Evening star., 1896-12-26
THE YOUNGEST PROSPECTOR
IN CAlAVERAS,
BY BRET HARTE.
Copyright. 1886, by Br,te Harte.)
Written for The Evening Star.


He was scarcely eight when it was be-
Heved that he could have reasonably laid
claim to the above title. But he never did.
He was a small boy, intensely freckled to
the roots of his tawny hair, with eyen a
suspicion of 1t in his almond-shaped but
somewhat full eyes, which were .he e cen
ish hue of a ripe gooseberry. All this was
very unlike his parents, from whom he di-
verged In resemblance In that fashion so
often seen in the southw est of America as
" the youth of the boundiess vest has
struck a new note of independence and
originality. overriding all conservative and
established rules of heredity. Something
OF this was also shown in singular and
remarkable reticence and frmness of pur-
pose, quite unlike his family of school-fel-
lows. His mother was the wife of a team
sfer, who had apparently once dumped
MS family, consisting of boy anu two
girls. on the roadside at Burnt Spring, With
the canvas roof of his wagon to cover
tnem, while he proceeded to deliver other
Ielght not so exclusively his own at other
stations along the road returning to them
on distant and separate occasions with
shght additions to their STOCK habitatfon
ana furniture. In this way the Canvas roof
NdS hhally shingled and the hut enlarged
anu' uhder the Quickening OF a sfaiiing
california sky and the forcing of a teeminsc
IaItornla soil. the chance-sown seed took
root and became known as Medliker's
lanih, , OF Medlkers, with. its bursting
to's."
The girls helped their mother in a child
Ish INITIATIVE way: the boy. John Bunyon
AFTER a more desultory and original fash
lcn-when he was not going 10" or os
tens1bly coming from school for ne was
seldom actually there Something of this
rear was IN the mind of Mrs. Metiltker enc
Gh
she was scrubbiing. with premonition OF
more worriting," 20 behold the Rev. Mr..
staples, the local minister haul Ichn Bun-
ian hSulker into the shanIy with enc
ldhd- Letting Johnny so, he placed his
odck against the door and wiped his face
win red handkerchief Johnny Grcppea
INTO a chair furtively glancinss n, the arm
Dy which Mr.. Staples had dragged him
and feeling it with the other hand TO see If
IL was really longer.
We been requested by the schoolmas-
ter said the Rev Mr.. Staples, putting his
handkerchief back into his broad teIt hal
with a gasping smile. Ito bring our vouny
friend before you for a mater of counsel
and discipline. l have done So. Sister Md
Hker. with some difticulty''-he Looked down
al John Bunyan, who again felt of bis arm
ana was satisfied that 1t was iongnr-"Du,
we must do our iooty even with difficulty
TO ourselves, ard, perhaps. TO others. Our
young friend, John Bunysln, stands on a
gfddy height-on slippery places, and"
continued Mr.. Staples, with a lofty disre-
gard to consecutive metaphor mis- feet
are taking fast hold of destruction Here
the child drew breath of relief pos: IDLY
AT he prospect of beng on firm. ground of
any kind at las: but Sister Me(.likrr, to
whom the Staples style of exor,lium had
only Saba III significance turned 10 her
offspring abruptly.
and what's these Yer doin's now John
and NE slavin' to send ye to school?'
Thus appealed to. Johnny looked for a
reply at his feet. at his arm, and at the
al hi
hut he-indicating StapIes-"hez been nigh
onter pullin' off my armi"
It's now almost a week ago." continued
Mr. Staples, waving aside the interruntion
with smile of painful Christian tolerance
or perhaps ten days-I won't be too sure
that the schoolmaster discovered that
tommy nad IN his possession two or three
HdkeS OF nne river gold, each of the value
OF haif dollar, or perhaps 62R cents On
telng questioned where he got them he re-
fused to say; although subsequently lie al
legged that he had found them. 1t being
single instance, he was given the benefit of
the doubt. and nothing more was said about
It, But few days after he was found try-
ing 10 pass off. at Mr.. Smiths store. two
other flakes of a different size and small
nugget Of the value of four or five dollars
AT this point was called in; he repeated to
me, l grteve to say, the same untruthful--
ness, ana when L suggested to him the OBJ
Vlous fact that he had taken it from one of
the miners sluice boxes and committed the
grieyous sin of theft. nc wickedly denied it.
We were, alaSi unable to ascertain any,
thing from the miners themselves though
/ srieve to say they one and all agreed that
their take that week was not at all what
they had expected / even went so far as
10 admit the possibility of his own state
ment, and besought him at least to show
me where he had found it. He at first re-
fused with great stubbornness of temper
but later consented to accompany ME pri-
vately this afternoon to the spot" Mr.
Staples paused, and sinking his voice
gloomily, and with his eyes fixed upon
Johnny, continued slowly: when 1 state
that. after several times trying to evade
me on the way. he finally led me to the
top of Bald Hill, where there is not a scrap
of soil and not the slightest Indication, and
still persisted that he found ii there you
will understand. Sister Medliker the incor-
rigibility of his conduct, and how he has
added the sin of false witness to his
breaking Of the eighth commandment But
/ leave him to your Christian discipline!
Let US hope that IT, through his stiff ff-neck-
ed obduracy. he has haply escaped the
vengeance of mans law. he will not escape
the rod of the domestic tabernacle"
"fe kin leave him to me-" said Mrs. Med
liker in her anxiety TO get rid of the parson
assuming a confidence she was far from
feeling.
80 be IT, Sister Medliker" said Staples,