Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1888-10-19
cussed by groups of men all over the camp


Jake Whites, the two purchasers of the mine,
were now the center of curiosity. To the
oft repeated query, ssHow does it pan out,
pards." they always replied: "Furst rate.
Even bettern 'spected.n
For the next two days small golden mug
gets were found in the strangers mine, and
the two grimy miners were convinced that
their bargain had been a good one. Then
they suddenly ceased to find any signs of the
golden metal. Probably the vein had taken
another course, and they changed the direc-
ton of their excavations, but all to no pur-
pose. The farther they dug into the sides of
the mine the less of the precious substance
they seemed to find. They returned to their
hut that night down hearted and crestfallen
but neither communicated to the other what
was passing through his mind The next
morning they began their work as usual,
and kept at it until late in the afternoon;
then Bill Saunders threw down his pick, and
laconically remarked, 'Salted."
eyer right, pard, an no mistake We've
been taken in to big amount" calmly re-
piled Jake, seating himself close to his COM
rade's side.
The two remained quiet for long time,
while they looked gloomily at the walls Of
the mine, for the purchase of which they
earned fortune. The golden nuggets with
which the mine had been sailed would not
yield them over couple of hundred apiece
a poor return for what they had given for
them. The innocent looking, beardless
youth had outwitted them, a fact of which
they were painfully conscious; but instead
of threats against his life, they merely re-
marked in quiet tone: ''Probably We'll
meet him agin."
"We may as well close up this mine ter
night, Jake, an return to the old one," said
Bill, as the gloom of night began to close in
around the camp. eve won't want ter
work here any more"
"Not this season, guess, pard,n replied
the one spoken to, slowly rising from his
seat on the damp earth.
The two closed up the mouth of the mine
with their own hands, and placed the well
known sign worked out" over the opening.
Then they returned to the central part of the
camp, where they communicated the tidings
of their defeat to the other miners, who re-
ceived them with different degrees of sur
prise and indignation. Some swore eternal
vengeance on the head Of the young swindler,
and an ominous flourshing of pistols indi-
Gated the fate of the stranger if he should
appear in Silver Camp again; but Bill Saun-
ders turned to the crowd and calmly said:
''Never mind, pards. He's got the trump
card now, but it'll cutu our turn some day."
''Thet's SO; Bills right. Let the matter
drop, an we'll take it up agin' some more
convenient day." remarked two or three in a
chorus
So the little ripple on the surface of the
quiet life of Silver Camp, caused by the
strangers advent in the place, subsidized, and
tl,D h0fo,
The luck did not seem to improve much;
every ounce of gold that was found was
bought at its full value by hard labor, and
few of the younger members of the camp
became discouraged and carried their few
traps elsewhere.
One spring the SHOWS on the mountains
melted so rapidly during a two days heavy
storm that the Old Begum-the suggestive
title by which the river that flowed by the
camp was known by the miners-threatened
to overflow its banks and drive every man
from his hut to the higher grounds. 1t had
been tremendous storm, even for those wild
parts of the country, and reports were COM
ing in from every direction about the dam
age to life and property that the river had
caused Small rivulets on the mountain
sides assumed gigantic proportions, and
roared and tumbled over the rocky country
in an appalling manner The lower lands
were already covered with several feet OF
water, and people were seeking refuge from
the flood on the billy plateau where the
mining camps had erected their small huts.
The second day of the storm the miners of
Silver Camp started up the river in body
to take observations. The rain was still
pouring down in torrents, and the men found
some difficulty in facing the storm as they
trudged over the large powders and loose
rocks They wished to see what direction
the river was taking, and to ascertain if any
weak places in the left bank had yet been
made Every article of value had been col
lected in small bundles in the huts, so that at
a moments notice the miners could make a
break for the higher land should the flood
suddenly burst upon them.
''Seems to me the chaps from Steal
Clearin' IS prospectin' too,n said Bill Saun-
ders to his comrades as he jumped upon
small rock and looked up the river. "They're
comm this way in body jes' as eff they was
excited bout somethin'."
''Shouldn't wonder eff the Old Begun had
burst through up thar" remarked another
miner s'Thar's big cut jes' above the
clearin an 'twouldnt take much to induce
the river to flow through it."
some shelter an food, eff nothin' else" replied
Bill, slowly removing his hand from his eyes,
which were now losing much of their former
keenness and brilliancy.
Talk was rife in the camp that the loss of
his fortune had troubled Bill Saunders more
than he cared to own up. He certainly had
aged much since the young swindler had left
the mining camp, carrying with him the hard
earned fortunes of the two old miners.
Though Bill never spoke about his loss to his
comrades it was evident from his manner
that he brooded considerably over his ruined
prospects. His daily toll in the mines did
not yield him much more than enough to
keep body and soul together and, unless the
long looked for luck struck the camp soon, it
was evident to all that he would be destitute
of money Just when he most needed it. His
strength was fast failing him, and as he stood
upon the rock perched several feet above his
comrades. his white beard and gray locks
| impressed them all with pity and venera-
ton.
''Bill is lookin pretty badly" whispered
one of the miners into his comrades ear.
s'T'wilI nigh break his heart to lose his hut
an few belongin's now by the flood, won't
itw
A slow shake of the head was the only re-
direction the old man was pointing.
A few minutes later dozen burly miners,
with rifles in their hands, emerged from the
woods near the bank of the river, and began
struggling up the little hill They were from
Steal Clearing, and were evidently seeking
refuge from the flood.
''Hello, thar!" shouted the foremost mem
Der of the party, as he caught sight of the
Silver Camp miners. "Hev ye seen anythin'
of stray chap roun' these ere partsa A nice,
good lookin' chap, with smooth face an a
- nice, smooth tongue? Eff ye hev, jes'
tell him he's wanted up at Steal Clearin'
We've got some joyful news fur him thar, an
'twont take him long ter find out what it's
Jes' rope an tree thets all he wants"
The two parties of miners had common
interests. A young stranger had sue
cessfully swindled the miners of Steal
Clearing out of several thousands of
dollars, and the descriptions of the man
given tailed exactly with those that every
miner of Silver Camp remembered as apply
ing to certain stranger who had entered
their village several years before. The flood
and the danger threatened to the two camps
were forgotten, and the search for the es-
capped swindler was begun in earnest