Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1888-04-28

"'Well. Mr. Tom,' L answered, that is not
to be wondered at, seeing that, Like yourself,
they arc nocturnal birds
"HOwl after 'owlr he repeated sternly,
taking no notice of my Interpretation, 'and
stops and says, That's murder" and listens
a-ain and thinks, "No, it amt; that owl is
tho owl of hoz:u,tation; some ones been and
-ot his fingers into glllnmy yeller pot, I'll
swear, and gone off Us 'e&d in the sucking
OF them" Now, unto Quatermain, is !
rimht2 Is it nuggets. Oh, lor!' and he
s!nacl.ed his lips audit great big yellow
boyS--:3 it them that u have just been and
tunblcd acrossp
"'Eo,' said 1 boldly, it isn't'-the cruel
gleam in his black eyes altogether overcon-
ing my aversion to the untruSh, for I knew
that if be once found ou5 what it was that
was sitting on--and, by the way, I have
heard Of rolling in gold being spoken of as q
pleasant process, but / certainly do not rec
o.nInend anybody who values comfort to try
s.5..-; ol i'll should Iul a very good chance
of bcin, 'handspiked' before the night was
over.
"'If you want to know what it was, Mr..
Tom went on, with politcst air, although
in agony from the ru~.Tct undcrneath-for ]
hold it always best to &C polite to a man who
is so ready WIZ handspilie-'my boy and l
have had slight difference Of opinion, and l
was enforcing my view of the matter upon
him that was Gll.'
"'Yes, Er. Tom,' put il Harry, beginning
to weep, for Harry was a smart boy, and saw
the difficulty We were in, that was it hal
locd because father beat me-
"'Well, now, did yer, my dear boy; did
yera Woll all l can say is that played out
old claim is wonderfully queer sort of place
TO come to for to argify at 10 o'clock Of night,
and what's more, my sweet youth, if ever
should ave the argifying of yer'-and he
leered unpleasantly at Hary-'yer won't
'oller in such jolly sort O way. And now
III be SAYING good night, for don't like dis
turbing of family party. No, amt that
sort of a man, amt. Good night to yer,
unter Quatermain; good night to yer, my
lrgifled young one and Mr. Tom turned
away disappointed, and prowled of else
where, like human jackal, to see what he
'ould thieve or kill.
"'Thank goodnessr said, as slipped off
the lump of gold. Now, then, do you get
uD, Harry, and see if that consummate vii.
lain has gone Harry did SO, and reported
that he had vanished toward Pilgrims Rest,
>
but trembling with excitement, with our
hands followed out all the space of ground
into which had struck the pick. Yes, as l
had hoped, there was a regular nest of mug
gets, twelve in all, running from the size of
a hazelnut to that of hens egg, though of
course the first one was much larger than
that. How they all came there nobody can
say; it was one of those extraordinary
freaks, with stories of which, at any rate, all
ueople acquainted with alluvial gold mining
pill be familiar. 1t turned out afterward
si.at the American who had sold me the claim
mad in the same way made his plea much
larger one than ours, by the way-out of a
SINGLE pocket, and then worked for six months
without seeing color, after which he gave
it up.
'At any rate, there the nuggets were, to
the value, as it turned out afterward, of
about Il $50, so that after all | took out of
that hole $50 more than put into it. We
got them all out and wrapped them up in
handkerchief and then fearing to carry
home so much treasure, especially as we
knew that Handspike Tom was on the prowl,
made up our minds to pass the night where
we were-a necessity which, disagreeable as
it was, was wonderfully sweetened by the
presence os that handkerchief full uf virgin
gold, which represented the interest of my
lost half sovereign
!'Slowly the night wore away, for with the
fear of Handspike Tom before my eyes | did
rot dare to so to sleep, and at last the dawn
came blushing down the somber ways of
night. l got up and watched its perfect
growth, till it opened like a vast celestial
flower upon the eastern sky, and the sum
beams began to spring in splendor from
mountain top to mountain top. watched it,
and as | did so it flashed upon me, with
complete conviction that had not felt be-
fore, that had had enough gold mining to
last me the rest of ny natural life, and then
and there made up my mind to clear out
of Pilgrims Rest and go and shoot buff
falo toward Delagoa bay. Then | turned,
took the pick and shovel, and, although it
was Sunday morning, woke up larry and
set to wore 10 see if there were any more
nuggets about. AS | expected, there was
none. What we had got had lain together
in little pocket filed wiUa soil that felt
quite different from the stiff stuff round
and outside the pocket. There was not
another trace of gold. OF course, it is possi-
BILE that there were more pockets somewhere
about, but all have to say is l made up my
mind that, whoever found them, should not;
and, as matter of fact, have since heard
that that claim has been the ruin of two or
three people, as it very nearly was the ruin
of me.
Harry said presently, i am going
away this week toward Delagoa to shoot buff
falo. Shall | take you with me or send you
down to DurbanF
"'Oh, take me with you, father begged
Harry, Il want to kill buffalo
"'And supposing that the buffalo kills you
nsteadP l asked.
- oh, never mind he said gayly, there
are lots more whero came FROM
Il rebuked him for lis lippancy, but in
the end consented to take him"
CHAPTER II.
"Something over fortnight had passed
sinca the ninht whom | Lost LaLf n saxnro. N