Hopkinsville Kentuckian., 1900-12-07
HIS GOLDEN EGGS.

.Itlt, lHCll, edlu illC uAdil"SNi VI
the. mine, fercely, "help yourselves
I'llybe generous on MY own RESPONSE
bility. They are Communicating ev-
erything, and | know we shan't es-
cape"
lie said this in thestrong room of
the New Tap establishment There
were bags Of bright gold on the floor,
and the mouths Of the bags yawned
seducingly.
AIf Pegg followed the example Of
the six others lie poured the gold
into his boots SO that his toes could
hardly stir in them He filed his
pockets, stuffed gold into the lining
of his coat, so that this bulged badly
at the rim, and he turned up the bot
toms of his trousers and carried a few
ounces in those two circular trenches
also
The seven then parted with a muir
mur Of "Good luckw They realized
that they had just chance of getting
across the frontier. All that night
Alf worried along westwards.
The gold in his boots soon became
tiresome. He could feel the blisters
rising on all sides of his feet; but he
didnot mean to give way Not grain
of gold would he lose of his ponderous
cargo.
But in one respect ALI was better
off than certain of his mates of the
New Tap. They had preferred to go
east. Alf felt drawn by the lure of a
pair of sober, smiling blue eyes, a pert
little Upturned nose and round
baby brow, with hair over it as yellow
as the gold about his body.
He had twice found his way to
Gronfontein, and the second time he
had dared to invite Mona Schein to
exchange kisses with him. She had
proposed instead to slap his face, but
she had not done so.
"When you see me next, my pret-
ty,' Alf had said, squeezing her hand
at parting, you will kiss me, for |
shall have lots of money and be able
to buy farm as good as your fathers
own"
Nor had he minded it at all when,
with contemptuous toss of that sun
lit head of hers, Nina had told him he
need not trouble.
There are others who want me-"
she explained, ".and most of all, Field
COrnet Jan Grugger. He is 40, but
he is not poor
ALI was not very wise, but he was
determined, and he felt somehow that
this Boer maiden was destined for
him. 1t was the cool assumption of
a positive claim over her-after only
two meetings--that made him seem
TO little Nina much more interesting
than the men of her own people.
Three days and three nights ALI
tottered across that wearisome veldt.
On the last night one of his boots had
given way. 1t objected altogether to
the gold, but he was too spent to pay
heed to so small an affiiction. He had
eaten nothing for 80 hours, drunk
nothing either, which was worse. His
eyes were bloodshOt and his stubby
chin was not beautiful.
Still, he tottered on stubbornly;
nor would he abate his terrible bur-
den by so much as pinch of the gold, |
He had heard the cracking of guns
more than once, and the cracking of |
a whip also, but neither had been for
him. Now, however the end was
near.
"I'll do it." he whispered, with his |
gaze riveted on the square-headed
rock above the little green hollow in
which Gronfontein and Nina lay hid
den from the north wind.
The coral pink and saffron of the
in the sky, and already |
a gossamer spiral Of pale-blue smoke
was rising.
"She's lighting the fire-for the
Coffee" feebly. Coffee thick,
with lots of sugar--coffeel Heavenl
What's gold to compare with coffee?"
At 300 PAGES from the garden fence
be stopped, with only his eyes above