Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1885-09-23

sandi That'll take me back to Duran
60, and plantations are cheap enough
there. Santa Marial but I'll live easy
after this. I'll pass for rich gold
hunter, and III marry some ricl
ranchoro's daughter, and I'll ride the
finest horse in Mexico. Twenty thou
sand dollars. and half of it is mine
Ten thousand dollars! That's a good
deal, but IL isn't as much as twenty
thousand. Why shouldn't have it ALI
He's only a miserable Gringo, anyhow
and IL he gets half chance he'll cheat
me out of my share. Suppose / walk
of with the boxp Twenty thousand
dollars in Mexico is a big pill. Let mt
see. can fool this Yankee thief, and
I believe I'll do IL. I'll take the box Out
of the cache and hide it somewhere
else. When the row about this rob-
berry cools down, and the Gringo talks
about dividing, wen go to the place
where we hid the box, and we won'l
find it. Then I'll say some cursed thief
The Yankee won't know any different.
Then, when the time comes, I'll dis
appear. might as well have twenty
thousand as ten thousand, and I'll have
it-this very night"
And the robber arose, and dressing
himself, placed a revolver in his belt,
and stole forth into the night.
JACK MARTIN, cOgitdnS.
'It's the best Job ever did, ;" thought
Jack Martin, as he flung himself, half
undressed, on the bed in his cabin.
Twenty thousand dollars! NY share
Is ten thousand. Ten thousand dol
lars. I'll quit cards; I'll be an honest
man; I'll get out of the State; I'll go
back to Missouri, buy farm and set
tie down. I'll live easy the rest of my
life"
The vision that rose before the rob-
bcr's imagination was so vivid, so easy
of realization, that he became restless
with excitcment--thc first emotion he
had shown since the incident at the
buckeye, on the summit of Two mile
HILL" He sprang from the bed, re-
lighted his candle, and paced to and
fro across the narrow cabin. Then he
threw a pine-knot on the smoldering
cmbers in the fireplace. and, lighting
his pipe, seated himself before tho fire,
watching the flames as they curled
grccdily around the rcsinous wood.
Eyes. I'll 60 back to Missouri, buy a
little farm. marry the prettiest girl in
the country, and settle down"
A smile OF satisfaction overspread his
countenance as these thoughts flashed
through his mind.
They'll never suspect me. They'll
think / made my money in the mines
Well, / did make IL i'm the mines, didn't
IP 1t don't make any difference how
| made it. and / don't care how honest
my ncighbors think I've been. Ten
thousand dollars! 1t won't be long
before make it twenty thousand. I
wish hadn't taken that cursed Grcaser
in on the spec. could have handled
the job just as well without him. Be-
sides, what does he want with so much
money? It'll never do him any good.
He'll only buck it off at monte.
wish" Jack Martin arose and
went to the door. He looked out.
starlight" he muttcred. Returning
to his seat, he pulled at his pipe with
renewed vigor. "Now, that Grcaser,"
he thought, "wouldn't think nothing
of cutting my throat for that money.
I'll bet he won't rest until he gets me
in the door, SOS he can get away with
the swag. / won't trust him. If he
does the square thing I'll divide--if he
don't I'll keep the twenty thousand
and he can whistle for his share. I'll
hide the box in my own cache, and I'll
hide it tonight"
In few minutes Jack Martin was
creeping through the pines of Lame
Hog Gulch. He was armed to the
teeth. and he knew n short cut to the
canyon where the stolen treasure was
buried.
Jack Martin crawlcd noisclcssly
through the brush on his hands and
knees. The pines. through which the
night wind sighed in ghostly cadences,
shut out the dim light of the stars, and
the vicinity of the cave was as dark as
the interior of cemetery vault. The
robber had almost reached the place
where the box was buried, when his
quick ear detected the presence of
another person. He paused and lay
fiat upon the earth.
Somebody is after that box," he
muttcrcd.
A curse and the peculiar grunt of a
man who is cndcavoring to lift some
heavy burden broke the stiffness.
''Its that th:eving Grcascr," thought
Martin. "Well, if he thinks he is go
ing to swindle me he is mistaken. His
life amt worth the powder I'll burn to
kill him."
At this moment the man in the bush
gave a cry of satisfaction. The bowl
der had been displaced. He dragged
the box out of the cave. Martin drew
his revolver and cooked it. There was
the sound of cracking twigs and the
noise of jingling coin as the box was
dragged through the brush. Then a
dark form crawled out of the thicket
and struggled down the canyon, drag
ging the box after him. Still Martin
did not fire, although the mark was a
fair one. He even put up his pistol
and followed his doubly dishonest
partner. 1t was a long tramp-the
fixed stars were sinking low on the
horizon when the Mexican reached the
spot where he intended to hide the i'll
COTTON treasure. He had scarcely dis
appeared over the summit of the ridge
after placing the box in the new cache,
when Martin sprang from his place of
conccalmcnt and disintcrrcd it. In an
other hour the treasure had been re-
buried and Martin was sncaking home
ward in the gray down, exhausted and
satisfied with his nights work.
A month rolled by. The excitement
engendcrcd by the robbery of the
Campo Scco stage had subsidized to a
still hunt by Well, Fargo e. Co.'S de-
tectives. The partners, with hypocriti-
cal carncstncss, were talking of a
division of the spoil. A night had been
named for uncarthing the treasure.
Both men waited impaticntly for the
dcnoumcnt, and when, on the night
selected for the division, they stood be-
fore the cave Mt the head of the canyon
each was prepared to play his part.
The bowldcr was rolled away, and the
Mexican, thrusting his hand into the