The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-02-06

preston where the soft ground failed
to show the slightest impression of shoe
or hoof
My graciousI' be exclaimed, stop
ping short and looking at his eompan-
ion; how far can we have gone
wrong?"
I'VE can find out only by returning. -
replied Roswell, wheeling about and
leading the way back.
They walked more hurriedly than be-
fore, as . person naturally does WHO
feels that time is precious, and lie has
| wasted a good deal OF it.
The search mieht have been cOntin-
ued for long time. but for a slTpris-
ing and unexpected aid that came to
them. They had halted at one OF the
broken places, in doubt whittier to turn
/ and searching for some sign TO guide
them. when Roswell called out
THAT beats anything l ever saw
As he spoke he stopped and picked
Up something from the ground. In
/ specting it for moment, he held it up
/ for Frank to see. 1t was a large mug
/ get of pure gold.
These mountains must be full of the
metal, said Frank, when we find it
! lying loose like that"
Not so fast" remarked his compan-
ion. who had taken the nugget again
and was turning it over and examining
it minutely; do you remember that?"
On one of the faces of the gold some
thing had been scratched with the point
of knife. While the work was mar
! tistic, it was easy to make out the let
tiers IF. NJ
Il think I remember that" said
Frank: 1T is one of the nuggets I
found yesterday and marked with my
initials. Those folks must have dropped
it,
There could be no doubt of it. What
amazing carelessness, for a couple Of
men to drop chunk Of gold worth sew
eral hundred dollars and not miss it,
1t must have been that the mouth of
the canvas bag containing the nuggets
had become opened in some way TO the
extent of allowing a single one to fall
out.
Il wonder how many more have been
lost" T. Frank as he put the speci-
men in pocket
At any rate it served to show the
right course to follow ard inc %
pressed on looking more for nuggets
than for their enemies. The m.sn4D
must have been discovered by the men
in time to prevent its repetition, for
nothing of the kind again met the eyes
of the youths, who once more gave their
attention tc hunting for the lawless in
dividuals that had despGiled them of so
much property.
The trail steadily assembled. So broken
and rough that il was a source of con-
slant wonderment how the burro was
able to keep his feet He must have
had some experience in mountain
climbing before, in order to play the
chamos so well. 4
The boys faneied they could feel the
change of temperature on account of
the increased elevation. They knew
they were a good many feet above the
starting point. though at no time w.re
they able to obtain a satisfactory view
OF the country they were leaving be- I
hind. They seemed to be continually /
passing in and out among the rocks and I
powders, which ciTcuniscTibed their I
field of vision. Considerable pine and /
hemlock grew on all sides, but as yet /
they encountered no snow. There was |
plenty of ii further up and beyond, |
and it would not take them long to /
reach the region where eternal winter /
reigned.
A short way along the new cour~e
and they paused before another break, I
but although the ground was dry ana
hard. it was easy TO follow the course /
of the burro, who=e hoofs told the story, /
and, though nothing served to iHdica t.
that. the men were still with him, the
fact of the three being in company may
be set down as self-evident.
1t would not be dark until nearly 10
o'clock, so the pursuers still had d
goodly number Of hours before them.
A peculiar fact annoyed the boys
more than woill1 be supposed. TIL trail
was continuously winding in an6 out,
its turns so numa-''ls that rarely or
never We're they able to see more than
a few rods in advance. In places the.
was incessant. The uncertainty
as to how far they We're behind the
donkey ana the men made the lads fear
that at each turn, as they approached
it, they would come upon the party,
who, perhaps. might be expecting them,
and would thus take them unprepared.