The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1900-12-12

ne came out into the open. being llot
ana tired, he threw himself down nm.
der q walnut tree to rest. ~ -.
Before him was q little gInie yyhica,
s;e:;;;' .'cFtsAss.;: CT: :iii si.ies part
cI.lt was covered and part vras planted
WIN miilet Besides this there was
nothing to show that q human being
nad been there before. The ragged.
Reorly tended corn suggested to him an
aboriginal maize field, and It seemed
70 him as if the spirits OF Afoncamin
ana Hsswatha bTo0ded over that peace.
ful little valley. Some af the stalks
had been cut and gathered into shocks
tnat looked like Indian tepees, and by
half Closing his eyes the tassels Of the
more distant corn were transformed
into eagle feathers, nodding and bow.
Ing as IL their savage wearers were en-.
gagged in some sort OF q ghost dance.
''As he lay there thinking of the red
men and maidens who used to dwell
among the hills over which he had Just
Deen wandering, and who perhaps had
planted maize in TINT very spot, from
up IN the woods. behind him came the
tap; tap. tap OF woodpecker, which
was answered by another tap, tap. tap
from the woods on the other side.
There was lu1l In the wind just then.
and the eagle feathers stood still, as if
listening Hc kew Tic ..:rs &C Sa
woodpeckcr rappings. but 1t seemed as
II they were Indian signals. told you
he was dreamer.
Presently a walnut fell from the
tree above him and rolled into little
gully that the water coming down the
hill behind him had washed near by.
He followed 1t with his eyes and where
It stopped noticed what looked like q
bit OF dirty canvas sticking out of the
ground; not little scrap, but appar-
enrly part Of something that was bur.
led. 1t was beyond the reach of bis
walking stick, but dead branch lay Mt
hand, and with this he poked at it In
an Idle sort Of way. There seemed to
be something harder than earth under
1T, siid he poked 1t again with little
more yigor, whereupon 1t tore, and
three yellow disks about the size OF sii-
yer dollars rolled out.
In an instant he had cast aside tho
branch and WAS on his knees over the
canvas gathering. gold eagles ana half
eagles and double eagles into his pock-
cts with n feverish haste thnt would
hardly have seemed eDossible In the
Idle dreamer. Of few moments ago.
He moved as if his life depended upon
getting them out Of sight MS soon as
possible"
2 He paused for moment and blew
SOME smoke wreaths toward the cell
ing.
There" said the man by the win
COW, "s where such stories usually
end-with the first chapter"
This one doesn't end there. It has
a second chapter.
When the bag-for such the canvas
was-had been emptied, he dug with
his pocketknife as well us he could all
around 1t to see IL there might be an
other. but could find no more. He then
proceeded to cover up oil signs Of dis
turbance, making the ground look as
nearly like that about It as possible
and dragging some fallen branches and
dead leaves over 1t, looking about him
now ond then to see IL any one was in
sighti not that he felt for q moment
that he was stealing, as the coin ap-
peared to have been buried for long
time, and he believed finders title to
be good, but didn't care to discuss the
matter with any inquisitiye farmer or
tramp who might happen 'long.
HE had stuffed 1t into hiss pockets
hastily, without counting IL, feeling II
to be Of the greatest Importance to get
away from the scene as soon rs possi-
Die, before any ones suspicion that
something had been found should be
aroused, but he Judged he had several
thousand dollars. How much the DOS
session OF all this meant to him he had
scarcely realized. his mind being bus
leu III devising ways and means of
keeping the find from coming to the
of any one.
BY the time he had covered the
ground SO he thought there was moth
Ing to attract the attention Of the most
obseryant he found that he was in q
profuse perspiration and trembling like
an aspen leaf.
He went slowly up through the
woods and out into q road, md here, I'm
the shadow OF some sunfowcrs, he sat
down to rest and think. And then he
began to realize that q few thousand.
even 9 very few. would make a, hie
change In his life.
he pulled q coin out OF. his coat
pocket, It was q twenty Of 1855. He
took one from his trousers. It was a
ten of 1S49; another was a twenty Of
1854. One at a time he drew out a
number and found them all to be as
old as 1865, which seemed to show
that they were buried, or, ut least,
gathered together. not long after that
time. SO he decided that he need give
no thought to the rightful owner-that
ls, the original owner OF the bag; that
ne and any one who knew OF the bury.
ing were probably beyond the need of
gold, or 1t would no. have been permit
led to remain there a1l these years. but
The owner OF the Innd on which he had
FOUND it might have a legal title to
It and might endeavor to enforce it
should the finding come to his :knowI.
edge and he could not prove that It
lid not belong to any one who might
claim to have buried ft. so me onJv