The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-07-14

dhngs mad come to this pitiful pass in
Camp Fancy when, to the despair OF
Molly, Dan fell i'll.
lie came home one night from his
'clalm, threw down his old pick and
shovel and leaning YEARLY against the
door-frame, said:
Molly, lass, think I've struck the
last hex I'll liver strike in the ould EN-
erald Isle. I'm sure there's no good
in it,
The Emerald Isle" was the name of
Dams claim. On the morrow Dan was
lying on his rough bunk, delirious with
fever, while Molly hung over him in
alright and despair.
Larrie stole quietly out of the house.
for Dan looked ''just like pap looked
fore he died. and the sight chilled the
boys heart. eff Dan should die?" he
thought, and fell down on the barren
ground, covering his face with his hands
and sobbing aloud
Now this oldfaced, sober boy had
heard little else in all his short life but
about mines and mining, prospects, j
''strikes, " "bonanzas,n etc The min
ers talked of little else, and Larrie had
early in life begun to think that his life
would be in vain until he owned mine
or at least claim" He had COM
municated his desire to Dan, and as
that worthy was what the prospectors
scalled ''mine poor" owning no less
than fifty claims, he had laughingly
taken Larrie to the cabin door, pointed
to a post in the ground on near hill
side and said:
"There, lad, is claim We can have.
an it's Welcome we are to every ounce
we can ct out iv it." The claim was
one Dan Lad long ago abandoned, but
from the day it became Larrie's, life
had new meaning to him.
He secretly christened his claim the
"Sally Marier," in remembrance and
alteration of a certain red-headed,
freckle-faced homely little Sally Maria,
who had been the recipient of his ex-
ceedingly early love back in mis-
soury."
But the image of that Sally Maria had
never faded from Larrie's memory. al
though he had good reasons for believ-
ing that she had ridden to school on a
rivals sled and delightedly munched a
rivals candy before Larrie was fairly
out of Missouri.
He had with blue pencil printed
"SALLY MARIER" on piece of paper
and tackled it to a post on his claim.
Then he had secretly taken a shovel
and pick and commenced the mighty
work of prospecting.
He had found place on the steep
hillside where there were few rocks,
and here he commenced his tunnel; and
never did sturdy, hopeful miner work
more zealously than did Larrie.
He would steal away for hours at a
time and dig in his tunnel. One of the
men had left an old wheelbarrow in his
cabin, and Larrie was half a day in
trundling the clumsy thing up the steep
hillside to his tunnel
In two weeks the little laborer had
driven his tunnel into the mountain
side to the length of ten feet. He
would not have known silver ore had
he found the purest vein of it, and yet
he dug away with aching limbs and
bIfstered hands.
On the day of which write, he had
gone up to the tunnel to forget his grief
in work. Poor little soul he did not
notice how the sides of his illy-con-
structed tunnel were crumbling, nor
what seam there was overhead. He
dragged the old wheelborrow in, when
he suddenly found himself in total
darkness. A great bowlder had fallen,
completely blocking up the mouth of
the tunnel and nearly filling it with
earth and gravel. Poor Larrie had left
the pick and shovel outside the tunnel
and was in desperate strait He was
half buried. He knew that it would be
impossible for him to free himself I'M
aided from his imprisonment, and the
loudest shout to which he might give
utterance would never be heard above
the ground.
He did just what any boy of his age
would have done under like circum-
stances-burst into tears, and moaned
and sobbed in his terror and despair.
Larrie seemed very near death door,
but not nearer than poor Dan. He had
: suddenly grown worse and lay painting
and gasping in his bunk with Molly and
"Old Kentuck' beside him. Suddenly
in his delirium the sick man began to
call for Larrie.
"Where is the bye?" cried Molly.
"Call the lad in to see his Dist frind die.
Poor lad! Poor Dan! o, the misery OF
US all. -
But "Old Kentuck's most lusty cries
for ''Larrie'' failed to meet with any
response.
Il bet / know where the boy is, said
Kentuck at last.
Kentuck had several times found
Larrie at his work, and had been greatly
amused at his determination to ''strike
it."
Now he hurried down the mountain
side and up the rough trail to where the
"Sally Marier" tunnel was. One glance
was sufficient for Kentuck. He threw
off his coat, caught up the shovel and
began to dig fast and fririously. In an
hours time Larrie was dragged forth,
alive but insensible. Old Kentuck
caught the boy in his arms, and hur-
ried back to Dams cabin. When Molly
began to battle Larrie's pale face, she
noticed that one hand was tightly
clenched on something.
"a bit of stone," she said, after I'M
clasping Larrie's fingers from a small
piece of rock which she threw across
the room.
Old Kentuck picked up the bit OF
rock, eyed it closely for several minutes,