41 Lure O Gold 1904

"
"
The Lure o
Gold
hear the A. C. Company will open
an office here next
week. If you had waited you might have shipped
with them."
Oh, the gold
s all right,"
said another man who had
just come up.
ll
Nobody bother it.
This is an honest
camp."
These latter words were spoken in a soft, smooth
voice, quite gentlemanly in tone and very acceptable
to my
ears in contrast with the harsh accents of the
other men.
But as I looked up at the speaker I cannot
say that I was drawn to him. He was neatly dressed
in a quiet tweed suit and wore one of those soft,
widebrimmed
hats so much affected by
Alaskan miners in
the summer time, only that this hat, instead of being
soiled and battered like
most of them, was clean and
neatly dented in its four sides. Yet the smoothly
shaven face was not one to inspire confidence. The
mouth and nose were regular enough, but in the matter
of vision there was a pronounced and what seemed to
me sinister irregularity.
In short, the man lacked an
eye, his right peephole being entirely closed . Now
there is
no doubt many a highly respectable and goodnatured
gentleman going about with but a single eye;
but, perhaps through some defect of my nature, such a
[28]