The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1901-12-06

u~nimpaired vigor.
When he reached the tent he looked
sharply at the two men. AS his eyes
rested upon Riders companion a puz-
zled look came into them for an instant,
u he said, heartily:
Hello, mates, which way are you
bound?"
up this way" replied Bowers, jerk
ing his thumb in the direction from
which the stranger had appeared.
Going up the Yukon way?"
Not quite"
h man looked a bit uneasy, but
Bowers. who a been watching his
face closely, now said:
Dump yer load, pardner, an camp
long with us. We've got some prime
coffee an bacon, n them Goals is Jest
right ter cook on. We've fed, but yer
welcome. If yer jest in from a long
tramp l dare say as yer kinder low on
grub"
Without waiting for a reply he seized
the coffee pot and set to work in a way
which showed lie was no novice.
The stranger laid aside his pack, and
was soon eating with a relish, which
did justice to his hosts. supposition.
n he could eat no more Bowers
said:
Got any tobacco?"
Haven't had a smoke for a month";"
was the reply.
That's tough! Here's a pipe. Join
u.s."
His was so cordial and frank
that Rider looked at him in wonder.
The stranger eagerly accepted the pipe,
and for a few moments sat In silence.
drawing huge puffs Of the. fragrant
weed with an enjoyment wni"h fairly
spoke for itself.
Suddenly Riders companion slapped
his thigh as though h had just
thought of something wonderful. and,
turning to the mate with a look of
warning, exclaimed:
by thunder, Scott, you don't sup
pose his is"
He stopped in the middle of the SEN
tence n looked searchingly at the
stranger, then continued:
1T would be funny, wouldn't 1t,
Scott, If we lad met him out here! You
know the letter said he was comm
down this month fer grub"
The stranger looked wonderingly at
the two men and Bowers fastened to
say:
Excuse me, stranger, but might
your name be TarboX?"
The man took his pipe from his lips
and stared at the speaker for full a
second before replying, then he replied:
1T might be and it Is. How did you
know me?" -
An yer pardner's name is Taylor?"
This time the man was too astorished
to reply, and Bowers went on:
you're going to Dyea after grub, an
he's back in the hills. Amt tina all
straight"
Joe Tarbox rose to his feet and laid
his hand on his weapon, saying in a
quiet tone:
THAT is correct, but it's my turn to
ask questions now. How did you n
all this out?"
Bowers turned to the mate and said,
promptly:
TON, old man, you tell him our
yarn an let him see the documents.
That'l soon put things straight"
MY name is Scott said Rider, II
was an officer on the ship where a man
name John Avery died. He was COM
ing out here on account Of a letter from
an old chum Of his named Dick Taylor.
The old chap fell overheard and I pulled
him aboard after a hard tussle. We
come nigh going to Davy Jones, both Of
US and he never got over it. We buried
him out to sea and he drawed up a
writing to make me his heir. He give
me a letter he'd got from this Taylor,
telling how to get to a gold mine he'd
been working.
HE told me to take what none was
i ll1o pSiI ~ L An AAC SoAu 4S liz
family. The letter said for him to bring
some one with him if he needed any
help, and as I didn't know nothing
about horses and shore rigging, 1
brought Bowers here along with me.
That's the whole yarn as well as u
rough sailor man can spin It,"
Bowers face showed his approval Of
the mates efforts and TarboX was ap-
parently convinced, for he shook hands
warmly with the speaker and ex-
claimed:
Its a lucky thing Z met you. Dick
told me he had written to both the
Averys. They were old friends of his.
He told me to look out for them in
Dyea. Have you vt the papers with
your"
That's what I have. Here they are,
all shipshape n above board" re-
piled Rider as he proceeded to extract
them from his belt.
That's Dick Taylor's fist the world
over" asserted Tarbox as he examined
the letter. II remember the day he
wrote that IN our ten We had just
found the first big mug"
He coughed to hide his confusion and
then added: ri
Its all right, of course, but a man
know where we are and what we've
found and we'd be overrun in nc time"
AS luck would nave 1t Hank Bowers
chose this instant, when Tarbox was
examining the papers,, to throw a look
of ferocious triumph on the mate. AL
though neither of them noticed the
fact, Joe Tarbox raised his eyes just
then, n to a man of his training
nothing more was needed to put him on
his guard.
He cast a keen look at Bowers, and
as If his scrutiny had been satisfactory,
he dropped his eyes again, but there
was a little hardening of the muscles
about his jaw, and with a careless
twist Of his body he brought his weapon
nearer his hand.
He was too old a hand, however, to
make any outward sign Of alarm, and
said, pcoolly:
IT'S a pity you didn't pick up the
other Avery at Dyea. He ought to be
there by this time
And how can we find your pardner?"
asked Bowers.
DO just as the letter says" replied
Tarbox. Build a fire and he'll see the
smoke and come. The route is too
crooked to describe"
How long afore you'll be back with
the grub? We've got a good lot here,
but you can hev too much"
It'll take me three days to get in
and two or three more to get what 1