Litchfield enquirer., 1874-10-22
Whole No- 25TT


 aint better man in camp than that theer CY Hawkins!-but he don't understand the ways O the world with vim h. He hasn't mixed as much with society as the rest of us, he added, with an elaborate Che sterheldian ease of manner, n''but he means we'll. Meanwhile. few sympa- thetic tunnel men were impressing upon MT Hawkins the necessity of the greatest attention to the invalid. 'It won do, 'Hawkins, they explained ito let that there gal go back to San Francisco and say that when she was sick and alone, tho only man in Five Forks under whose roof she had rested, and-at whose table she had sat, "-this was considered 8 natural but pardonable exaggeration of rhetoric, lever threw off On her; and it shan't be done. It aln't the square thing to Five Forks" And then the Fool would rush away to the valley, and be received by Miss Nelly with certain reserve of man. ner, that finally disappeared in a flush of color, some increased vivacity, and par donable coquetry. And SO the days pass- ed: Miss Nelly grew better in health and moro troubled in mind, and MT. Hawkins became more and more embarrassed, and Five Forks smiled and rubbed it's hands, and waited for the approaching deRoate- 9oent. And then it came But not per haps in the manner that Five Forks had imalned.
 It was lovely afternoon in July that a party of eastern tourists rode into Five Forks. They had just ''done" the valley of Big Things, and there being one or two eastern capitalists among the party, 1t was deemed advisable that a proper knowledge of the practical mining resour- ces of California should be added to their experience of the merely picturesque in Nature. Thus far every thing had been satisfactory; the amount of water which passed over the Fall was large, owing to backward season; some snow still re- malned in the canons near the highest peaks: they had ridden round one of the biggest trees, and through the prostrate | trunk of another. To say that they were de- lighted is to express feebly the enthusiasm of these ladies ,.nd gentlemen, drunk with the champagny hospitality of their enter tanners, the utter novelty of scene. and the dry exhilarating air of the valley. One or two had already expressed them selves ready to live and die there; anoth- CT had written glowing account to the eastern press, depreciating all other seen | cry in Europe and America; and, under | these circumstances, it was reasonably ex- pected that Five Forks would do it's duty, and equally impress the stranger after it's own fashion.
 Letters to this effect were sent from San Francisco by prominent capitalists there, and under the able superintend- ence of one of their agents, the visitors were taken In hand, shown ''what was to be seen," carefully restrained from .ob- serving what ought not to be visible, and so kept in blissful and enthusiastic con dltlon. And so the graveyard of Five Forks, in which but two of the occupants had died natural deaths, the dreary, rag ged cabins on the nill-sides, with their sad-eyed, cynical, broken-spirited occu- pants. tolling on, day by day, for miser- l able pittance and fare that self-re- specting eastern mechanic would have seornfully rejected. were not part of the GgteIn Sastern visitors recollection. But the ''Blazing Star Tunnel Company was the "Blazing Star Tunnel Company" whose ''gentlemanly superintendent" had received private information from San Francisco to do the ''proper thing" for the party. Wherefore the valuable heaps of ore in the companys works were shown, the oblong bars ot gold-ready for ship ment-were playfully offered to the ladies who could lift and carry them away un- aided, and even the tunnel itself gloomy,
 
 of the experience; and, in the noble Ian guage of ore correspondent, tie wealth of Five Forks and the peculiary induce ments that it offered to eastern capitalists were established beyond o doubt. And then occUrrcd little incident winch, as an unbiased spectator, l am free to say offered no inducements to anybody what ever. but which, for its bearing upon the central figure ot this veraclOus chronicle, cannot pass over.
 It had become apparent to one or two more practical and sober-minded in She party hat certain portions of the "Blaz- ing Star" tunnel-owing, perhaps, to the exigencies of q fattering annual divi- dend) economically and impeffectly ''shore1 and supported, and were consc- quently unsafe, insecure, and to be avoid ed. Nevertheless, at Q time when cham pagne corks were popping in dark cor ners, and enthusiastic voices and happy laughter rang through the half-fevels and galleries, there came sudden and myste- rious silence. A few lights dashed swift ly by in the direction of distant part of the gallery, and there was sudden sharp issuing of orders, and then dull ominous rumble. Some of the visitors turned pale one woman tainted!
 Something had happened. What? Nothing speaker is fluent but un- easy-"one of the gentlemen in trying to dislodge specimen from the wall had knocked away a support. There had been 'cave'-the gentleman was caught and buried below his shoulders It was all right-they q get him out in @ moment -only it required great care to keep from extending the 'cave.' Didn't know his name-it was that little man--the husband C { Al,o41 11--l Id Hullo there! Stop her. For Gods sake! not that way! She'll fall from the shaft She'll be killedp'
 But the lively lady was already gone. With staring black eyes, imploringly try ing to pierce the gloom, with hands and feet that sought to batter and break down the .hick darkness, with incohereut cries, supplications, following the moviag of ig- nts t0tuuS lights ahea i, she ran and ran swiftly! Ran over treacherOus founda- tions, ran by yawning gulfs, ran past branching galleries and arches, ran wild- ly, ran despairingly, ran blindly, and at last ran into the arm of the Fool of Five Forks.
 In an instant sbe caught at his hand. "Oh, save him?' she cried; ''you belong here-you know this dreadful place; bring him to me. Tell me ere to go and what to do, 1 implore you! Quick, he ls dying. Come"
 He raised his eyes to hers, and then, with a sudden cry, dropped the rope and crowbar he was carrying, and reeled against the wall.
 ''Annie!'' he gasped, slowly, "is it you?"
 She caught at both his hands, brought her face to his with staring eyes, murmur- ed, "Good God, Cyrus!" and sank upon her knees before him.
 He tried to disengage the hand that she wrung with passionate entreaty.
 ''No, mol Cyrus, you will forgive me you will forget the past! God has sent you here. to-day. You will come with me. You will you must-save him."
 ''Save who?" cried Cyrus hoarsely.