stones and seed pearls and spangles and I was in business for myself—in partners] sequins. The dance-hall girls who did not with Alex. sing or appear in the show wore shirt- waists and long black skirts. The dance halls were like theatres with One Christmas Eve I noticed a lit canvas covers on the floor and benches and Norwegian by the name of Johnny Mats chairs and boxes. After the show the seats standing watching me. He was like a m were moved back along with the canvas, hypnotized. Contrary to my usual p and dancing began. In the next room was cedure, I asked him if he wanted to dan the bar, fifty feet long with mirrors and Oh totey I yust vant to look at yoo,” flashing crystal. And at the tables, faro, said. “Yoo are yust beautiful! blackjack, poker dice and roulette were in Johnny was a shy young fellow. M progress twenty-four hours a day. I have and women were laughing and dancing, | seen men lose $100,000 in one night. They’d Johnny did not participate. His admirati

come in rich and go out broke to start over SECT etly amused me. He stood there in corner, watching me as I led the gra

march to celebrate Christmas. I wore

QUEEN’S HOTEL

QUEEN'S HOTEL CoO., LTD., Proprietors LICENSED PREMISES e

Nanaimo, B. C.

BEGINNING OF ROMANCE

P.O. Box 1 Telephone 124

D. J. JENKINS, LIMITED

P. J. PIPER, Managing Director

Funeral Directors AMBULANCE

NANAIMO, B.C.

again to strike more gold.

Gold dust didn’t really seem like silver |. : dollars. The men threw it around freely. lighted crown of flaming candles. The w

Why not? There was always more where cap ped ea a Hee og ae it came from. The gold was handed to the “UXO My lOvely, “ons tee

made. My dresses were covered with rhine- talk of the town. I had my own horses a

Bring Your Car to

MALASPINA

SUPER SERVICE FOR SPECIALIZED LUBRICATION Imperial Oil Service Station

(Opposite Malaspina Hotel)

cashiers who weighed it out on big brass For some weeks I had been taking ea scales. Gold was scattered about like con’ Of @ little tubercular girl. She was Saect fetti when we girls were on the stage. a baby and the mae had et off and 7 : her. I kept her in a little cabin near t SENTIMENTAL SONGS DEMANDED dance hall. Sure enough, when I slipped o The hard-bitten Alaskan sourdoughs 0 see her, I found the baby was being bor loved old ballads and songs. She’s More The girl died in childbirth and I took t To Be Pitied Than Censured was one of baby. I kept him until he was three, then my hit numbers. Another was, A Man found him a home and foster parents in t Was The Cause of It All. States. I sent the money for his colle education and he is one of the most succe: ful engineers in the country today. I ha never disclosed his identity. He perha has never known of me. But I like think of him as my son. The gold rush was over in a couple years. Alex and I went back to New Yo to look around for new business ventur

First Class Mechanical Repairs Atlas Tires, Batteries “One Stop Service”

TAXI — U-DRIVE CARS NANAIMO, B. C.

Police Gazettes were confiscated as ob- scene literature in Dawson in those days. And [| always wore tights on the stage. My — most daring number was coming out in a

Cafe Phone 116 Hotel Phone 1050 black satin coat and stripping it off to reveal myself in a brief, rhinestone-studded costume with pink tights. It would look very

CO) EAI

8 Ki NS mld today. Then it was considered daring. Then we went back to Seiemnien | i iN _ I remember one man, a handsome young pictures were a novelty then. No one co ap sy Let fellow, who ous in one eon and asked sidered them important. But I bought BNE to drink wine with me in a box. He said I little five-and ten-cent theatre in Victor:

PLAZA HOTEL

DINING ROOM

had little hands just like his sweetheart. B C., for $350. With the movie reels Ii He had expected her to arrive that night cluded a couple of acts of vaudeville. T on the steamer from the States. Instead he show made money. I sold it for $1,500 at received a letter that she had jilted him for Alex bought a theatre in Seattle and co another man. He ordexed! one hundred’ “jertedlipinto a vaudewille and mnomenene

CAFE | bottles of wine and drank about eight house. That was the first of a long stri COFFEE SHOP of them. My percentage was $500 on the of theatres that was to make millions NANAIMO B.C. drinks. Later he married the Dawson bank- — dollars for him.

er’s daughter. They named one of their children after me, Kathleen. BACK TO THE YUKON AGAIN Twenty-three million dollars in gold dust I went back to the Yukon. But life the poured into Dawson that first year. It was was not the same. Alex had stayed in t a year of lavish spending and lavish living. States—and now there were new fac One of my girl friends was wooed by an Tex Rickard ran the Monte Carlo Gambli Italian immigrant. He had a rich gold claim Hall on Front street. Jack London was and every day he had twenty bottles of Dawson writing stories, and Sid Grauma champagne delivered to her for her evening who now owns Hollywood’s Chine bath. She consented to marry him only if he Theatre, was making his first fortune would give her her weight in gold. She the gold-fevered North. I picked up ai weighed 125 pounds, and he weighed out went down to Texas for the oil boom. I w 125 pounds of gold dust. It was $16 an restless—heartbroken, too. For Alex hi

JO. I". NOIEIL MEN’S AND WOMEN’S ORU he balgt a ESRaS

For better merchandise visit our store while in the Island city

70 Commercial Street : Phone 71 NANAIMO, B. C.

ounce then—$35 now. married a girl entertainer in his show. I wasn’t faring badly. I had a nugget of For days I was despondent. Flossie, ELKS HOME No. 26 gold as big as my fist with a huge diamond girl who had danced with me in Dawso in the centre. I had a dog collar fashioned wrote me a letter. She said, “Don’t thro @ of diamonds and gold nuggets. And I had your life away because of one man. Dor Visiting Brothers Welcome belts and bracelets of twenty-dollar gold make yourself something he will always | : pieces. It was our custom to wear these glad he was rid of. Make yourself somethit ) bracelets with one coin missing. Some kind he will wish he had kept.” The day I re:

Front Street Nanaimo, B.C. gentleman always added the missing coin. her letter I felt better.

I had $250 hats, and my clothes were the I sent for mother and she opened

Page Twenty-six THE SHOULDER STRA