, he
felt compelled tu retire up the cation
until he could recover 1- a runty
There he confided that ;.-k.-
pule trees, with many s,s is • ' I ,4 tee.
c-•titotfions of the face, and the usual
profanity. Ilut alien he rt'' i.r..e.i to the
party, he found them stated `•y a firs •
for the air hail green strangely chtil and
the sky overeats " in siipa-er tly amteeble
c•mvirsatinn Piney was act msllytalking
in an rnpuleive, girlish fashi•,n to the
Duchess, who wsa listening with en in
Wrest and atitsiatien she had re.t sheen
for many days. The innncest was hold •
ing forth. apparently with egnsl effect,
to Mr Oakhurst, and Mother $ktpten,
whoa.** actually relating into ar.0 hairy
"is this yer a d d venter awed Inole
Rills with mean/ acorn as he or -rayed
the sylvan group, the glancing firelight,
and the tethered annuals in the fore-
ground. Suddenly an idea utiugled with
the alcoholic fumes that disturbed hit
brain. It was apparently- /if a jocui;tr
nature, for be felt impelled to slap his
leg against and cram iiia tist into his
mouth.
As the shadows crept slowly up the
mountain, a sli{ht breeze rocked the
tops of the pine -trees, and mo*ned
through their lone and gloomy aisles.
The ruined cabin, Notched and covered
with Nile Loughs, was ret apart for .he
ladies. As the :overs patted, trey onaf-
fectedly exchanged a .kiss, s. !' •nest aro[
ssncete that it might have Leen l.eard
above the aweyiug pines. The frail
Duchess and the malevolent bfotber
Shipt 11 were pielegibly too stunned to re-
mark up.,n tLe last evidence of simplic-
ity, and so turned without a word t., the
hut. The flue was. replenished, the men
lay down before the dour, and in .1 few
minutes were :w'eep
Mr. 1 )akhurat was a light simper. Io-
wai:u rniug ;te wo',te bonulnbe.i with
cold. As he stirred the dying tire, the
witd, which was now blowing strongly
brought to his cheep that which caui,ed
the blued to leave it,—snow.
He started tu kis feet with the inten-
tion t.f awai:er,ing the sleepers, for there
was no time to, lose. But turning to
where Uncle Billy had beta laype.;. he
found him gone. A suspicion leaped
to his brain and a curse to his lips Hu
ran to the .put where the mules hall
been tethered; there were no longer
there. The traci:s were already lapid:y
i;isappca•ed in the snow
Til tuomeutary excitement 1 nsutght
Mr. teekhunt tack e. the tins with his
usual calor. He did root waken the steer
ere. T1te inn.,cenr slumbered peace-
fully, with a seal' on his goof huatored
frecaied faoe. t';e .rg►u ['mew slept be-
tide her fustier stater as sweetly as
tltnugh attended by celestial guardians,
inti Mr i •aihunt, driwto; Eta l,lay.ket
over hu aluulddra, etmked how mi.ratsd•
res Slid ratted f..r the .taw,, li cSsa!
sleety in a wh,riu-,4 mutat .it au , 1.., IS
that l*--iwul ar.d roof oaawl ,:, t eye,
Koss onset r - ae,tt "1 the ismilenr.
peered magically magically c;iang..d Ho Meshed
over the valley, an I summed tfte
present mud 'Ow* is tw•r words --'eri. *.
A cereful inventory of the previalotie
wheat, fartenatety for the party, and
been wired within the het, and so even -
ed this felonious fingers of 1'wsle Hilly,
i twuteo..d the fact that with tare sod pore
deers they might taut ten demi longer.
That is, said Mr. Oakhurst. snfh, tours
she fn•,oeent. if Vmt'rs wilting t .
board us. If you ain't --and perhape
rou'd better net—von carr wait till Uncle
Billy gets hack with nrevisiuns.' Ft.r
seine .,ccult re ut,.:l, Mr. t1.,khurst ooultl
not bring himself t,. disclose Uncle Billy's
rascality, *ed so offend the hypothesis
that he had eau hired from the camp,
and had ac:iilent illy stampeded the ani-
mals. He drupp.e-1 a warnuis to the
Duchess and Mother Shinto:,, who of
souse knew the frets of their associate's
defection. "need! find out the truth
about us all when they find out anything
he. added, significantly, 'and there's no
gond frightening thein naw.'
Toni Situson no: only put all his
worldly store et the disposal of Mr. Oek-
hunt, but seene.l to enjoy the prospect
of their enferce.l seclusion. "We'll
have a peel camp for a week, and then
the snowil melt, and we'll all go back
together." The cheerful gayety of the
young mars, 'and Mr. (hskhnrst's calm,
infected the others. The Innocent, with
the aid of pine•buughs, etttetrtpuriaed a
thatch tor the nwo9ss cabin, and the
Duchess directed Piney in the rearratt,ge-
ment of the interior with a taste and tact
that opened the blue eyes of thst open-
ed the blue eyed of that provincial maid-
en to their fullest extent. "I rec1<en
now you're used t i fine things at Poker
Flat,- said Piney. The Dashes turned
away sharply to conceal something that
reddened her cheeks through its pr.ofos-
sional tint, and Mother Shipton request-
ed Piney not to 'chatter'. But whin
&Ir. Oakhurst returned from a weary
search ter the trail, he heard the weird
of happy laughter echoed from the rocks.
He stopped in some alarm, and hia
thoughts first naturally reverted to the
whisker, which be had prudently earhmd.
•Ar.d yet it don't somehow Mound like
whiskey,- said the gambler it was ren+
till he naught sight of the blazing lite
thr ugh the still -blinding storm and the
trrnnp a,nund it, that he settled to the
ootrictmn that it was "square fen. -
Whether Mr. Ihtkhurat had recd lira
I carts ugh the whiskey as something de-
tweed the free scene • d the c.smunity.
I ceanot My. It was certain that, in
i/iether Rfiipton's words, he "didn't say
cards vase - .goring that evening. Haply
the time ie se reptniletl b; en scrnreion,
ytt.looed a ,mewhat estent.itioesly by
Tom $ims,n from his pack. 1llotwith
standing seine difficulties attending the
manipulation of this instremeet, Pirw y
Wowoda manage 1 to pluck scrawl refect
ane melodies frost he keys, toss seeons
petit•sat by the Ianooeat on a pair "f
bone castanets. Pot the ernwaing tea
tivity of the evseine was reached is s
rode camp -meeting hymn, which the
lovers, joins t heads. Meg with grim.