The Columbus journal., 1883-07-18

. vivid green was darting up from DO.
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 wa 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
color to his dreams. Suddenly he awoke
with a startled cry; Rugged the pillow
in his shaking arms, and glared in o n
fused unreasoning terror at Howard,
who stood before him. d~ishevelled,
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 go. 900! I'll have it from
him. 1 tell you!" shrieked the old man.
jumping from his bed and fe.bly stamp
ing the floor.
''Why don't you speak? l tell you he
must pay! I'll tear it from his heart.
but I'll have itr' 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 y 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 fred last evening
after we left has thrown down.
They struck it rich and told him,
and he came here and cheated me into
signing the papers. It's q fraud! I
won't be bound by it! It's fraud, l tall
you!
Cursing and crying. old Smally hur-
ried on some clothes and went with
Howard to the tunnel. When the light
OF the lantern fell IN the glittering
masses of ore he almost sobbed out:
No. 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 q thoussnd-fold magnified. ITS
all q cheat! q fraud! The miners told
him and he has swindlsd me. This is
all mine! It's worth . million. q mil
lion! He can't have it,"
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
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 men,
oradum for a bonus of go. OOO."
Twenty thousand dollarsr cried
the old man. THAT is all l have-just
all l have. 1t is in the bank in San
Francisco. I'll not give it; I'll fight
this out"
DO you think Zinc Barnes and the
rest of the men would stand by you?"
Howard asked. 1T seems that Barnes
saw an old acquaintance of yours, Par
son Talbot, down at the Bay, and has
been talking about him. There was
something about twenty thousand dol
lars in that story. too. and if this goes
the same way you might not fare so
well. Besides you say the mine is worth
q million"
At the mention of Parson Talbot's
name old Smally, after a quick. fright
ened look at Howard. buried his face in
his hands and thus rocked himself and
moaned and trembled miserably. "A
million-twenty thousand. He must
not have it. ! must buy him of. A
million, a million, mil1ion!" He be-
came perfectly quiet after q long while,
and then, at last, without q word. NUT
tering no more. he cut open the pillow,
and from that a draft for $20. 900. Not
even trembling he Endorsed it, and gave
it to Howard. saying:
when White gives you back that
memorandum give him this; it's payable
in gold at Wells-Fargo's bank in San
Francisco. Go. I'm too weak now to
walk to him. Twenty thousand-a
milliOn!"
An hour after the stage rolled down
the steep grade from the Spur Zinc
Barnes took old Smally . letter and the
memorandum. The letter read:
We leave by the stage to bear your kind re-
CARDS and $4,000 draft to the psrson. our
father.
FRANK HOWARD TALBOT,
HENRY WHITE TALBOT.
1T strikes me, Frank" Henry re-
marked as the old stage jolted along the
Carson road, lit strikes me father won't
have to use this to dedicate the kids"
mo; in the light of recent events, we
do not appear to be in great need of m
education. l guess we'll let father use
it to take mother back to the States
| Detroit Free Press.