


nity. 



LIEUT. C. 
Gypsum was a Western mining camp, 
with the usual trimmings—namely, a wide- 
open dance hall, a “good” gambling 
house, the Gaiety theater, the always-pres- 
ent Easy Street and all that army of 
thieves, thugs, wild women and adventur- 
ers who are wsually attracted to such 
places. Gypsum was proud, not only of 
her name, but of her promising gold 
mines as well. She took her name from 
the eternal mountains which surround her, 
their formation being of gypsum, and as 
the town was in Eagle Canyon, it was 
known to the postal department, if not to 
the world, as Gypsum, Eagle County, Col. 
Miiepetmeall wcames tienes bya Stave = in 
summer, and on snow shoes in winter. 
Gypsum was a busy place, and her citizens 
were, as a rule, industrious—at least the 
gambler was as busy as the miner, the 
dance-hall girl had no more time to waste 
than the merchant. Even the rounders 
seemed to keep themselves employed. 
Each morning the stage came down the 
pass and unloaded its freight of fortune- 
hunters at Banty’s Hotel. Some were cap- 
italists, others mining engineers or ex- 
perts, and there was the usual crowd of ad- 
venturers having no particular calling. 
They were all called by the good people of 
Cyvpstime tendercet, sand las, tieyn were 
considered “fruit” by the residents, from 
the Mayor down to the faro dealer, Gyp- 
sum was glad to have them come. 
It so happened one beautiful day some 
3 hours after the stage had arrived and 
turned its passengers over to the tender 
mercies of the Gypsumites, that there rode 
to the hotel at a rattling pace, on a smart- 
looking cow-pony, a stranger at Gypsum. 
He slid from the horse with the grace of 
an old-time “cow-puncher,” and, throwing 
the bridle over a stake, sauntered into the 
hotel. He announced to the hotel man, 
who was also the barkeeper and “lookout” 
for the faro games, that he was Joseph 
Prince Lord, of New York. With a great 
flourish he drew a cardcase from his 
pocket and handed the landlord a card in- 
scribed: 
Lord, Maguffy & Lord, 
Stock and Bond Brokers, 
No. 99 Wall Street, 
New York. 
It was evident that Mr. Lord desired to 
make his presence known to the commu- 
In a loud voice he announced that 
he had money to burn, but had not come 
to Gypsum to burn it. On the contrary, 
he was in Gypsum to gather up a few 
shekels while resting from the cares of 
Hs 
Dak COVEWENOK S. WAGER. 
O’ KEEFE. 
business in Wall Street. With a sweep of 
his hand Mr. Lord announced that he was 
ready to do business with any of them, 
from the buying of a mine to the opening 
of a jackpot. 
This breezy introduction, however, 
failed to attract the attention expected. 
The dealers looked up casually, while the 
absorbed players did not look up at all. 
After putting 2 or 3 drinks under his 
beit, being joined in this by the entire 
house, Lord entered into conversation 
with some of the loungers. It soon be- 
came Jevident that the: community, had 
sized up the stranger for a rank tender- 
foot well worth plucking, and they hoped 
he had money to burn. These were the 
kind of people Gypsum liked. 
“Tain’t often we ketch such suckers as 
this yere chap,’ Chicken Bill was heard to 
remark confidentially to Lefty Gibbons. 
“Eles a Wiall Street=plutocrat, and Gyp- 
sum’s got to teach these gold bugs a 
lesson.” . 
The Wall Street man seemed to feel at 
home in Gypsum. He had not that shy 
way about him which most men displayed 
on arriving there. He evidently had con- 
fidence in himself, and if he did not have 
it in others, at least he pretended to. He 
would listen to the meanest ‘‘tin horn” in 
town, when he knew the man was: trying 
to fleece him. The “sure thing” men, of 
course, took a kindly interest in the Wall 
Street man, but after they had their go at 
him they shock their heads, winked the 
other eye, and said he was “too foxy.” 
“Mebbe he’s a sucker,’ was Lefty’s 
COMMEeN EMO Miguel cot, onto amy lay, 
blanked easy;” and Lefty was supposed to 
be able to keep more aces up his sleeve 
than any man in Eagle County. 
So Gypsum got used to Mr. Lord, and 
he was soon looked on as a fixture. 
One evening while he was deep in the 
“mysteries of a good poker game Banty in- 
165 
terrupted the play to introduce his friend 
Jake Larrow, who had just come in from 
Trappers Lake. Jake was a _ hunter’s 
guide, and as he had guided many New 
Yorkers into the mountains after elk, 
Lord had heard of him before. The Wall 
Street man promptly cashed in, and, in- 
viting Jake to have something, they en- 
tered on an animated discussion as to 
horses, cow ponies, etc. As _ horseflesh 
was the Wall Street man’s hobby, they 
were soon telling their experiences and 
Swapping yarns. 
“Have you ever met the Bishop?” Jake 
finally inquired. ‘“‘He’s the best horseman ; 
in this neck 0’ woods.” 
