The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1895-04-04

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that trail from the cabin at gait
which astonished the mule and worried
| the jenny considerable. But findin'
treasure on map and locatin' it on the
ground, L soon see was two very differ
emit things. I'd worked out the frs
proposition all right enough, but when
I'd tackled the second, found l had a
bigger contract on my hands than I'd
been calculatin' on. Ihadn't no trouble
in hittin' on the rincon, marked by the
red-ink cross; but there was lodges and
rocky bluffs for miles each way, and
though put in week huntin' for that
big rock with the sign of the arrow,
want any wiser when L quit than
when | started in, and at last l give up
beat and went in off the desert for the
winter.
Now, though I'd give up, it was
only for the time bein', and still kept
the map with me wherever 1 went,
meanin' some day to go back; but one
thing after another kept comm up to
hinder, and it was nigh on to three
years before / ever set foot in that
rtBc0n again.
''My next trip there come about this
way. Early one May afternoon, 1 got
into the White Water station and found
a fat man, with a long curly beard and
sociable sort of way with him, monk
eyin' with some little rolled-up papers
just outside the brush-porch in front
He said they was photographs he was
dryin' off, he bein' professional, hired
so he claimed-by some concern to
make pictures of anything remarkable
he run against down in that country.
He wS'2't no ways particular what he
Photographers it looked to me-for
he made point of takin' picture of
me and my mule and the burTo quick
as we'd got in, and that led up to our
gettin' tolerable friendly right away.
He began spreadin' out his pictures,
and / stood by tallxin' and lookin' 'em
over kind of careless like, till he give
me one o: a big palm tree, CROWN just
in front of steep, rocky bluff. Then
l stopped short in the middle of what
was sayin', and for minute couldn't
speak, was so dumfoundered, for on
that rock in the picture, standin' out
plain among the cleavage lines, was
the figure of an arrow pointin' to the
ground.
II gave gasp, and the photo-gra pher
looked up surprised, inquirin' what the
matter was. When asked him, he de-
scribed the place where he took the
picture the best way he could, and be-
fore ever he'd got half through, l see
plain enough he was speakin' of the
rincon marked by the little red-ink
cross on the map. | must have been by
that same ledge at least half dozen
times, without ever seem the arrow,
bein' as it was so all mixed up with the
weather cracks, and crisscross lines on
the rocks. l pointed out the arrow,
which he'd no notion of bein' there
till | showed it to him, and then he
seemed pretty near as much surprised
as | was. and asked no end of ques-
lions about what / knew bearin' ON the
subject.
"Bein' sort of unstrung with excite-
ment, and he seemin terrible friendly
and Interested and the sort of man
generally you could tie to and trust in,
and me bein' naturally, perhaps. over
confdin', | started right in and gave
him the whole business, windin' up by
showin him the map. Finally it come
to this: He agreed to take me round to
the rocks in the mornin' early, in
light pole blackboard he was travelin'
about the country init benz trip of
only ten or twelve miles from where
we was talkin'-and we was to divide
even up what we found there, we both
of us allowin' there'd ought to be. FROM
all accounts, more'n enough for two.
81 was up before daylight-the moon
just goin' down-potcerin' round to
get things ready for an early start. and
was some surprised not to find the pho
tographer's sorrel team tied up along
side my mule, when | went into the
stable shed to feed him, where I'd seen
'em night before. Then / noticed. with
a sort of misgivin', that there want no
sign of the blackboard, which I'd last
seen standin' out in front Pretty quick
the hostler come out, rubin his eyes
and pickin' out straws from his hair,
and when l asked about the sorrels
and the blackboard, he SAID the photo
grapher'd hitched up and pulled out
night before just after I'd turned in.
well, of course, l seen then right
away how it was. That fat, sociahle
Photographic scut had just gone off on
the quiet to rake in the plumber for
himself, not wanlin' no dividin' when
he'd struck good thing.
Naturally, l saddles up right away.
and went off on lope, hopin' to strike
the rtncOn before he'd got away, and
try'n' make his stay there interestin'
for him; but he had too much the start,
and when at last got to the rock with
the palm tree in front, there was the
sign of the arrow plain enough, and
knew where to look, but nothin' else
left of what I'd been plannin' and
dreamin' about for all them years but a
new hole in the ground, two stove-in
express boxes and dull-colored TWEEN
ty lynn on the new-dug dirt, where
he'd dropped and overlooked it in his
hurry to make his cleanup and get well
away.
II was SO sort of worked up and
deathly disappointed and mad all
through that when the little dickey~
bird roostin on some brush near the