But her prettiness was what he had noticed first, and all the other things had come afterward: cruelty, meanness, self-will.

There was an artificial lake just out of sight in the first stand of trees, fed by a half dozen springs that popped out of the ground above the hillside orchard.

The first part of the road was steep, but it leveled off after the second bend and curled gradually into the valley.

No one was behind it, but in the rear wall of the office I noticed, for the first time, a door which had been left partially open.

The herd was watered and then thrown onto a broad grass flat which was to be the first night's bedground.

Once again, Tom Horn was the first and most likely suspect, and he was brought in for questioning immediately.

For Matilda, it was the first she had known in many a night.

Even the knowledge that she was losing another boy, as a mother always does when a marriage is made, did not prevent her from having the first carefree, dreamless sleep that she had known since they dropped down the canyon and into Bear Valley, way, way back there when they were crossing those other mountains.

Stevens was grunting over the last empty pocket when Russ abruptly rose and lunged toward Carmer's hat, which had tumbled half-a-dozen feet away when he first fell.

The Indian's arm whipped sidewise -- there was a flash of amber and froth, the crash of the bottle shattering against the side of the first car.

It was her first smile.

At first, I thought he was out of his head, talking wildly like this.

Hell, I gave him the first decent job he ever had, six, seven -- how many years ago was it, Rob ''??

Miss Langford ( her first name was Evelyn ) was an attractive girl.

School began in August, the hottest part of the year, and for the first few days Miss Langford was very lenient with the children, letting them play a lot and the new ones sort of get acquainted with one another.

It was just as well that the ignorant Dandy enjoyed himself to the hilt that first evening, for the room was to become his prison cell.

`` Bastards '', he would say, `` all I did was put a beat to that Vivaldi stuff, and the first chair clobbered me ''!!

In 1961 the first important legislative victory of the Kennedy Administration came when the principle of national responsibility for local economic distress won out over a `` state's-responsibility '' proposal -- provision was made for payment for unemployment relief by nation-wide taxation rather than by a levy only on those states afflicted with manpower surplus.

The first systematic thinking about this Pandora's box within Pandora's boxes was done four years ago by Fred Ikle, a frail, meek-mannered Swiss-born sociologist.

The smell at first was more surprising than unpleasant.

His collaboration with Washington, begun when he was the general's aide during the Revolution, was resumed when he entered the first Cabinet as Secretary of the Treasury.

As a reward, Federko was drafted 7th overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 1976 NHL Amateur Draft.

Following the 1926 Stanley Cup playoffs, during which the Western Hockey League was widely reported to be on the verge of folding, the NHL held a meeting on April 17 to consider applications for expansion franchises, at which it was reported that five different groups sought a team for Detroit.

By his second season, Howe was paired with Sid Abel and Ted Lindsay to form what would become one of the great lines in NHL history – the " Production Line ".

He was succeeded as team president by his daughter, Marguerite, the first ( and as of the 2006 – 07 season, only ) woman to head an NHL franchise.

Joseph, despite being one of the highest-paid players in the NHL, spent part of the season in the minor leagues, but after Hasek was sidelined for the season with an injury, Joseph led the team to the top of the Central Division and the league standings.

This was the first time in NHL history a game had been postponed by injury.

The letters of the captain and alternate captains were moved to the player's right shoulder ; Detroit is the only team in the league that made this change ( the change was necessitated by the stitching of the sweater ), although the 2008 NHL All Star jerseys featured this as well, and the Captain and Alternate Captain's letters have switched back to the left shoulder as of the 2011 – 12 NHL Season.

This jersey was also a basis for the uniforms worn by Wayne Gretzky's team of NHLPA All-Stars, nicknamed the " 99ers ", for their exhibition tour in Europe during the 1994 – 95 NHL lockout ; a picture of Gretzky in this jersey was used for the cover art of a video game bearing his name.

Armstrong's home in Yonkers also received designation in both the NHL and the National Register of Historic Places, but both were withdrawn when the house was later demolished.

This was done in two phases to allow for the hosting of the NHL Winter Classic.

The trophy was first awarded at the conclusion of the 1953 – 54 NHL season.

In 1997 Nashville was awarded an NHL expansion team which was subsequently named the Nashville Predators.

In addition to being its greatest scorer, Gretzky was the most gentlemanly superstar in the modern history of the NHL.

In 1978, the World Hockey Association ( WHA ) league was in competition with the established NHL.

Birmingham Bulls owner John F. Bassett wanted to confront the NHL by signing as many young and promising superstars as possible and saw Gretzky as the most promising young prospect, but it was Racers owner Nelson Skalbania who signed 17-year-old Gretzky to a seven-year personal services contract worth $ 1. 75 million US.

Skalbania opted to have Gretzky sign a personal-services contract rather than a standard player contract in part because he knew a deal to take some WHA teams into the NHL was in the works.

Gretzky's success in the WHA carried over into the NHL, despite some critics suggesting he would flounder in what was considered the bigger, tougher, and more talented league.

In his first NHL season, 1979 – 80, Gretzky was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the League's Most Valuable Player ( the first of eight in a row ) and tied for the scoring lead with Marcel Dionne with 137 points.

Gretzky became the youngest player to score 50 goals but was not eligible for the Calder Memorial Trophy, given to the top NHL rookie, because of his previous year of WHA experience.

By the time he finished playing in Edmonton, he held or shared 49 NHL records, which in itself was a record.

The same success was not immediate when they joined the NHL, but within four seasons, the Oilers were competing for the Stanley Cup.