The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1890-01-24

forth, deposited on the table sparkling
white stone of unusual size. Giving it
hasty glance, and taking it for the
Yankees paste jewel, turned to look
at Tompy. l could not catch his eye,
however, for he was leaning forward
like the others, breathless with interest.
"'Humphr l muttered, 'one might
think to look at him that he knew moth
ing about it. l did not know before
that Tompy was quite SO deceitful.'
"Meanwhile the assayer was examin-
ing the gem very carefully. He turned
it over in his hand, squinted at it through
a magnifying glass, looking for flaws, 1
suppose, and, finally held it up between
his thumb and forefinger, that it might
catch the rays of the morning sun, as
they poured in through the square hole
in the wall that answered for window.
The jewel certainly had, OF seemed to
have, a lot of fire in it, and 1 could not
help admiring its brilliaucy.
''Then the assayer, laying the jewel
gently down upon the table, spoke, say
ing very slowly:
"'That is the finest diamond that /
have seen for six months. 1t is of the
finest water, and is absolutely hawless.
Taking advantage of the yells and
cheers that rose from the half hundred
throats at the assayer's words, Tompy
leaned quickly toward me and whispered:
"'By jove! Mike must have missed the
paste stone, and has really made find!
"Then, before I could reply, Mike him
self rushed up to us, dancing from one
to the other, and began hugging us like
mad, until l almost agreed with the old
Scotchman, that he was possessed.
"'Hold on, my good man. said the
assayer kindly, tell us how you came to
find this valuable jewel
GAS the cheers subsidized, Mike cooled
off little and told the following story
of his great find:
"'Well, bhoys,' he began, addressing
himself to the crowd, 'yez all know az
how how oi wuz forever q sayin' that the
shperrit of the poor fellow phat killed
himself (rest his soul now would some
guide me to the roight sphot to dig. Yis-
terday oil began new shaft, little fur
ther to the east of the old one, fur seq OF
to meself, "There's nothin' loike havin'
two oirns in the fire, Moike, me bhoy."
"'Well, last night OF wuz onaisy loike,
and couldn't slape, so OF got up to take
bit of walk. Oh hadn't no more than
reached the door of the cabin when saw
somethin' movin' from the bushes to me
new shaft.
"'WhistP sez OF, 'uts the ghost of the
former owner come back to look for some
dammit that he didn't find when aloive.'
"'Well, me boys, OF laid meself down
close by me hut an watched the ghost.
1t wasn't so dhark but what OF could see
him diggin' away for dear loife in me
new shaft, but all on a suddent he
shtopped and felt in his pocket
"'Ghosts don't have pockets yelled
some one derisively from the rear of the
crowd.
"'Arrah, now, y galootr replied Mike
quickly, your ghost wouldn't have need
of one;' and not needing the laugh pro-
duced by this sally, he resumed:
"'As oi wuz agoin' to say, he shtooped
down, an seemed to put somethin' in the
hole he had dug. After that, he filled it
up again, and smoother it off so as to
make it look natural loike shouldered
his spade, az any miner would, and
gloided away. When he had vanished
into the air entoirely (Tompy almost
laughed out here), OF got up an sez:
"'Arrah! ye spalpeen, it's there where
ye buries yer threasures, is it? By st.
Patrick! but it'll shtay there till marnin',
an no longer; and with that oi wint in
an soon wuz phast ashlape. In the
marnin' bright and early oi wuz up, an,
takin' me shpade, wint out and dug as
near the place as oi could judge that the
shperrit had dug the noight before, an
begorra! the first lick oi turned up the
silfsame jewel before yez.'
''As Mike finished his wonderful tale
the crowd began to murmur. 1t sound |
ed too improbable for them to believe,
although had heard many of the same
fellows declare before that they had seen
the ghost that Mike described How
ever, Tompy, who evidently did not want |
the ghost story Investigated, came gal
lantly to Mikes relief.
Never mind about the ghost he |
cried, but let's give three cheers for
Nora in old Irelandr
1.-The crowd responded again and
again until the rickety weather boards of
the walls ratified as though they would |
fly off. Then two of us raised Mike on
our shoulders and carried him off; and
him holding on tight to his dammit and
crying and laughing by turns. And l
tell you, sir, there were not many dry
eyes in that crowd when he cried out:
"'Nora, me darlint, yer Moike will
come home to make We rich at last for,
you see, most of us had a Nora some
where in the wide world.
81 may as well say that Tompy's paste
jewel was never heard of in the camp:
but have an idea that, as Tompy knew
where to look for it, he disinterred it
that very night.
"Well, Mike sailed from Cape Town
in the next ship that left, but whether
he ever reached home and Nora with
his diamond, or not, don't know, for
haven't seen him from that day to this"
and the tall man brushed his ewes
quickly with the back of his hand.
"Yes, ye have! yes, ye have!" cried
the man in the ulster, springing up and
seizing his fellow travellers hand. "Ye
have seen him tonight, now roight here!
OHM Moike McShane!"
The tall man could not believe it at
first; but when the truth dawned upon
him he fell to wringing his old friends
hand, till | feared he would pull the arm