The morning times., 1895-08-18

| ruins again, this time kicking aside the
| charred heaps without thought OF what
] they had contained. Key was not an I'M
| feeling man, he was not an unrefined one;
| he was gentleman by instinct, and had
an lntuitive sympathy for others, but In
that instant his whole mind was concen-
trated upon the calcined outcropi And his
| first impulse was to see if it bore any evil
! dence OF previous examination, prospect
ing, or working by its suddenly evicted
| neighbors and owners. There was none;
| they had evidently not known 1T. Nor was
| there any reason to suppose that they
| would ever return to their hidden home,
| now devastated and laid bare to the open
sunlight and open trail. They were already
far away; their guilty personal secret
| would keep them from revisiting 1t. An
| immense feeling of relief came over the
soul of this moral romancer; monetary
recognition of the Most High in this poet
| ical retribution. He ran back quickly to
| his saddlebags, drew out one or two care
| fully written formal notices of pre-emption
! and claim, which he and his former com
| panions had carried in their brief partner
| ship, erased their signatures and left only
his own name, with another grateful sense
| of divine Interference, as he thought of
! them speeding far away in the distance,
and returned TO the ruins.
With unconscious irony he selected
| charred post from the embers, stuck it in
the ground a few feet from the debris of
| outcrop, and finally affixed his 'Notce." }"
| Then with conScientiousness born of his
new religious convictions, he dislodged with
/ his pickaXe enough of the brittle outcrop
TO constitute the presumption OF "actuat
| work. upon the claim legally required for
| its maintenance, and returned TO his horse.
| In replacing his things in his saddle-bags he
came upon the slipper, and for an instant
so complete was his preoccupation in his
| later discovery, that he was about to
| throw il away as useless impedimenta until
| it occurred to him vaguely that IL might
| be of service to him in its connection with
| that discovery-in the way of refuting false
| claimants. He was not aware OF any
/ faithlessness to his mOmentary romance, any
| more than he was conscious Of any disloyalty
| to his old companions in his qualification
| that his good fortune had come TO HIM alone.
This singular selection was u conscious
| experience Of prospecting. And there was
| something about the magnitude of his dis
covery that seemed to point to an individual
! achievement. He had made rough cal
culation OF the'richuess of the lode from the
quantity OF precipitate in his rude expert
| ment; he had estimated its length, breadth,
| and thickness from his slight knowledge OF
| geology and the theories thus rife and the
| yield would be colossal! or course he
would require capital to work it; he would
| have TO 'let i'm others TO his scheme and
his prosperity, but the control Of it would
| always be his own.
Then he suddenly started as he had never
in his life before started at the face Of
| man; for there was football in the charred
brush, and not twenty yards from him
stood Collinson, who had just dismounted
| from a mule. The blood rushed to Keys
| pale face.
| "Prospectin' agin?" said the proprietor Of
| the mill, with his weary smile.
No." said Key quickly, "only straighten-
| ing my pack The blood deepened i'll his
| cheek at thisinstinctivehe. Hadhe carefully
| thought it out before he would have vel
| coined Collision and told him all. But now
a quick, uneasy suspicion flashed upon him.
| Perhaps his late host had lied, and knew
| of the existence OF the hidden house Per
! haps he had spoken of some "silvery rock"
| the night before-he even knew something OF
the lode itself. He turned upon him with
| an aggressive face. But Colinson's next
words disSipated the thought.
I'm glad ! found ye, anyhow" he said.
''Ye see, arter you left, l saw ye turn off
the trail and make for the burning woods
I instead o. goin' round. l sez to maysel:,
| that fcller is making straight for SINNERS.
| He's sorter worried about me- and that empty
| pork bari. l hadn't oughter spoke that
way afore you boys any how, and he's
| takin' risks to help me. SO reckoned I'd
throw my leg over Jimmy here and look
arter ye, and go over to Skinners myself
and vote"
Certainly" said Key, with cheerful
| alacrity, and the one thought of getting
| Collinson away, wen go together, and
| Wen see that that pork barrel is filled"
| He glowed quite honestly with this sudden
idea of remembering Collinson through his
| good fortune. Lets go on quickly, for
| we may find the fire between US on the
| outer trail" He hastily mounted his
| horse.
Then you didn't take this as a short
| cut" said Collinson, with a dull perse-
| yerance in his idea. why not, it looks all
clear ahead?'
| Yes" said Key, hurriedly, "but it's
been only a leap of the fire; it's still raging
round the bend. We must go back to the
| cross trail" His face was still flushing
| With his very equivocating and his anxiety
| to get his companion away. Only few steps
| further would bring Collinson before the
| the ruins and the ''notice - and that dis
| covery must not be made by him until Keys
| plans were perfected A sudden aversion
| TO the man he had moment before wished
| to reward began to take posse ssion OF him.
| Come on,'' he added, almost roughly.
| But to his surprise COllinson yielded with
his usual grim patience and even a slight
| look of sympathy with his friends annoy
| ance. II reckon you're right, and nebbe
| you're in hurry TO get to SINNERS all
! along O. my business. / oughtn't hev told
| you boys what / did" AS they rode rap
| idly away he took occasion to add when
| Key had reined In slightly with a feeling
| OF relief at being out of the hollow: II was
| thinkin', too, of what you'd ask about
! any one livin' here unbeknownst to ME. {"
"Welll'' said Key, with nervous impa-
tience
Well l only had an idea o. proposin'
that you and me just took a look around that
| holer whar you thought you saw suthini'
said Collinson tentatively.
'NonsenseI" said Key hurriedly 1--WE
really saw nothing-it was all fancy, and
Uncle Dick was joking me because l said
| / thought l saw a woman's face ;" he added
! with forced laugh.
"Collinson glanced at him half sadly.
"ohl you were only funnin' then!
knowed 1t from Uncle Dicks talkl' They
in ciI