Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1899-06-23

where the round pebbles are collected.
There wasa strong eddy just there. In
der the ridge of such a place Is apt to
be more gold than anywhere else. Let's
try there first, and II we don't find gold
I'm no prophet"
His words carried conviction, and the
party seized their shovels and hurried
to the spot at once. They found 1t COW
cred with single, the debris Of GEN.
turtles. Below was little dirt and then
they struck layer OF gravel.
Tom Scott was working with all his
might He had taken about foot Of
gravel from the place about yard
square, when, as he drove his shovel
down, 1t struck something which felt
like rock. A moment la ter he had laid
bare few inches of rough. shady sur
face, Just as the others also struck the
same obstruction.
Il guess I've struck bottom" he said
ruefully. "We can't dig here"
AS he spoke he scraped the surface
Of the rock under his feet carelessly
with his shovel
Something yellow caught his eye, and.
with little exclamation of surprise,
he dropped on bis knees and brushed
away the dirt about 1t.
His heart seemed fairly to stand still
as he grasped an oblong lump of dirt
on the side of which his shovel had left
o yellow scratch AS he lifted 1t Its
great weight told him the truth, and he
sprang erect shouting:
tits nugget! It's nugget"
"Let me see!"
Avery's voice trembled as he held
out his hand.
Its heavy as leadl" cried Tom, as he
laid lump Of virgin gold, weighing
nearly pound, In the old miners
extended palm-
ITS gold, my lad" said Avery, after
ono glance. II knew was making no
mistake. We must take no more
chances. Let each man stake out
claim along this old river bed before
anyone arrives. We are all rich men"
1t seemed impossible to leave at that
time, but the old miners advice was
good and they followed 1t, while Hank
Bowers, who had not been aware of
their discovery, soon understood that
they were stalking out claims formally,
and proceeded to do likewise on his
side of the ridge.
When this had been accomplished,
Avery said,
Nov, we must each work on his own
claim to hold It. A claim can't go idle
IL hours on Canadian soil without for
feiting 1t, OF course as long as we are
alone here 1t doesn't matter, but at any
moment some one may come. That
chap over there might jump claim if
We didn't work it, and he would have
the law behind him"
AS Tom had made the first discovery.
he wac given the claim nearest the cave
and including the hole he had started.
Avery took the next, while Taylor, Tar
box and the second mate followed in
the order named, and their combined
| holdings reached nearly TO the woods.
They found the gravel next the bed
rock rich with the precious metal, and
how they worked! They were satu-
rated with perspiration, and their
clothes plastered with dirt, but what
cared they? II was like grand tussle
with Nature to wrest from her her
choicest treasure. They felt injured
| when the sun went down and they were
forced to desist. AT the earliest day.
light they We're up and at 1t again and
day by day the golden store increased
| in the little cave.
In this region the summer days are
very long, and darkness lasts but q
few hours. but 1t seemed to Tom that
the days fairly few. They ate their
food on their claims, Clara Avery bring
I ing it to each laborer, but spent much
of her time near Tom, assisting him In
washing when she had time TO spare,
and taking woman's delight in watch
ing his confusion when she was near.
For she had long ago read his secret,
and, while he had never uttered q word
of love to her, his eyes told.her far bet
ter than words that he would not al
ways remain silent.
And she?
This is not love story but we may
spare space to say that many little dain-
ties found their way to the broadshoul-
dered young farmer which did not ap-
pear In the bill of fare for the others.
The gold hunters had struck bo-
nanza In good truth, for they found
| that the old river must have run over
a bed Of solid rock which was only cov-
cred with few feet of deposit. In some
places the bed rock had been too
smooth to hold the gold, and the labor
was wasted, but In others they found
1t far beyond their widest anticipa-
tons.
Where the surface of the rock was
rough they found little pockets filled
with coarse, free gold, interspersed
with nuggets, some of them as large as
walnut. Tom was particularly for
tunate in this regard, but they all kept
their findings together and agreed to
divide the sum total evenly.
In this manner two weeks passed
They were not troubled by Bowers
e.