The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-04-09
SCHEME wENT AsTRAY.
Al Easy Wa, to Get Your lem Acre 10, DUG

Up. 553
a curious sight met my gaze as turn
ed into the road that leads TO sorina.
In a .ten.aere lot there were about 100
men and women OF all ages and sizes.
working with feverish hsste tearing aud
uprooting the ground. ]
The only party who did not appear 10
be excited was an old man seated on a
bowlder IN the shade OF n pepper tree,
calmly smoking a corncob pipe. n
.'Howdy. stranger" he exclaimed. as
he removed his pipe. eyer rather late,
but hit amt been found yet; so II yer
wanter start IN ye kin" e.p
what hasn't been found?f I. I.
"Them yallcr boys, stranger. Tharg
100000 out thar in tibet year field"
How. did II yet there7"
hit wuz planted thar by the old
Spanish fathers over 200 years ago, an
hits all In twenty-dollsr gold boys, an
hit goee to the man who finds hit" !,
"Nonsense! Don't you know that there
wasn't such q thing az a twenty-dollar
gold piece In those days?" i3di
The old man grlnned at me and then
said:
IT SEQ tibet yer on, stranger; but don't
give hit away. Yer see, tibet ten acres
belongs ter me, an wanter put spuds
In HIT, go / jcs' started tibet yer yarn
ter git tho field dug up. reckon thet
hit will all be dug up BY shutdown"
smiled and rode on.
In the evening passed the same spot
again. The excitement seemed to have
increased and centred on one spot III the
middle of the field. A hugh bonfire
lighted up the scene and the dir. was n.y.
ing In all directions.
AZ was watching the novel scene |
was hailed by the old man from spot
near by.aSI walked over to him and dis
covered that he, was tied to tree.
"For Gawd's sake, unite me, stran-
CERT" he cried. s
what Is the matter?"
"Matter?" whined the old man. Tho
matter Is tibet I'm an old fulel After ye
left this mornin' 1 got to worryin' fer
fear they wouldn't git the place dug up
before SHUTDOWN, so went over an ad
cd another hundred thousan' ter sorter
cheer them up.
"Wul, darn my hide! while wuz a.
hoppin' around thar a-wavin' my arms
an shoutin' to them ter work faster
lost a twenty-dhllar gold piece. an one
Of them fules found hit, an HE set the
whole lot plump crazy, an wuz the
crazlest of 'em all a-tryin' ter make
them believe the yaller boy .wuz mine.
"Furst I tried argument, but they
wouldn't listen; them tried swearin'.
but they wouldn't listen ter thet: then I
tried foutln', they hadn't time ter fout;
so they tied me ter this tree. Stranger,
they've got a hole over yonder thet's M
~ feet deep. an goin deeper every min
ute, an only Gawd knows when they are
goin' ter stop.
They've ruined the field and they've
ruined me, cause thet yaller boy wuz all
! had. But, stranger, ain't told ye the
worst yet. thought that my ole woman
needed little exercise, so didn't let
her IN on the scheme. an she's over
wander ez crazy ez the rest, a-clutchin'
anclawin' at the dirt like a hyena. An.
when night camei she went and sot fire
Ter the house, so tibet they could hev a
light ter work by!
Stranger, I'm 4 ruined man, an II the
old woman gifts on to the scheme I'll be
n dead one! Fer Gawd's sake. unite me,
so tibet kin leave the counhy!'
/ united him. and he started down the
road on a clean jump. and for auGht
know he is running yet.-St. Louis Post
Dispatch.