Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1883-06-13

:,
over him. Then a CLEAN Of intell
illuminated his countenance; he recog-
Dized the faithful wife from whom he
had been So long separated by a slngu-
lar freak of fate. For one brief moment
soul met soul. He raised his HAND" heav-
onward, murmured family, Cup there,
Maggie, then earned his sotbriquet OF.
Silent Reed.
a solemn Stiffness prevailed around
Eureka camp when Flynn. and his COM
rades returned from their Unsuccessful
search for B3gly. i" The remainder of
the party were. sitting around in deg
pondent attitudes, While MIS-. Reed,
with the sick child on, her knees, and
one hand fondly resting on the dead
mans face, looked the very. embodiment.
of inconsolable, grief. Flynn tender
hearted Tom Flynn how. his burly
frame shook with sobs as the touching
death scene was described to him. .,
"Boys," he, said, huskily, " we must
face our hard luck like heroes. I have
insisted all along that the Eureka held q
fortune for each of us, because L believed
it. But" it cost him a struggle to
utter the next words, which were, the
extinguishment of the hope that had
enabled them to endure priv8ton and
hunger without murmur.o ~'"But," he
went on, - [ was mistaken. After, that
poor creature has grown accustomed to
her sorrow we will bury poor ST and
pull up stakes. We won't abandon
them, boys. For his sake we must pro-
tect those he loved
The others heartily agreed to the last
clause. While arranging their plans for
the future, little Maggie bounded down
the hillside, singing blithely, uncon-
sciOus of the bereavement that had be-
fallen her.
"Look p she shouted gleefuily,
"what nice stones have found. Full
of bright specks, jes like eyes,"
Flynn took the stone she held toward
him. His face, rough and weather
beaten, grew pallid with sudden Joy. .
"Boys," he whispered in a tone of
suppressed excitement, ''she has struck
it, Where did you find this, Maggie ?"
Way up there, past the big hole, F"
she replied, vaguely wondering at his
white face.
In the meantime the men fell into lire,
Maggie leading the way to the spot
where she found the precious stone. As
they passed the mouth of the pit the
scene Of their fruitless labols, Flynn
stopped to get a shovel. The others fol-
lowed his example, carrying with them
the implements they had cast down the
night previous. They set to work
silently, being too excited to speak. If
disappointment awaited them now No,
two or three blows, such as had never
been dealt before, told them they had
struck it at last. They paused,
looked at each other for a moment, then
the hills echoed and re-echoed with the
shout of triumph that burst stimuli
taneously from their line.
They returned to camp, Flynn carry
ing Maggie on his shoulder, just as Bag
ly appeared in sight with a bag of pro-
visions on his Dack. In few words he
how before daylight be had
started for Kiwanna to beg food for the
woman and her children. After hasty
dinner some of the men went to select
pleasant spot In which to lay the remains
of their comrade, and Flynn set out for
town to make arrangements about hay
ing the camp supplied with provisions.
Several hours later he returned III
high spirits and related how he had en-
cOuntered Skinner in tavern and de-
the return of the horse, watch
and pistol that had been entrusted to
him. He clustered and swore a while
and finally agreed to sell his claim for
the articles he had already appropriated
to his own use. Flynn dld Lot ap-
prise him of the lucky turn of fortunes
wheel, but took precautions to have the
exchange legally drawn up.
He played us a mean trick" con-
cluded Flynn, "but [ got the best of
him, and now propose to transfer his
share to the orphan and widow of our
old friend.
No dissenting voice was raised against
the proposition; furthermore they all de-
clared that Maggie should henceforth
be called the ward of the Eureka Min
ing Company.
The next day ST was buried, and
week later, when the success of the
mine had become an established fact,
Mrs. Reed and her children were taken
back to Sacramento. The sudden
change of fortune, coupled with the
death of her husband, proved too much
tor the poor woman, and the two
orphans became the actual wards of the
Eureka Mining Company.