[wxCL-devel] Ious ways o' Providence, ' which he acknowledged he might sometimes fai

[Haven <da...@vi...>]

Ed; 'it's a clean beat for us today. The miners and lumbermen will have
in their pockets ten thousand dollars, and every dollar burning a hole;
and Slavin and his gang will get most of it. But,' he added, 'you must
have breakfast. You'll find a tub in the kitchen; don't be afraid to
splash. It is the best I have to offer you.' The tub sounded inviting,
and before many minutes had passed I was in a delightful glow, the
effect of cold water and a rough towel, and that consciousness of virtue
that comes to a man who has had courage to face his cold bath on a
winter morning. The breakfast was laid with fine taste. A diminutive
pine-tree, in a pot hung round with wintergreen, stood in the centre of
the table. 'Well, now, this looks good; porridge, beefsteak, potatoes,
toast, and marmalade.' 'I hope you will enjoy it all.' There was not
much talk over our meal. Mr. Craig was evidently preoccupied, and as
blue as his politeness would allow him. Slavin's victory weighed upon
his spirits. Finally he burst out, 'Look here! I can't, I won't stand
it; something must be done. Last Christmas this town was for two weeks,
as one of the miners said, "a little suburb of hell." It was something
too awful. And at the end of it all one young fellow was found dead in
his shack, and twenty or more crawled back to the camps, leaving their
three months' pay with Slavin and his suckers. 'I won't stand it, I
say.' He turned fiercely on me. 'What's to be done?' This rather took me
aback, for I had troubled myself with nothing of this sort in my life
before, being fully occupied in keeping myself out of difficulty, and
allowing others the same privilege. So I ventured the consolation that
he had done his part, and that a spree more or less would not make much
difference to these men. But the next moment I wished I had been slower
in speech, for he swiftly faced me, and his words came like a torrent.
'God forgive you that heartless word! Do you know--? But no; you