The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1886-12-29

Pratt, are you alice"
The words came from him In a feeble,
whining tone:
''No no! not that way. The leads higher
up-mighty rich, tool"
l managed to get him off the shelf. Fur
ther could not The only accessible route
home wound in places about projections of
the mountain several hundred feet perpen-
dicular above the foaming river, where a
sound man needed all his strength and nerve
to keep a sure footing
| Them mint fellows are sharp. Jack Hill
year, mind you bake your next batch Of
bread clean through. Run a straw through
dough sticks il faint done; don't put pork
In till beans be boiled so you can squash
| 'em-elSe, hard as rocks"
So he rambled on His words concerning
the mint people suggested to me Broeners
remark as to their curiosity regarding his
quartz assays and their whereabouts. Pratt
was evidently delirious l thought to utilize
this wit wandering and said:
''Did the mint people send you up hereF'
"Put fresh salt on birds tail, an you'll
catch weasel asleep" was his reply Then
his mind seemed to leap into the old channel.
"It's rich-mighty rich-and they can't hold
it all"
| The thing to be done was to get Pratt to
his cabin. Evidently his brain was affected
by the wound l left him and hurried to
Hillyear.
Their cabin was built as thousands were in
those days-an envelope of cotton drilling
about a light wooden frame There was no
wooden door to knock against, or any other
method to rouse the inmates save by calling.
Call did, but Hillyear seemed sleeping the
sleep of the just At last, out of patience, l
pitched a rock into the frail structure It
tore through the cloth. Hillyear's reply was
a shot, which was not to be wondered at.
''For heavens sake, Hillyear, don't firel It's
me- I've found Pratt He's hurt badly"
cried
who's me7" asked HiIlyear, after one Of
his periods of silence.
heard him cooking his pistol "Its l.
Holder. Come and help me get Pratt down
off the mountain He's lying there with a
cash in his head"
Mr.. Hillyear now relapsed into silence
knew not whether he was trying to frame an
idea into a sentence or peering out to get an
aim at me.
"Ain't you coming7r 1 cried at last "Are
you going TO help me get Pratt down He'll
die before we get to him."
"How-did-you- - to -f1nd-himF
came at length from Mr. Hillyear's lips,
with sort of clownish judicial gravity.
GOOD heavensr' said. "W1l you stay
there all night and ask questions, while your
partner is bleeding to death9 Do you sup
pose I'd get out of my bed to stand and call
here like fool for nothingF'
"What's the mussp cried voice in the
darkness 1t was Bill Setter, who lived
nIo - IL -
come, reused by the shot and the sound Of
voices.
"rve found Pratt badly hurt on Scrub
mountain, and am trying to get Hillyear to
help me down with him Hillyear won't be-
heve me, and that's what's the matter"
"Hillyear, get up! Don't be fool" said
Setter.
Hillyear finally replied: "All-rightl I'm
comm I" with an expression as If he had
had no doubts as to the genuineness Of the
news, and had but momentarily heard of it.
Our party reached Pratt, where had left
him. With great difficulty we managed to
carry him down the mountain His utter
ances on the way down all bore vaguely on
quartz hunting and the last scene Of which
he had been conscious while in his right
mind. To Setter, they were puzzle. To
Hillyear knew not how much or how little
meaning they conveyed To myself they
were a source Of great uneasiness They
bore first on the secret Of our claim. Next,
they might confirm a suspicion, which, If not
already developed knew was likely to be,
through the singular circumstances attend
ing my finding Pratt so far up Scrub noun
tain in the dead of night. 1t needed but
word of his delirious utterance to make
known that we had quarreled
We left Pratt in his cabin. Setter, whose
curiosity was evidently much aroused, said to
me, just what expected he would:
''How did you come to find Pratt away up
therep
told Setter that heard Pratts voice in
the night up the mountain, which was true,
but not in the sense l left Setter to infer
held that evasion was justifable under the
circumstances It's not so much what we
tell that may damage us as the construction
placed on it by those it may be told to. The
only way know Of when certain questions
are asked that many people will ask, to avoid
evasion or untrutllfulness, is to say 'it's none
of your business" That as society is now
constituted and complicated, would be quite
impossible.
81 wonder who shot himg' continued
Setter.
''Shot himself, maybe" Ireplied
Queer business, anyway" was Settlers
final remark, as he trudged off home
saw by his manner that he was full of 4
curiosity, and being fuH of curiosity would
be soon full of theories as to the cause of
Pratt's hurt, and that as curiosity and
theories are contagious he would in short
time inoculate all Bull Bar with them.
Next day visited Pratt His head had
been hurt both by the ball and the fall The
bullet had gashed the temple-not very deeply
The conclusion from the fall seemed to have
most affected him. That one or other of
these wounds had affected his brain was very
evident without the pompous declaration Of
the physician, who had been summoned, to
that effect
Setter was present when entered. Pratt
was lying on his bed silent, but the sight OF
me seemed to excite his brain to action, and
set in motion the thoughts, scenes and emo
tions common to the occurrence at the claim.
They ran dangerously near, but did not &C
tually reveal me as participator.
mo tools! no noticesp he cried pretty !
way to hold a claim"
''What claim, PrattFn said Setter.
The sick mans eye fell on Setter with a !
CLEAN of cunning. ''Nop claim" he said. |
"We're after rattlesnake oil Hunting snakes |
In the chapparal There's one now-on the /
lead. If yer not off while / count ten, I'll |
put ball through ye One-two-three- |
OIL" and he shrieked as if with pain.
Hillyear spoke:
e-must-be kept-quiet. It's the-doc-
ter's-orderS. says-his-sary |
-brullum- m-is-something other"
'Queer business-qu businessln was Sef- |
ter's remark, as we left the house together. |
II think he's had shootin' scrape with some
body"
Broener returned felt that could now
shift part Of the business to other shoul- |
ders.
He heard my story. AT its conclusion
he settled back and laughed.
Regular dime novel, isn't itT said he |
sFWrite it, print it, sell it Well, young man,
you're improving rapidly. congratulate
you. / couldn't have wished you anything /
better than the experience you've gone |
through You needed it. You're the kind
that must be put in very hot water to draw
anything out OF YOU
''But won't this put all Bull Bar on the
scent of the fBankF asked
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