Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-06-09

over. 'tsuch a transaction as this, such
a transaction as this"
White and Howard glanced at each
other Significantly. When White spoke
again, old Smally started like a discov.
cred thief, and hastily buried the gold
in a pocket.
"Well, here are the papers," White
said.
He laid on the table a carefully drawn
form of memorandum of sale, by the
terms of which old Smally bound him
self to deed a certain mining claim, duly
described, to White, for the sum of
500, 1000.
Then, after taking a receipt for his
five twenties, and pocketing both pa
pers, White left the cabin. These for
malities complied with the strictly OBJ
served, though unwritten law, of that
class of mining-camp transactions.
An hour later the young men met at
the mouth of q tunnel
els the dear man asleep, FrankP"
asked White.
Eyes, the sweet creature is in gentle
repose, his lovely head resting on your
five twenties, already sewn up in his
pillow"
The two men then threw off their
coats, and by the light of two lanterns,
reversed the usual order of mining, for
five or six hours carrying ore into the
tunnel instead of out Of it. Tho ore
they carried in they took from nu-
merous small piles scattered aboqt, but:
where it had carefully been hidden. in
the thick growth of sagebrush near the
mouth of the tunnel.
"This ought to make a good veneer
ing" Howard remarked, as they car
ried in the ore. II worked hard enough
packing it up here from old Smiths
select dump.
At last, each holding a lantern, they
stood rear the face Of the tunnel and
carefully surveyed their work. The
face, and for several feet the sides and
crown of the tunnel were thickly studded
with pieces of rich free gold quartz,
firmly set into every crevice and crack,
and loose broken piles of the same gilt
tering ore lay on the floor of the tunnel
near the face, as though blown down by
the last blast.
cit will do" Howard said, finally.
'Now go home and prepare to be r
prised 0 after daylight"
He had not long to wait. Already
the stars were vanquished by the rose
clad couriers of his light, sent forward
by the conquering sun to where
1.-THE first baby peaks were peeping
From under their bedclothes of snow."
Along the line of the western horizon
a vivid green was darling up from be-
tween the great, grand domes of the
Sierra; darling up to meet the richer
hues of the eastern sky, and add Its
brightness to the gaudy carnival of color
which ushered in that mountain day.
The sun came and warmed into life the
little camp at Smally's Spur. Threads
of smoke wound out from cabin stove
pipes; frowsy miners broke the thin ice
on the stores of water in pals and buck
cts, and performed al fresco toilets in
front of cabin doors, or sliced the uni
versal bacon wherewith the matutinal
meal was to be favored.
The Smally cabin, of all that dotted
the hollow at the foot of the spur, alone
showed no signs of life. Old Smally
still slept, his gold-lined pillow giving
colort to his dreams. Suddenly he awoke
with a startled cry; Rugged the pillow
in his shaking arms, and glared in con-
fused un%reasoning terror at Howard,
who stood before him, dishevelled,
painting, and apparently laboring under
the most intense excitement.
"What is it man! Can't YOU speak?
Does White refuse to pay? Refuse to
give me the 500, 900! ri have it from
him, l tell you!" shrieked the old man,
jumping from his bed and feebly stamp
ing the floor.
"Why don't you speak? 1 tell you he
must pay! I'll tear it from his heart,
but I'll have it!' and the wretched old
miser fell back upon the bed in impo-
tent rage, rocking the gold-lined pillow
and moaning.
Howard let him recover somewhat
before he said in a low tone, speaking
slowly: "Wish rather that he will re.
fuse to pay"
''What!' cried the old man, jumping
up again. ''Have we struck it?"
GO up and see for yourself what the
last blast the men fired last evening
after we left has thrown down.
"They struck it rich and told him,
and he came here and cheated nue. into
signing the papers. It's a fraud!
won't be bound by it! It's fraud, I tell
you!"
Cursing and crying, old Smally hur-
rled on some clothes and went with
Howard to the tunnel. When the light
OF the lantern fell on the g%litteriing
masses of ore he almost sobbed out:
ono, no, no! he can't have it! See!
the face is almost solid gold!" In his
rage and terror and despair, his insane
lust cheated his eyes and the tiny specks
of free gold danced before his uncertain
sight a thousand-fold magniied. s.It's
all a cheat! a fraud! The miners told
him and he has swindlod me. This is
all mine! It's worth a million. a mil
lion! He can't have itr'
Howard did not interrupt his rawlings,
but silently returned with him to the
cabin. There old Smally finally be-
came rational enough to beg Howard
to 90 and see what could be done with
White. He returned in about an hour
from his mission and simply said:
"White may have been told about this,
but he does not appreciate the strike as
you do. He agrees to return the mem
oradum for a bonus of $50, OOO."
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