Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1886-06-09

ga yes about him completely beWlidered.
The spot to Which the mare has brought
hun while he slept is a dark dense stretch
of woods, rendered denser still by a rank
and matted underground and a confused
tangle OF wild vines that depend IRON the
branches of trees. 1t oyerlooks a deep
ravine that is shut in by the projecting
Lodges OF an ovcrhanging mountain ridge,
at the bottom OF which a noisy stream
goes brawIins on it's way. jim can hear IL
plainly from where he stands, and he can
| also see on the topInost summit OF a lutt-
ing craig a tall lightning Scared chestnut
with it's hoary arms outstIetched. Against
this the moon, which has been up a couple
of hours or more, is shining clearly, the
s;lyery rays. as theyfall across he whltened
trunk. giving it weird and ghostly appear
ance.
.'Iher north chesnut ridge" calculated
Jim, in considerable trepidation, AN
thar's Their Old Badly with an Inclination
of the head in the direction OF the lightning
SCARED chesnut, 'ez sures my name $
{ Jeemes Tiliv, Whatever in Their wori could
Uesky sorIil hev meant by a-fetchin o me
ND hvar? Why, we mus be a good eight or
ten mile from rome. an what's WIS l
hain't got the least ijeey o. ther way out O
this hyar tangle. ,
These words, | must confess. are uttered
somewhat ~agitatedly. while there is a per-
ceptibie shaking in the vicinity OF jim 8
knees. Yet he isn't a coward by any means.
this sturdy young mount ineer OF II. In
fact there isn't IA piuckier young fellow any
where ordinarily. But the situation in
which he now finds himself is surely one to
make even the stoutest heart quail.
Just as he is on the point OF ~reInountlng
with the hone that if he gives the sorrel
the bride she will take him out as she
brought him in, he hears a sound near him.
1t is that OF a horse champing its BIT. he
hears it again and palmer now. then an
other and another followed, by a restless
stamping OF feet and the sound OF disturbed
~shrubbery in more than one direction.
Moving away he rapidly describes a circuit.
II is sufficient to show him that the sorrel
is not the only horse hitched in the stretch
! OF woods. There are at least dozen more.
With the rapidity of lightning a suspicion
strikes him. Coming back once more to
the sorreI another sOund is borne to him,
this time from the direction OF the ravine,
the sound as OF the subdued murmur OF
voices; then a steady yet somewhat muffied
tap. tap, tap as Of a ,ammer striking
against a metal surface. The suspicion
now takes the shape OF a settled conviction
in Jiln's mind.
Keeping himself as we'll concealed as pos
sibic by the dense shadows Of the forest
growth, Jim cautiously makes his way to
the edge OF the ravine.
He is not long in discovering the head OF
q path that leads to the bottom OF a gorge.
Here he hesitates for z short space, taen
summoning all his courage he moves on
down.
! He is very near the bottom Of the r~avine,
when suddenly there looms up before him a
. luminous ray OF light that shines from out
the 8sri darkness like a great twinkling
eve. Jim's courage seems on the point OF
oozing out again, and once again he screws
it up to the sticking point and keeps
bra vely on.
Slowly but steadily he approaches the
light. As he does SO the sounds he has
heard while at the top OF the ravine grow
more and more distinct. |
As he comes quite up to the light he is
completely startled to find that it is -ues
from the trunk Of a great chestnut growing
directly against the side OF the cliff.
! First making sure that there is no inme-
date danger OF discovery, jim cautiously
approaches 1t. An opening about three
ieet in length and about two in width has
BEEN made in the trunk, ~ which is cleverly |
fastened a docr Of the bark. which, doub-
Ing ' hen closed, fits into it 30 c%unning'y |
As to defy detection. The light Is shining, !
evidently IRON the rrce:ses Of an inner
chamber. the eut, Ance to which is directly |
III VI ~ i-e w ~ l
Jim hears the voices plainly now, though
he can see nothing. us an angle in the ezca-
walton shuts off his view.
Jim hasn't time to make any further IN
vestigatioT, for Just at this point he hears
the sound Of approaching foststeI,s and has
Just time t. pull himself back into the
shadows when a man comes into the glare
OF light carrying a pail OF water in each
hand. Hemakes rapid strides in the direc-
! 80, 3 l. ,aa na.,a o,nn h nrnr l
ing and carefully pulls the bark door shut
behind him.
Scarcely daring TO breathe, SO thoroughly |
alarmed is he now, and fearing every mo-
lnent that he may he detected by some
moonshiner, Jim makes his way cautiously |
back to the top Of the ravine. Reaching |
the spot at which the sorrel is hitched he
unfastens her, mounts aud then throws the
reins down upon her neck. Turning square
round the intelligent creature starts OF at |
a steady trot through the seemingly i'm
penetrable forest. Jim has to Joy his
head repeatedly to keep the branches from
striking his face. In his right hand he car
rieS his knife. a stout horn-handle with the
big blade open, and every now and
then he reaches out and strips as much OF
the bark Of the tree as he can from the
smaller trees in passing. The steadiness
and persistency with which he keeps up this
'b!azing' process would do credit to a
Western pioneer.
Then the mare finally makes her way
clear OF the wood she comes out at an old
log hut. The road passing in front OF this
is a settlement road, and well known to
Jim.
'Geat crickety!!" he calculates, as he once
more draws a long breath with evident re-
lief, "ef that hain't an adventoor fur me,
then Ill be shot fur a rabbit"
Then after a moments pause:
"Black snakes. won't that ar Professor
stretch them big black eyes O his'n when l
shows him this hyar specimen? Guess he'll
Their mountings yet. don't guess I'll tell
pap bout it: least not yet awhile. He'd be
sartin' ter kick ag'in my goin' back thar
ter show Their PerfessOr. He'd say them ar
nd be sure ter spot me fur a Tor I
mer, an swing ME up ter a dog'ood limb,
like they did lube Higgins over bout Sweet
But. shuckins! | hain't afeard"
And he isn't, though in fact the contem-
plated feat OF leading the Revenue raiders, :
for such Jim has fully settled it in his mind
the Professor really is, is not as dangerous
as it might seem. Jim is sufficiently i
familiar with the ways OF the moonshiners I
to know that the still will be left to take !,
are OF itself in the daytime. |.
Not until the Professor stands with Jim |
fore the %cunningly contrived door in the c
heart OF the chestnut, and sees Jim open it, r
alter considerable iumblipg, does he even q
the nature OF the specimen" he
mas been brought out to see. u
jim has secretly chuckled to himself at /
he evident reluctance with which the So 7
jailed professor Of Geology has accepted r
ais invitation to look at ether biggest an l
most Gurus specimen he has ever seed on
her mounting side |,
But his interest is surely lively enough :
o satisfy even Jim when the door swings @
Jack, revealing the entrance to the secret @
:avern SO cunningly tunneled in the cliffs n
tide. E
When entered and fully revealed by means -
,i the light from the candles with which =
i'm has been careful enough to provide I
the earthern chamber is found to l
'e about eighteen or twenty feet square, t
md about eight in height. On every side q
lre the evidences Of the nloonehiner's illicit n
alling, l
Seated upon the head Of one OF the many o
barrels OF freshly distilled 'mo1ntain dew" b
With which the place is more than half ii
lied, the Professor listens to Jim's account n
his overture of the night nreyions. :