Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1900-08-13

calmly switching away the flies under
a mesquit tree on the desert beyond.
There they are" said Penfield,
pointing.
Then" remarked Harper, 81 think
| that we are close to the lost nine"
"Why?"
Because this is the only point ut
which the trail of the mules has
touched the mountain
Standing on the summit of the
! range they carefully looked over the
ground and then went slowly down
the north side of the ridge. Near the
edge of a small pond. zone of old
man Barlow's tanks" Penfield said.
There had been small spring in the
side of the gully, and when Barlow
first began to pasture his stock on the
range he built n dam across the gully
below the spring, and so made a wa.
t4ring place for his cattle. After Pen.
field had explained this the two young
men set about prospecting the ridge.
my "Nic at ILLS inOIt ,lllu luItt
hours, carefully examining every
square foot for hundred yards ot
more on both sides of the trail. AT
last Penfield said:
I'VE are simply beating over ground
which has been searched again and
again by the best mineEs in Arizona"
He wanted to stop, and before long
Harper agreed that it would be use.
less to waste fruther time in looking.
They caught the mules without diff.
city and started in the direction of
the station.
Harper was silent and looked moody
he was thinking hard. After they
had gone about a mile he proposed to
go back.
what has struck you now?' PEN
field asked.
why, we looked everywhere except
in the place we ought to have looked.
There is only one place near the trail
over the ridge where Barlow could
have hastily concealed the outcrop-
ping of a quartz ledge. Come and I'll
show you"
Penfield turned back without protest.
Harper rapidly led the way to the
watering-tank on the nearer slope,
and attacked the dam vigorously with
his pick. Soon he had made breach
near the base of the roughly con-
structed bank which backed the
waters of the spring. The water began
to trickle through the opening, and as
the united efforts of both men dis
lodged a large boulder from the soft
ened earth, the pent-up flood burst
through the aperture with great force,
and in few minutes the centre of the
dam was swept away.
The down-rush of the water carried
with it much of the sand and sedi-
ment which had accumulated in the
bottom of the pool, and exposed the
original rock floor of the gully. A
projecting knob attracted Penfield's
attention. Sliding down the bank to
the bottom of the pool he struck this
knob few resounding blows with his
pick, stopped a moment to examine
the broken surface, and arose with
cry of eXultation, holding aloft frag-
ment of white honeycomb quartz.
"Gold!' he cried. 1.-The richest quartz
I ever saw! Harper, we've got it1'
The mystery of the lost mine has
been clear since that moment.
Barlow, following his mules, over
took them near this tank. At the same
time he discovered that the dam had
been broken by the rush of the torrent
down the gully. This torrent, by
washing away the accumulated sedi-
ment, had exposed the ledge. Bar
low, contemplating the wreck of the
dam, had seen the outcropping quartz.
A quick examination convinced him
of the richness of his find. Fastening
to his station he procured the neces-
sary tools, returned to the tank, Sc
cured some speciments of the gold
bearing rock and then rebuilt the dam.
1t was a simple, but most effectual
method of concealment, for five hun
dred of the sharpest men in the South
west had passed over the place and
passed by it without ever thinking of
drawing off the the water from Bar
lows tank.-Youth's Companion.