en she gave him
her hand and said--

'You have your man at last.'

'What man?'

'The man you have been waiting for.'

'Slavin!'

'Why not?'

'I never thought of it.'

'No more did he, nor any of us.' Then, after a pause, she added gently,
'He has been sent to us?'

'Do you know, I believe you are right,' Craig said slowly, and then
added, 'But you always are.'

'I fear not,' she answered; but I thought she liked to hear his words.

The whole town was astounded next morning when Slavin went to work in
the mines, and its astonishment only deepened as the days went on, and
he stuck to his work. Before three weeks had gone the League had bought
and remodelled the saloon and had secured Slavin as Resident Manager.

The evening of the reopening of Slavin's saloon, as it was still called,
was long remembered in Black Rock. It was the occasion of the first
appearance of 'The League Minstrel and Dramatic Troupe,' in what
was described as a 'hair-lifting tragedy with appropriate musical
selections.' Then there was a grand supper and speeches and great
enthusiasm, which reached its climax when Nixon rose to propose the
toast of the evening--'Our Saloon.' His speech was simply a quiet, manly
account of his long struggle with the deadly enemy. When he came to
speak of his recent defeat he said--

'And while I am blaming no one but myself, I am glad to-night that this
saloon is on our side, for my own sake and for the sake of those who
have been waiting long to see me. But before I sit down I want to say
that while I live I shall not forget that I owe my life to the man that
took me that night to his own shack and put me in his own bed, and met
me next morning with an open hand; for I tell you I had sworn to God
that that morning would be my last.'

Geordie's speech was characteristic. After a brief reference to the
'mysteerious ways o' Providence,' which he acknowledged he might
sometimes fail to understand, he went on to express his unqualified
approval of the new saloon.

'It's a cosy place, an' there's nae sulphur aboot. Besides a' that,' he
went on enthusiastically, 'it'll be a terrible savin'. I've juist been
coontin'.'

'You bet!' ejaculated a voice with great emphasis.

'I've juist been coontin',' went on Geordie, ignoring the remark and the
laugh which followed, 'an' it's an awfu'-like money ye pit ower wi' the
whusky. Ye see ye canna dae wi' ane bit glass; ye maun hae twa or three
at the verra least,