Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1898-03-17
The Old SILVER TRAIL.
BY MARY E. SncKNEY.
copyright 1896. by J. B. Lippirco4 Col
CHAPTER V.

1
and the one town of considerable inn
portance in that part of the country,
where he betook himself to his attor-
4 ney, Donald Bartels.
Brigham has gone back on u.s." was
his abrupt announcement, as he sank
YEARLY into the chair the lawyer had
Hospitality pushed forward.
"No!" said Bartels, looking very grave
| What are your reasons for thinking
sop
"Col. Meredith rode over to see Linn
| yesterday. l found that out by acct
dent, and of course my suspicious were
aroused at once. To-day rode over to
TSmtown myself, and the first look at
| the fellows face told me that / was
right
Did you put the question to him
straight?''
mo; where would have been the
use? He was prepared to deny it, nat
urally. l thought it more to the pur-
pose to raise my own bid-and did not
raise it high enough. saw that in his
face, too, although he was cannily nom
committal. Either he is intending to
| skip out before the trial or"
1--WE can have subpoena issued for
him." put in Bartels, thoughtfully.
''But if he has gone over to the other
side he would be of mighty little use
to US. believe you will have to raise
your bid again, Neil. What did you
| offer him?''
"a thousand dollars if we win, and
| his expenses from the time got him
here. paid him good wages as long
as he was working in the Grubstake,
| you know"
Yes; but you will have to make the
figure a good deal more than that, L
imagine, if the colonel is in the market
against you. We want him, if it is q
| possible thing"
"Yes; but the question is, what is
| he worth to us?"
"Well, with the average jury, he
| would be worth a good deal. He not
| only worked the Grubstake long enough
to have the lay of the land and all his
| figures down pat. but he had that con-
versation with McCready which is
worth more TO us than all the rest. If
we can bring him to swear that Nc
| Crcady told him he didn't care if they
were on Mascot ground-that he owed
| you one, anyway, and he'd see that
| the ground was stripped SO clean that
| there would be mighty little left for
| you by the time the court could stop
him-that might be mighty good testi-
rlony for US. In fact, Brigham is our
principal witness, of course, and we've
rot to hold on to him if it is within the
range of possibility. You'd better see
him and have a perfectly clear under
standing at once. Find out what the
Coioneis figure was, and go him one
/ better"
"And next thing the colonel will be out
bidding me again, and shall be facing
the same proposition with an added
=irher, 1 suppose" Neil gloomily re-
joined. 1.-THE poor old Mascot seems to
have been hoodooed from the first to
last"
"Oh, don't know. am not particu-
Early concerned about the results in this
case, 1 can tell you. The decision of the
United States supreme court in the
Amy-Silversmith case has put stop
to all controversy in respect to an
owners right to follow his lode in its
downward course beyond his side lines.
The ruling is clear beyond question that
the owner of claim, where the apex
of his vein crosses the side lines and not
it's end lines, has no extra-lateral rights
ut all; that is, he cannot go outside his
lines upon any preteXt whatever. The
fact that the Grubstake was the prior
location cuts no figure. AS was held in
the case of the Iron Silver versus the
Elgin Mining company, if the original
locator of a claim cannot or does not
make the explorations necessary to as
certain the true trend of his vein and
draws his end lines ignorantly he must
take the consequences. The claim of
the Grubstale that its vein makes
turn at the point where it crosses the
Mascot, assuming that it would hold
water. effectually disposes of any extra
lGteral rights by virtually conceding
that the apex of the vein crosses the
SIDE line. 1t only remains for us TO
prove the continuance of the Mascot
vein, which, with the developments you
have been making, should be easy
enough. Oh, no; if we only get the
right kind of jury, 1 have no appre-
tensions as to the verdict"
"But what possible chance have we
10 get Tue lNlut Oh IL IT.
turned the young man, dejectedly, re-
rarding the cigar he was nervously
turning in his fingers as though the
fact that it had gone out was one more
happening in the train of i'll luck that
pursued him. at seems to me that the
average jury is simply pack of
asses"
TOO true. But asses may sometimes
be led by the nose, you know"
and sometimes they are up for sale
to the highest bidder"
''Oh. as to that, you know the sheriff.
and if you think that Meredith is going
to touch him with any ordinary fig
Tres"
"In the case of Brigham we seem to
have evidence that the colonel Is ca
Fable of extraordinary figures upon oc-
casion."
well. he can afford to pay pretty
liberal percentage to win, for a fact"
Eartels imperturbably rejoined. But |
you carry Il check-booz as wei! as he. |
To tell the truth, though, the jury is |
not troubling me; l am q good deal |
more disposed to be doubtful about the |
Judge; although as to him-well, may |
be borrowing trouble"
''Why, what's the matter with him?" |
AID the match which he had lighted was |
allowed to burn Neil's fingers in his
surprise. "I thought Duval was all |