Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-09-23
presence of stranger were no longer re

presence Of stranger were no longer re.
quired.
Wiles took the money with gracious
smile and wink that sent Pedro's heart into
his boots, and was turning away when a cry
from Manuel stopped him:
1.-THE pot-the pot-it has leaked lookl be-
holdl seela
He had been cleaning away the crumbled
fragments of the furnace to get ready for
breakfast, and had disclosed shining pool of
| quicksilver
| Wiles started, cast a rapid glance around
the group, saw in a flash that the metal was
unknown to them, and then said, quietly:
at is not silver.n
"Pardon, senior, it is, and still molten.n
Wiles stopped and ran his fingers through
the shining metal
mother of God-what is it, then?-magic?n
mo, only base metaln But here, Concho.
emboldened by Wiles' experiment, attempted
to seize a handful of the glistening mass that
instantly broke through his fingers In thou
sand tiny spherules, and even sent q few
| globules up his shirt sleeves, until he danced
around in mingled fear and childish pleasure
"And it is not worth the takingp' queried
| Pedro of Wiles.
| Wiles' right eye and bland face We're
turned toward the speaker, but his malevo-
lent left was glancing at the dull, ed-brown
rock on the hillside.
mo" and turning abruptly away he pro-
ceeded to saddle his mule
| Manuel, Miguel and Pedro, left to them
selves, began talking earnestly together,
while Concho, now mindful of his crippled
mule, made his way back to the trail where
he had left her. But she was no longer there.
| Constant to her master through beatings and
bullyings, she could not stand incivility and
inattention. There are certain qualities of
the sex that belong to all animated nature.
| Inconsolable, footsore and remorseful, Con-
cho returned to the camp and furnace, three
| miles across the rocky ridge. But what was
his establishment on arriving to find the place
deserted OF man, mule and camp equipage
Concho called aloud, Only the echoing rocks
| grinly answered. him. Was it trick? Con-
cho tried to laugh Ah--yes-a good one-a
| joke-no-no-they had deserted himl And
then poor Concho bowed his head to the
ground, and falling on his face, cried as if his
| honest heart would break
| The tempest passed in moments it was not
Conchos nature to suffer long nor to brood
over an injury. As he raised his head again
his eye caught the simmer of the quick,
silver-that pool of merry antic metal that
had SO delighted him an hour before In a
few moments Concho was again disporting
with it; chasing it hero and there, rolling it
in his palms and laughing with boylike glee
at its elusive freaks and fancies "Ah,
sprightly one-slSipjack-t thou goest-
come here. This way-now have thee, lit
tie one-come, muchacha-come and kiss
me-" until he had quite forgotten the defec-
ton of his companions. And even when he
shouldered his sorry pack, he was fain to
carry his playmate away with him in his
| empty leathern flask
| And yet fancy the sun looked kindly on
him as he strobe cheerily down the black
mountain side, and his step was none the less
| free nor light that he carried with him
neither the brilliant prospects nor the crime
| of his late comrades.
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