Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1895-02-04

gold. W. men the darkness became so in
tense as TO interfere with their progress
they Hghted torches and thorough in
spectlon was made of both walls.
The canyon extended into the noun
tain for full mile. winding and turn
ing, and long enough before it ended
the pine treeS met above it and prevent
ed single ray of light from descending.
Nothing answering the description of
the dying hunter could be found. He
had said, as Harkins understood, five
miles to the right of the peak" Here
was the spot. He had described the
mouth Of the canyon and everything
here bore out the description. He said
that Bridger went up the canyon about
mile and then turned into a smaller
one running to the left.
There was no such canyon. The left
bank was solid rock and earth from the
wagons to the spot where the great rift
stopped short at fiinty wall thousand
feet high. The mighty wrath had split
the mountain thus far, but it could go
no farther.
Three times the men travelled from
the camp to the end of the canyon, and
been mistaken. They sat down on a
bowlder in the bed of the canyon to rest
and discuss the matter, while the single
torch, secured in cleft, hardly allowed
them to see each others faces.
"Well, we have no right to complain,
as we have lost nothing" said the cap
tain. Indeed, if we had not slipped in
here not a man of us would now be
wearing his scalp"
''Wasn't the old man Tightly in his
last hour?" asked Joe of Harkins, who
seemed much cast down.
"He gave no evidence of it; on the
contrary, his mind seemed wonderfully
clear to the last"
perhaps he said to the left instead of
the right of Clusters peak" suggested
the captain
"No, am sure he said to the right,
but he may have meant the left"
''It's no use crying over split milk"
laughed the captain.
eff we have lost the cave we have
saved our scalps. I'm inclined to
think the old man misspoke himself.
believe those renegades gave this place
d thorough looking over and are now in
the canyon below, if there is canyon
there. If the cave is there they have
got the gold ere this, and that ends it,"
Harkins sat with bowed head. He
had felt so sire that old Saunders told
the truth that he hated to give up the
search. There was deep silence for a
moment, broken by whisper from Joe,
"Great heavens, but what is thatp'
They were near the wall which formed
lhe end of the canyon. All raised their
heads and looked into the darkness and
saw faint light shining out like star.
At the same moment their ears caught
the sound of many voices chanting in
low tones, and a strange, weird music
Tiled the heavy air.
"Hush-sit stillv' whispered the cap
Nin as Harkins seemed about to spring /
mp.
Then from the face of the solid rock !,
issued forth a strange procession of
strange shadows-shadows which moved /.
n double file right past the trio down /
INTO the blacbness of the canyon toward !
The wagons. The one who led the pro- /
.essiOn carried what looked like ban !
Ter. Behind him was one who seemed
to carry an urn. Then came four
shadows which bore a bier, and those
who came after had their faces upturned
and were wailing and chanting.
The men saw and heard and realized,
but were chilled and powerless to move.
Can the dead come back to earth? Do
the ghosts of those who have gone be-
fore gather in the shadows and the dark
ness and hold reunions?
Chant! Chant! Chant!
Out from the solid wall-a wall in
which the sharp eyes of the gold hunt
ers had failed to detect crevice large
enough to conceal squirrel-pouredt the
strange, queer specters, and down into
the darkness marched the procession.
March! March! March!
Their feet kept time to the wild, weird
chant, but not the sound of a football
came to the ears of the living. Each
ghostly figure stood out separate and
distinct, but not face could be seen.
1--WE are doomed menr' groaned Har-
kins, as he covered his face with his
hands to shut out the sight.
"Aye! We shall never leave this spot
alivew added Joe.
'Hush, men!' whispered the captain
as he raised his hand. "They are dead,
true enough, but they are the dead of a
thousand years ago-of the cave dwell
ers and the Aztecs. | have seen them
twice before, and they brought no bad
luck. Here they come on the other sider'
The three were seated on rock in the
center of the rift. The head of the
spectral procession had gone down the
canyon several hundred feet and then
turned to come back on their left, pass
ing them again within few feet.
March! March! March
Chantl Chant! Chantl
Soft and low and sweet came the
Notes.-The the murmur of the August