Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1896-06-18

stone he must clearly put il i'm his
pocket. now thai he had found il.
This he did. And as he did 80. old
Guerron the Frenchman. who oc-
cupied a cabin short distance away.
came mp and said ID was time TO 90
to work.
Pedro and Guerron worked in
the same drift that day. The for
nation was soft. and the clayey
tale fell thiekly and heavily ALI
about them. II was a consistency
that would not admit welt of nick.
ing or Of shoveling. II dropped.
instead, in large white fakes: il vas
ons Il these aakes ihatasruck Pc
dro directly on the head and caused
him to vehsmently utter several
distinct and varied Spanish oaths,
mixed with little English by way
OF effect. As he finished swearing,
ne thought Of the gold stone.
"Was an oath transgression ?''
Bah, no.
Everybody swore-in Mexico .
more. in Colorado. He reflected on
swearing. He tried to think of ey-
eryone he had heard swear; and
then he laughed; for who did not
swear! 1t was harder to remem Der
who did not, than who did. Had
he not once heard priest say Car
ajo? Even-even Marie
No, no; there was one.
He sighed as he turned toward
the wall; as 10 did 80, another big
mass Of the chalky mineral fell
against Guerron and knocked him
to the floor; and rs the old man
fell, there rolled from beneath his
torn shirt some little hard yellow
stones, twisted and swerved as they
had been found in Natures own
pockets, down in the canon.
Nuggets.
Pedro saw them. People had
said Guerron was n miser, and that
he had stored some wealth some
where, and would one day return
to France richer, even, than the
bonanza kings OF the Rockies or
Sierras. Certain il was that Guer.
ron did not 90 up to the little camp
that hung, like the mines, to the
side OF the mountain, and, of q Sat-
urday night. join in the card games
or drink in the bright saloons.
1t was true then-Guerron did
hoard his gold.
What lot of it! Down to the
that covered the wet drift,
rolled these yellow little trifies,
nov taking a dainty red tinge, as
gold will, in the dim candle-!ight.
How pretty they were ! Pedro
picked up handful: and then
great trembling seized upon his
strong muscles. What IL they be-
Ionged to him I? Then he let the
nuggets fall.
He looked down, through the
half-light, at the old man. He was
trying to rise. The falling ore had
and stunned him. and he
was just pushing away n heavy,
pearl-tinted mass from his breast.
"Help me .' he implored.
Pedro went to the side of the fall
len man. As he stepped over the
vet ntsnks, he Eel. something press
ii against the palm of his right
hand-the hand from which the
nuggets had fallen. He looked
down.
The gold atone.
He tried to think how II got there.
Subdued and mellow. its light seem-
ID throb into his eyes.
Pedro grasped q shovel.
"Help me :" said the fallen man
sgain; 81 am hurt; I cannot get
ap."
Then there was a great throbbing
roar in Pedro's neck and brain, the
Of his arms contracted,
and the shovel fell on Guerronfs
head. The old man did not cry
,Rt.
Pedro laughed and gathered up
all the nuggets he could find. Some
had rolled under the planking;
some far down under the moist
pieces Of fallen tale, and some were
stuck into the lower sides OF the
drift. The nuggets collected, his
thoughts suddenly eentered on the
gold stone.
IL was missing; no, there il shone
with its quiet, glowing luster, 9
shining little square Of light in the