The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1896-02-06

ever. saying. "No. l won't make a foo
Of myself" and. u~ncorking his can
teen. invited his friend to imitate hls
example.
We're hot very far now he said
and a pull or two won't do us an!
harm"
Even as he spoke the shapelesa
somethlng which he thought he had
noticed appeared to him again. and
without saying a word he lifted his
rifle and fired. The sharp crack rang
through the midnight air and reechOed
among the crags. and. in the Stiffness
which succeeded the report, he TIVE
men stood breathleSsly waiting the re
suit. But the black thing disappeared
vanished again as II by magic. Not
Il sound. nOt Il sign ruttied the hush Of
night.
III theirs anybody following us.
said Dick. he'll know that we don,
mean to stand any nonsense, and what
he'll have to expect If we catch him
The road lay straight up hill now
along Il jagged mountain face where
they had to climb now and then Ike
eats. In i've minutes or more the!
had reached the summit, and there
stood upon a smooth and Sparseil
wooded table-land about half a mile
in length, and some fOur or five hun
dred yards broad. They walked acros,
il with rifles trailed. and came to thu
edge of the gulch not more than five
and-twenty or thirty feet deep, anr
through which a mountain torrent wa
rushing in melOdious turmoil.
Dick stopped and pointed with Out
stretched fore-finger to the bottom.
"Theer's where it lies. thick az
peas he said. Amy amount of il
Id never dreamt o coming here, Onl.
| shot 4 buck. and that was he place
| had to get him from. Now 20.
know it as well as l do"
After Il moments pause they made
their way down. At the bottom
among the young pines. the mon
light dripped in silyery iecks and
olOtcheS onto Il moss and ferE
strewn rocky ground. The f~rettins
water shed in winter time Oyerrun the
whole bed Of the gulch. and smooth
flnts varying from the size Of a man.
fist to the smallest OF pebbles, gill
tered and cleaned in the pale sheen
Dick took up u unevenly-r0undet
fragment and advanced with il to the
waters edge. where the light fell clea-
and bright ON his face.
Look at this" he said. pointing to 3
yellowish. shining spot Oh the dull
creamy stone; that's gold. might "a
taken bushels from here il | hadn't
been afraid OF somebody pryins about
my place and finding 1t while l was
ayray Won ann uyhifn yUuS alnnn /
had nobody to take care Of the place.
and those fellows are ear enough for
anything"
He turned the g%littering. auriferous
stone in his hand over and over again.
Both his figure and Herbert Chaun-
cey's We're standing out, dark and
sharp, against the hazy. mOonlit fur
Their side of the river.
Crack. Crack. Two shots rang
through the air in quick succession,
and Dick Ashland, with an unearthly
cry. jumped full three feet In the air,
and dropping rifle and flint from his
outstretchei Islands, fell face-fOremost,
with his hands toward the stream.
Herbert Chauncey felt a sharp sting
below the shoulder, and the rifle
dropped from his useless right arm.
He looked round in vague amazement.
and noticed the blood trickling over
his buckskin hunting shirt. A s%uffOcat-
ing faintnesS came over him, and he
sank down on the ground. The noise
Of footsteps attracted his attention,
and as he looked up he saw at the top,
where he and Dick had descended,
two men. rifle in hand. who were peer
ing down, shading their eyes with
their hands against the moonlight, and
ev. emily preparing to descend.
(TO be COntinued)