Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1884-11-22

bit Of the glistening white rock, al
most white as marble, that salted the
earth. 81 wonder, Mr.. Walter, that
you dare assume such responsibility.
This is certainly unlike any ore-bssr.
ing rock that have seen, yet fiat
ter myself that I have grown quite
connoisseur."
"Thst is tho phenomenal peculiar.
ity Of the mins-the surface indics.
tions are 10 slight. Yet You can find
. certain amount Of silver float
among this beautiful, worthless stuff.
The fact remains that the lead is al
most virgin silver, a. you shall see
tomorrow. Ihave traced it far into
the extension by . well-defnsd line
Of minor shsfts--you see the dumps
marking their situation. These
men worked almost A if by intuition.
Only the baldest luck or actual
clairvoyance can explain their strike.
1t was only satisfaction Of my own
senses that reassured me Of the &C.
tual value of the mine, for Lswis's
esgerness to sell was Suspicious, as
his extreme anxiety to keep our ne
gotiations secret in town wonder.
Well, suppose he feels disgraced by
his dissipation there, and the figure
he geta is big enough to satisfy any
man."
"somsthing crooked" commented
my father, who is Of IN analytical
turn of mind, and not over full Of
faith in his kind.
| Mr.. Walter laughed. "Strsight
enough so far " our ownership is
concerned. Well see what color the
bird in tho bush proves to be-"
"Whst provision have you against
Howsrd's claim ?" my father asked
dubiously.
"Oh! that is all right. Lewis
holds power Of attorney, and How
ards signature toa deed with blanks
for the parties of the second part.
They were execnted, he admits, at =
time when Howard was about going
home in disgust, before they struck
this rich lead Of 'wirs-silver.' 1t was
never Cancelled and is perfectly valid
now"
We retired for the night. A bed
was made for me within the carriage
with Its movable cushions, and my
father spread his blankets between
the wheels. l hoard him speaking
to our companions after l had settled
to reposs.
"What is the matter =? Don't you
like the tent?"
"We cannot both sleep on the mar
row COT" the young surveyor answer
ed; "and they've tried to level the
floor and left it like a nsw-plowed
field" He moved on to spread their
joint pallet on the ground.
Mr.. Walter came and stood near
the carriage.
"There is something oppressive in
that tent" he said: 81 could not
sleep there possibly. A chill struck
me the moment / entered. 1t was
just so when we looked in ct the
stores this afternoon. What can be
the cause ~
"a band of Apaches may have
looked in and left their blood-curd-
ling taint on the atmosphere" my
father jsered. 'They were seen
through here q few weeks ago. Wal
ter, yon grow more fantastic and
metaphysical every year. We'll have
you tipping tables and materislizing
very soon."
"But I am not to blame" said Al
fred Walter, simply and without tenn.
per, "that l am oversusceptible to
certain psychic influences any more
than man Is culpable who gets bron
chitis in q Texas northsr; and now
that l think of it, this is the first
night / have been on this ground.
On each of our three visits here Lewis
found something to take US across
the divide to Salvador, and ws slept
there"
"Oh! no doubt Lewis has even
more than the average Eastern mans
esteem for his own scalp, and mile
above here there used to be favor.
ite Indian trail. 1t il nsed yet at
timss-you may have remarked that
We kept no campfire. Keep your
guns handy, and you will be all right,
unless you awaken Ysador and her
wrath at the same time, The child