The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-09-24

ty-four hours, and nobody thought Of
trying to stop them.
Walker was hardly over the divide
when the Salt Lake stage drew up at
the cabin and unloaded his wife and
three children. 1t had been their in
tention all along TO come out for the
hot weather but not for three or four
weeks yet. But the owner of their cot
tage sold it to some one who wanted
to move in at once. Mrs. Walker knew
the father would be glad enough to see
them at any time, so stored the things
not needed at the camp, sent the others
out by freight wagons and loaded her
self and children into the stage and
came on.
Nobody told her about her husbands
trouble, or why he went to Ophir. She
and the girls gaily took possession and
proceeded to clean up the cabin and
have warm cooked supper for its
grizzly old owner when he got back.
They were so taken up with their work
and with specializing on where best to
hide to see papa's surprised face when
he came in, that they forgot all about
little Jack for as much as five minutes.
When mamma looked up and asked
Katie where Jack was she answered:
| Just out in front picking mountain
flowers Her mother suggested she
had better look after him little or he
might wander away. Katie looked, but
there was no Jack in sight She went
around the cabin, and then extended
the search and was soon chasing wildly
through the Sagebrush in that vicin-
ity, but saw no sign of the runaway.
! When she rushed back out of breath
and said she could not find him there
was a connection in that tWo-room
cabin. The mother and Edna joined in
( the search and the neighbor women
helped; they knew he couldn't have
gone far, but it was getting late and
Jack wanted to be home and cleaned
up when papa got back. After half an
hour or so it began to look serious;
she was a stranger and didn't want to
make trouble, but the child must be
found before night. She let neighbor
boy run down to the postoffice and tell
the men. Within an hour the camp
was a deserted place. Every miner off
shift. every gambler, salconkeeper,
storekeeper. and all the women and
children were on the hills looking for
the lost boy-the pure thin air of the
mountains does not perceptibly improve
the morals, but it does seem to expand
| the heart
Ben Jones knew what it meant when
| he declared war If there had been a
drop of coward blood in him he wouldn' +
have done it. John Walker was no deS-
perado, but was an old westerner, and
knew what a gun was for and always
backed his opinions. In the two years
they had worked adjoining mines Ben
had never seen a move that wasn't alb
solutely square, and everybody said
! there was not a yellow streak in him.
! but this was a clear case of steal He
reckoned the temptation was too strong
! for the old man; he had swung his
southwest stake, fixed the surveyor
and thought he stood to win in the
courts, and probably did: to go to court
was to play into his hands, but this
case wasn't going to court; the ground
was his by every rule of right, and he
would keep it or be carried off with his
boots on, law or no law. So he barri-
caded the tent, and either he or one of
the miners was always on guard with
Winchester across his lap.
He was on watch and half doing be-
fore the fire-which tastes good in this
altitude at night, even in summer
when he heard a little noise about an
abandoned incline a little way up the
| hill. With his gun at cock he stepped
quietly up there and was Mortified to
hear a baby voice come up from the
hole. Papa, Use failed tome Diet Jack,
papa" followed by sobs. There was
little child in the incline; that was
clear. 1t was mystery how it came
there and a miracle how it had lodged,
but it was there and alive. He called
down: Keep still, my boy, I'll come
and take you to papa. Don't move till
l come; that's a good boy" and with
out moments hesitation walked down
the shelving, sliding floor, and was
back on the surface quicker than I am
telling it, sitting on a boulder to get
the tremble out of his knees and WHIP
ing the cold perspiration from his face.
but with his treasure trove safe on his
arm. 1t wasn't much of a trick, was
it?. You could have done it and with
out getting nervous either; that is, if
you knew nothing about the incline and
had thought, as you naturally would,
! that the boy was on the bottom. But if
you had known what l do and what
Ben Jones did and then done it, there
isn't miner in the whole Floyd dis
trict who wouldn't be proud to drink
with you. We miners are not very
alarmingly good, but we do like nerve.
Ben dug the incline and knew that for
some eighteen feet it went into the
ground at an angle of about 80 de-
grees and then took a fall of fully so
degrees to the bottom of the shaft.
more than 100 feet away. To take that
frightful fall and roll down the jagged
wall was to be torn into 600 pieces.
Jones wouldn't have gone to where the
boy lodged without a rope attached to
AiAAlt e'Aio wv otAO1AS Aiiel DIT lue OlIleT
end for all the wealth of Mercur, and
yet within thirty seconds of hearing
| that plaintive call he was there.
He was soon all right and asking the
! little fellow how he got, there. 81 des
walked and L failed down hard" was
| the calm reply. Use awful hungry. I
| want sometin. Jack tired Jones took
him to the tent struck a light, got
some bread and butter and a little milk
they had brought up from camp as a
surprise for their morning coffee, and
the three mfneTS-the men were awak-
! ened by the acknowledgement to
interview the intruder aud learn how
| he came up there on the mountain at
midnight, more than two miles from the
camp and at least mile from any
! other cabin He was entirely content
ed, sitting on Jones knee Inunching
bread and butter, but could give little
! Information about himself. His name
was Jack and his other name was
Buster" when papa was home. Papa"
was his father and mamma" was his
mother. He lived with papa, mamma
! and Tatie and Eddie" The little fell
| low was communicative enough and
| disposed to be good company, but they
| couldn't even guess to whom he be-
| longed. Soon he looked into the young
| miners face and asked "Who is on,
what on name?" Jones answered
promptly, I'm Uncle Ben, call me
! Uncle Ben, Jack" "All ite" with a
yawn. Uncle Ben, Jack sleepy" and
| almost as he said it was sound asleep.
Jones rather liked to hold him, and did
while he said to the men: Boys,
| haven't the least idea where this mon
key came from. know every kid in
the camp, and he doesn't belong there.