Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1886-09-26

WILES nal GreaSer, that
you lame your own mule, but you must try
your hand on minel Or am 1 to put jimmy
down among the expenses he added with
q grin and a slight lifting Of his baleful eye
lid.
When they had ridden a mile along the
ridge they began to descend again toward the
valley. Vegetation now sparingly bordered
the trail, clumps Of chemiSal, an occasional
manzanita bush and one or two dwarfed
buckeyes" rooted their way between the
interstices of the black-gray rock. Now and
then, In crossing some dry gully, worn by the
1 overflow Of winter torrents from above, the
/ GrayiSh rock gloom was relieved by dull red
and brown masses of color, and almost every
~overhanging rock bore the mark Of a miners
pick. Presently, as they rounded the curry
ing flank Of tho mountain, from a rocky
bench below them, a thin ghQst-like stream
Of smoke seemed to be steadily drawn by in
visible hands into the invisible ether. 1T is
the camp" said Concho, Gleefully; Il will
myself forward to prepare them for the stran-
ger" and before his companion could detain
him he had disappeared at a sharp canter
around the curve o, the trail.
Left to himself, the stranger took a more
l~eiSurely pace, which left him ample time for
reflection. Scamp as he was, there was some
| thing in the simple credulity of poor Concho
that made him uneasy. Not that his moral
/ consciousness was touched, but he feared that
/ Concho's companions might, knowing Con-
/ cho's simplicity, instantly suspect him Of trad
Ing upon it. He rode IN in a deep study.
Was he reviewing his past lifel a v~agabOnd
by birth and education, a swindler by profeS-
sion, an outcast by reputation, without abso-
mtely turning his back upon responsibility,
he had trembled on the perilous edge of GRIM
inality ever since his bOyhood. he did not
scruple to cheat these Mexicans-they were u
DEGRADED race-and for a moment he felt al
most an accredited agent of progress and civ
i~lization. We never really understand the
meaning of enlightenment until We begin to
use it aSgreSSiyely.
A few PAGES further on four figures ap-
peared in the now gathering darkness Of the
( trail. The stranger quickly recognized the
beaminr smile Of Concho, foremost of the
marty. A quick glance at the faces OF the
others satisfied him hat while they lacked
Conchos good humor, they certainly did not
snrpaSs him in intellect. Pedro was n stout
vaouero Manuel was a slim half-breed and
~ex-convert Of the Mission Of San Carmel, and
MIGUEL a recent butcher Of Monterey
Under the benign influences Of Concho that
a1spicion with which the ignorant regard
| strangers die away, and the whole party es-
corted the stranger-who had given his nams
as Mr.. Joseph Wiles-to their camp fire. SO
anxious were they to begin their experiments
hat even the instincts of hospitality were
FORGOTTEN. and it was not until MIR. Wlles-
now known as Don Jose"-Sharply reminded
them that he wanted some grub" that they
came TO their senses. When the frugal meal
of t~ortillas, f~rijoIes, salt pork, and chocolate
WAS over. an oven was built of the dark red
rock brought from the ledge before them, ana
an earthenware jar, glazed by some peculiar
local process, tightly fitted over ii, and packed
with clay and sodS A fire was speedily buht
of pine boughs continually brought from a
wooded ravine below, and in a few
moments the furnace was in full blast.
Mr.. Wiles did not participate In these
active preparations, except to give oc-
~casional directions between his teeth, which
were c~ontcmplatively fixed over aclay pipe
rs he Law comfortably on his back on the
ground. Whatever enjoyment the rascal
may have bad in their useless labors he did
not show it, but it was observed that his left
eve often followed the broad figure of the eN-
y~aouero, Pedro, and often dwelt on that wor-
thys beetling brows and half savage face
Meeting that baleful glance once, Pedro
prowled out an oath, but could not resist a
hideous fascination that caused him again
and again to seek it
The scene was weird enough without Wilcs'
eve 10 add to its wild pictureSquenesS Tho
mountain lowered above-a heavy Rem
brandtish mass of black Shadow-shapy cut
here and there against a sky so inconceivably
remote that the world-sick soul must have
deSpaired of ever reaching so far or Of CHM
ing its steelblue walls. The stars were large,
keen and brilliant, but cold and steadfast
They did not dance nor twinkle in their ada
mantine setting. The furnace fire painted
the faces Of the men an Indian red, glanced
on brightly colored blanket and serape, but
was eventually caught and absorbed in the
waiting shadows Of the black mountain,
scarcely twenty feet from the furnace door.
The low, half sung, half-whispered foreign
speech of the gTup, the roaring OF the fur
mace and the quick, sharp yelp Of the coyote
on the plain below were the only sounds that
broke the awful silence OF the hills
It was almost dawn when it was announced
that the ore had fused And it was high
time, for the pot was slowly sinking into the
fast crumblng oven COncho uttered a Juhi-
liant %God and Liberty" but Don jose WlFs
babe him be silent and bring stakes to sup
port the pot Then Don Jose bent over the
ssething mass 1t was for q moment only.
But in that moment this accomplished met
t~aIlurgist, Mr.. Joseph WileS had quietly
! dropped q silver half dollar into the potl