The true northerner., 1875-05-14
THE GREAT GOLD SECRET.
CHAPTER l.


Tm gold digger-that's about what 1
am. You wouldn't take me for an En-
glishman, would you nowp No, nor yet
any one else that knows me but am,
though.
How old, about, should you take me
for " Fifty-tive, eh 2" Well, they all
guess somewhere near that but I'm just
thirty-seven last month dare say you
don't believe it and perhaps wouldn't
believe it, either, if l told you that all
this wIinkling and turning grey was done
IN one week. Well, it was, and when
think over it all now, and think that here
am, alive after it all, can hardly be-
heve it myself. Would you like to hear
about it! Well, sit down and make your
self comfortable, and I'll tell you.
It's nine years ago last Valentines s
day Il remember all the dates well
enough, | warrant you) that / was at
Frisco with Yankee, name of Seth
Hickman. We'd met down i'll Denver,
and stood by each other in a row that
happened there, and of course that drew
us together bit and the end of it was,
We agreed to go prospecting together
and - share and share alike.
Seth was a sharp fellow and knew oil
the .Ikeliest spots, and | could do n days
wotk with any man in those days, though
| amt much TO brag on now; and the
end Of it was we made pretty good haul.
When we got to Frisco l thought of
nothing but banking some of the stuff
for a rainy day and having a spree with
the rest, and then starting off again but
Seth didn't seem to see it all. i noticed
thnt he looked serious-l like, as if he had
something on his mind, for the first two
days after we got into the town and on
The second evening, as we were sitting
over our grog, he spoke out :
jim, old hoss, I'm a-gwine to tell
yew something that nary soul in creation
knows about but myself for if yew
hadn't been some smart with your Der
ringer when them three skunks went for
ME down in Denver they might ha' wrote
Gone up over this child and no man
ever did Seth Hickman good turn, nor
bad turn neither, but what he got CO.
ooanut for you tit for It'll, yew bet yure
life on that
When / was in Africa last year /
went up country bit with my rifle, and
thar happened on an old Indian critter,
as old as George Washington's nurse,
hvin' in hut all by himself among the
spurs o the Andes, and camped in his
hut for the night.
oval, the aguardiente (whisky) in my
Aask war leetle tew strong for him, and
he got reglar slowed and when his
tongue got loosened by the Ticker he kim
out wi stitch yarn as whippud every
- I
thnt when the Peruvian chiefs stampeded
from Cuzco a'ter Pizarro took it, lot on
'em got UP among the mountains, carry
ing their gold with 'em, till they kim out
an the plateau of Lake Utica and thar,
indin' the Spaniards close on their trail,
Hey chucked all the gold into the lake
and skedaddled nobody knows where.
And he said that if anybody took the
trail from his hut, north and by east, till
they hit the southern end of the lake,
and then looked ont for big three-cor-
nered rock like a pyramid upside down,
they'd jest got to scoop in the mud OF
the lake whar that rocks shadow fell on
il at sunrise, and they'd find 'nuff gold
to buy up all Wall street. Now, we've
got money enough to put that job
through, and if yew feel like tryin' IT,
I'm in. ;"
/ said "done" at once, and we got our
money together, and slipped down the
coast TO Africa as fast as the Pacific
steamer could carry us. The minute we
got therc, Seth went oil into the bills to
Try and get hold OF his old Indian for a
guide, while I hunted about for work