The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1897-01-28

solemn promise of secrecy, small pair OF
old bellows and couple of bushels OF cha
coal. The purchase was to be delivered that
day in the brush at the foot of the mountain
in direct line of descent from the cave, by
Curran himself. When Rhbe and Pete
dropped in to find ont what Cy had been
after Curran told them lie They knew it
was a lie, but said nothing. While Cy was
wandering aimlessly around the town SO as
to give time and opportunity for the black
smith to steal away to the rendezvous, Rnbe
and Pete never let him ont of their sight.
As, finally, he slowly strolled along back
way mountainward, looking furtiyely in all
directions and afire with anxiety to be at
work in his cave, these two men were lying
ahead of him in the underbrush confident
that he would point in that direction.
Curran had come and gone by the time Cy
reached the appointed spot; but the bellows
and the charcoal were there, and getting
these upon his back he began to toll up the
mountain; all the time with watchful eyes
for the possession of wealth had made him
suspicious even Of the shadows of the rocks
and bushes which he passed. The two men.
surprised and delighted at the queer load he
was carrying, let him pass and followed at
their leisure, knowing that he could not dis
appear unless by miracle.
The cave had been visited during his abb
sence; the brush Cy had piled over the open
ing was pulled away, probably by the angry
bear, though the mere fact that it had been
touched annoyed the prospector. By the
time night was creeping up the mountain
slope Cy had everything in place-char-
coal heaped up against the barricade Of eyes,
the nose Of the bellows buried in the coal,
and the bellows placed in the rudest Of work
ing positions. With the lighting of the coal
and the breathing of the bellows began the
rude blast furnace to which Cy, stripped to
his trousers, gave all his energies. For 10
minutes nothing was accomplished; then the
soft quartz began to turn brownish powder
and be blown away; and the stubborn ore,
Tapped by the intense heat, melted and ran
sluggishly down, in Is golden stream, upon
the floor Of stone, rounding up, by slow
growth, into hillock of pure metal and the
panther eyes melted away one after another
as stars die out in the light of the coming
day. Seldom do men work as Cy Woodman
labored that night When one arm grew
weary he used the other at the bellows,
whose every wheeling breath was freIghted
with tiny fortune. The perspiration
TOltcu uDWu "hoV 1btoiO S'O"ss'HSo
he wore was wringing wet. The air,
poisoned with the fumes of the charcoal
and sitting with the resinous odor of the
smoke from the brush fire, made him faint
and sick; but he stuck to his work, know
ing how much every minute was worth to
him. He could scarcely see or breathe in
this den of death-breeding vapors; but no
matter how much he gasped for air or reeled
under his light-headedness he was upheld,
and reinforced in strength Of purpose by
visions of the future to be wrought by this
and if it 80 pleased the Lord-other nights
labors, by the increasing mound of gold at
his feet, by the more than seven millions of
dollars that might run like tears of gold
from the panther-eyed rock, if he could only
hold to his place. He thought it would be
better to die in that hole than to turn face
for an instant from this wonderful luck.
Those lazy laggards, Rube and Pete, had
made no haste after CT, because they did not
think it possible that, loaded as he was. he
would absolutely disappear from their side
of Pinafore Hump; and 80, never noticing
his slipping into the cave they kept on labor
ing upwards looking for HIM in vain until
long after dark. Then, confident that the
proposed victim must have been passed they
turned down wards, heartily cursing each
other. A glow of fire no bigger than lam
terms light caught their eyes. The pur-
suers stopped their wrangling and moved
towards it.
Cy, pumping at the bellows, feeding the
blast fire, and dreaming not merely OF COM
ing comforts but of coming power, even
while his head was dizzy from his work,
did not see nor hear the coming in, bear
like, of the men who had been spying after
him. His back was to the entrance. For
full minute they stood like shadows. Pete
pointed to the hummock of gold, now bigger
than barrel, over which the liquid metal
was flowing like sirup. Rube licked his
lips with his tongue as if what he saw was
good to eat. Both instinctiyely surveyed
the cave. They were looking for Cy's
pistol. 1t lay upon his clothing, 10 feet
away. Rube moved towards it on tip-toe,
while Pete softly advanced upon the unsus-
pecting workman. Each touched his OBJ
iect of search at the same moment. Cy
staggered with sudden fear and gave way
to long-resisted weakness. His eyes sought
the spot where he had left his revolver.
His assailants laughed.
SIT looked SO lonesome, took it," said
Rube. "It's no use, Cy, give under! Me
an Pete thought this panther-eye story was
tliiswise," pointing to the great, glittering
rock. AN SO, you got onto it? Well
well! An you've fried all this out in three
or four hours. What luck for us!-for, Nv
course, we'll have our thirds, eh?"
"Uv course. Yon see, if You wouldn't
we'd hey' to hev' all Crummles' Gulch up
here in the morning, an that would be ex-
pensive now wouldn't it, Cy?" asked Pete.
Cy, with head bowed down, and his arms
limp at his side, made no reply.
''An' if there's no objection,-as naturally
there won't be,"-continued Peter, we'll
move this ere melted chunk outside as prize
money an divide the rest See? The rest
we'll split up with dynamite which, thinkin'
it might come in handy, we brought along.
Putting his hand inside his shirt bosom he
drew out q half dozen sticks and carefully
placed them in q corner, out of harms way.
There never was wilder, more murder
GUS glitter in mans eye than that which
showed in Cy's as, raising his head, lie
watched Pete's action. He had gone sud-
denly aud utterly crazy. Rube and his
companion did not notice the change. They
stopped and began to tug and wrench at the
great mass of metal.
With lightning-like movement Cy,
making believe to stoOp with them, softly
drew Rube's revolver from its sheath, and
while they heayed and wrestled with the
treasure he slipped to the entrance. lay
down, aimed true and sure at the dynamite
in the corner, and fired.
There is, or was up to within couple OF
months, a crazy fellow who summed himself