Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1894-08-10

ly, SO Ned and /, who had been taking
turns watching, thought it would be
safe to drop Off tosleep-kind Of lightly
and we did SO.
When we woke up i'll the early morn
ing and saw that Frank Edgerton S cot
was empty and his clothes and pick and
revolver gone, you may try to imagine,
but you can never realize, just how we
felt.
We cooked hasty breakfast; then,
picking up enough provisions from cur
little store to last three days, we hid
the rest, left the mule hid in a little
valley where there was lots of grass and
then started Off to find our insane friend.
Remembering his rawlings about "the
gold caves" up near the snow line, we
determined to follow the creek. We
could read trail as well as an Indian,
but the rocks We're too hard to retain
the impression of human foot. Yet
now and then we saw signs to encour-
age u.s.
The. creek branched into dozen
streams farther up, and it was only aftel
long consultations that we decided
which to take, and then for no reason
that would not have applied quite as
well to the other stream.
1t was rough, hard road, and now
and then as we went on we stopped tc
shout Franks name or to discharge our
rifles, but only the echoes came back for
reply.
That night, thoroughly tagged out,
we halted close to the snow line-in-
deed there were white patches all about
us and not sign of a shrub to make a
fire. With a little alcohol lamp we
made some coffee and lay down under
our blankets, spoon fashion, to keep
warm.
We were up by daylight and started
off again, this time without coffee, for
we had only about a gill e alcohol fol
the lamp, and we reasoned that poor
Frank would want something warm if
we found him alive.
Another terrible day and another aw
full night, and still no sign of Frank Ed
gerton. We gave him up, and with sad
hearts were returning, when Ned, who
has eyes like telescopes, said he saw
something moving near the snow lin.
across the valley.
There had been an immense snow
slide down the valley not an hour be-
fore, but we got across, and there under
the ledge of rocks, with great pile OF
loose glittering stones about him, lay
Frank Edgerton, looking like a dead
man.
While Ned made some coffee / rub
bed Frank with snow till his skin felt
warm; then we forced coffee between
his teeth, and wrapping one blanket
about him we made stretcher out of
the other and our two rifles, SO as to
carry him down to camp, no easy job, i
can tell you.
Just as we were about to start off Ned
noticed the pile Of stones - Franks
pockets were full of them-and those
lying about had evidently been brought
there by him. But they were fully one
half solid gold.
Frank Edgerton had discovered the
caves of his feverish dreams.
We got him back to camp, and We
took turns nursing him and carrying
down the gold so mysterlously found
with him under that ledge, and the
source Of which had been concealed by
the snowslide.
''To make long story short, as we
used to say when I was boy, Frank
got well. When he was able to travel,
we started back to Taos, carrying with
us about 100 pounds Of solid gold.
We made second and a third trip to
find "the gold caves of which Frank
remembered nothing, and others have
often tried it since, but they were lost
quite as mysteriously as they were
found.
Frank Edgerton had, however, for
his share enough money to return to
Kentucky and marry the fair Susie
Burns. That they are happy as the dag
is long can vouch fol-, for I visited
them less than a year ago. and I was
highly fattered to find that his Oldest
son was named after me.-New York
Advertiser.