Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1890-10-17
THE BUSTED HOPES.

Among the veteran miners OF the GOlu
Leaf district none could lay claim to longer
residence therein than little Andy Cobb,
the original discoverer and present half
owner of the "Busted Hopes" In forty
eight hours from the origination of the
Gold Leaf boom little Andy was in the
uulch, coming along with the first Install
ment of fortune seekers from Deadwood,
with his camp kit packed on the only
broncho in the party chartered for the
strip jointly by Andy and the Nussbaum
Brothels, the jew clothiers from Cheyenne.
I'VE located side an side-the two Nuss
baums an me-" Cobb used to relate to
every "tenderfoot" that he could beguile
into listening Levi Nussbaum struck it
rich in the Three Ply Sunk a prospect
hole bout big enough to bury a Dutchman,
an sold to a Boston syndicate for fifty
thousand in less II week. His brother,
ole Moses, had the same kind of luck. The
All Wool is the richest claim in the gulch
to this day, an it has bin five years since
Nussbaum let it Slide for enough money to
buy all the second hand clothes in Amer
lea"
And how about your claimf" the listen
er would inquire
"Mine? Oh, I've got it yet. | changed
its name after the first year, all the same.
it the Busted Hopes 1t nice claim if
it is Il poor one-handy to the shanty, an
wood an water convenient There's plenty
of good ore in the Busted Hopes If we
only had a little capital to invest in devel-
Opin' it the lad au' | could windlass out
the metal EASTERN forty minis could han
die it,"
Ed Brundige was the lad" to whom
Cobb had reference. He was a new man in
the eulch, comparatively speaking, his cit
izenship merely dating back some eighteen
months or thereabouts. No one seemed to
know anything in regard to the lads
past history, and in justice to the other
miners must admit that obtrlsive curl
osity was IA failing almost unknown among
them. \ stranger in their midst was eX-
pccted to furnish some sort of name, for
the convenience of parties who might wish
to address him, but further than this he
m hit at pleasure, refuse to proceed.
Tins it CHANGED that Brunlige, making
hi, debut in the gulch when half of the
miners were down with mountain fever,
bad quietly settled down as Il permanent
resident of the place, without Offering or
requesting any condolences whatever; and
aside from the fact that he was Van
kce,' and possessed OF some previous eX
perience as a miner, the amateur Pinker
tons of Gold Leaf had failed to elicit any
points" worthy of mention
Little Andy Cobb had been one of the
first To suffer from the fever, and for four
long weeks, stretched on the not oversOit
hay mattress in the solitary apartment
that contained all his worldly effects, eX.
cepting the mining claim just mentioned,
lay in daily anticipation of that grim
visitor who calls alike upon rich and poor.
Nurses were few in Gold Leaf Gulch, and
of the lucky citizens Who CHANGED to keep
on foot while their neighbors We're fighting
single handed with death, the majority
were too busily looking after their own
interests to care for the well being of
Others. So, accustomed to being left alone
and uncared for, Andy Cobb was agreeably
surprised upon awakening from one of
his feversh maps to find that the dingy
little room had been "slicked up" to an
unprecedented degree: the miniature table
that held his medicine walls vastly beauti-
fed in appearance by the addition of a
snowy cloth, improvised by splitting a
"b'iled shirt" down the back: while the
willing hands that had voluntarily worked
this transformation had gone farther in
their good work, knocked Il board from
the wall to admit more air, spread a
dampened cloth on the iuVald's fever
burnt brow, and was now theoretically
toiling with abundant soap and water &c
provide the proprietor of the Busted
Hopes" with much needed change Of
clean clothing,
Too sick to feel much concern in any
earthly aiairs, however remurl, bic. pool
Andy had merely watched for time will
lanuuid interest the ineXplicabie move
ments of this strange yi>itant. and ther
gave way once more to his oyeruuWerin.
drowsiness, waking later in the day will
a clearer brain to find his guardian ange
still At his side
"E.f it hadn't been for you twould hav,
been 'GCod-by, Andy" he gratefully re
marked, when, in IA fair way toward re
coyery, he was enjoying the luxury of
smokeunder the shadow of the great noun
tain pines Il tell ye what it is, lad, (
the Busted Hopes ever makes my fortuna
half Of it is yours. And'-as if by inspra
zion-"when you have blowed in all tina
come around an I'll split up what's left.
Ed Brundige responded to this burst o
generosity with II quiet laugh. say n
more shout it, old man." said he. 81
wasn't altogether an act of Kindness OF
my part. Al all events ! wasn't who'll
DISTINGUISHED You see wanted 10 stan,
in with you and buya share in your claim.
Little Andy stared at him in open eye
wonder.
"To buy into the Busted Hopes"
"CertaiEly'
"BUt-ih n Ter Why, man, it's the dad
gumdeteSt, poorest pieces OF mining PROF
erty III t..e nils!
mot q,ato," smiled Brundige. "Ther
is perpetual grubstake in it if a man wi
work-en2"
"There always has BEEN" Cobb wa
forced to admit; "but then, you see, I'm
hoss on the hunt, and always rustic for IN
meat in the hills"
"Just to my hand" acquiesced Ed. -
there is anything ! enjoy it is good hun