The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-10-17
HEIRESS OF GOLDEN FALLS.


Messrs. Wilkins * Crowdy confessed
| that they did not like my project. A trip
| to the Black hills Was no Joke, they said;
| and If by chance Luke Saltmarshe was
| an impostOT, my life even might not be
| safe In that wild region. Better, at any
/ rate, wait for his reply. These objections
/ overruled. and started for the West
! that same evening.
Thus it was that on the day the Par
/ sons City mail coach was robbed / was
| approaching Golden Fails with nothing
! but change Of clothes and a solitary ten
/ dollar note. AT the end of ten miles the
/ path suddenly dipped over the brink of a
/ ravine. down the center Of which a noun
/ tain torrent was Drawing. Perched
among the rocks below on the brink of
4 the stream were some two-score log cabins,
/ with few tents here and there, 70 de-
note that Golden Falls was a thing of to-
day, but not of yesterday. All down the
course of the brook were the cradles
for washing out the gold, and l could see
the various claims with their heaps Of
dirt on either bank, but they seemed To
( be all deserted. Spades and picks We're
/ lying here and there as If cast aside in
/ a hurry
1t struck me str1nge-this strange aban-
donment Of work in the middle Of the
day-the more 50 as | could hear the hum
Of mems voices raised, thought In angry
discussion Looking again, L that
there was a crowd round the largest Of
the cabins. about the center Of the row.
above which a flag hoated bearing the
device, Ben Baldwin's saloon" Il flashed
upon me IN a moment. TIE miners had
heard of the robbery Of their gold dust.
When reached the saloon found that
/ was right. Three Of the miners whom
L had seen at the waysde "h1tal" had
Just arrived with thu news Of the coachs
forloTn return Round the doorway Of
the saloon an excited thrOng Of sloue1-
hated, red-shirted miners were lament.ng
and Vowtug vengeance. 1 elboWed my
way into the saloon, and, having been
posted in the customs Of the Vest pulled
out my ten-dlllar bill 10 treat the
crowd inside. This method of self-n-
PRODUCTION left me with only a dollar or
two in my pocket
The excitement was increased when it
became known that / had been the soli-
tary passenger 10 the mlil-coach. Many
We're the questions 1 had 10 answer as To
the appearance of the masked robbers,
but | could throw but little light on that.
Almost any of the men before me would
nave resembled them, given the addition
Of a Grape mask.
1 1t WAS not for full half an hour that /
was able TO think of nay own affairs. Then
1 asked the landlord if ne knew whera
/ Luke Saltmarshe was to be found.
4 guess he's totin' around somewheres
jawing about the road-agents." he r.
piled. ANY of you boys seen Luke th.s
morning." he added, turning TO the
. throng before the bar.
Luke started for Parsons City al sun
rise" said one of the miners. Expect he'll
/ be back by supper time
L explained TO the landlord that / had
come from New York 10 see Saltmar he
( on a natter Of business.
! We'll" said Mr.. Baldwin, 81 reckon
you'd best get along To his shanty; it's
/ fourth from here as You go down stream;
/ maybe his sister will Tx you up something
\ TO eat while YOU wait"
/ Here was a revelation, Luke Saltmarshe
/ with a sister, / distinctly rem embered
/ that he had described himself in the letter
I 10 the lawyers as an only ch.,d. Was
/ there something wrong about my I'M
4 known cousin. after all?
! l thanked the landlord. and turned my
] steps toward the cabin he had indicated
/ II was larger than most of It's neishbors
| and there was an air OF neatness about IL
| which would have suggested w0man's
J presence, even if / had not heard OF it. A
/ dusky half-br, ed Indian boy of about
! fifteen was just entering the cabin with
/ a bucket of water as ! approached, and
I at the same moment white arm appear
| ing in the doorway relieved the boy Of
] his load.
: I cannot describe Naomi as [ saw her
/ then for the first time, / only know tAlt
! l looked upon the most beautiful. woman
/ my eyes have ever seen. Tail and fair.
: and with a stately dignity of ncr own.
I
! dress in no way c.ashed amid those sur
roundings with her natural grace There
/ was an air of refinement about Naomi
! which the toughest setting could not neg
, alive. She invited me in; and without
! going into the object of my visit 1 told
] her that / had reason TO believe l was
! relative.
To my wonder look of harassed fear
/ came into her eyes. TEL me- she said.
is my father, Leonard Sa.tmarshe, liy-
ing?"
rs it possible" I exclaimed, chat you
do not know? Your brother Luke knows.
/ IL is in consequence of a letter from him
that / am here. Leonard S3lJmarshe died
two months ago."
"Ahr she said as If TO herself. shud-
/ daTing the while, I thousht: that eX-
I Plains il then-that explains il. 1t is as
/ / feared" Then she went on: Mr.. silt
marshe-or may ! call YOU cousin There
is a story which must tel you before
before Luke returns. 1 am Leonard salt
marshes only child. Luke is neither his
son nor my brother lie is my dead
mothers nephew. But 1 was brought up
to believe myself his sister, and it IS only
the other day that I learned the truth.
/ He has known it all along"
But how is it." I asked, chat you
are out here in the Wi.ds? Did not your
father and mother live together?'
only for two years after their mar
/ riage, which took place in Chicago My
llbLIleT always sdlu llldL MS lclilpcI was
50 vio.ent that she could not stay with
/ him. So she ran away, taking me with
/ her. and supported herself as best she
| could by her needle. Luke was her sisters
| child. and mother took him when my aunt
/ died. Then my mother died when / was
/ twelve years cd; but first she gave me 4
| little box. which ] was not To open till I
was twenty ] was twenty last May; and
when 1 opened the packet, ] found a let
/ ter from my mother telling me that Luke
as not my brother. i had no one To pro-
/ tect me. and she wanted me TO think my
se.f his sister. That was the reason she
gave me; and she added that when | was
twenty, it would be right for me TO know
1 the truth
so Luke has always known that You
We're not his sister. but have only lately
discovered tt?'' 1 said.
Yes" she answered; Il have not told
! him yet that l know
Am I right in surprising that you are
afraid of Luke?' l asked.
She hesitated and turned the question
aside. Seeing the absolute necessity OF
gaining her confidence, / tod her exactly
| how matters lay. and asked her what
had best do under the altered circum-
stances. We both agreed that the only safe
! course would be TO treat Luke as if he
were a genuine claimant for the present,
and il I and Naomi were still in lgno-
rance Of the truth. l was pOwer'ess to
! tanned a remittance from my bankers in
] New York.
Even without his knowing that we are
! aware Of mis- designs, you VIII have to be
/ careful" said Naomi. Luke is Danger
o11s If thwarted and this is a lav-lass