The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1901-09-10
Forcing a
n.Fortune
A STORY OF GOLD
SEEKERS.

Outside, the sun from its western position
might be judged setting, but looked to bt
hung permanently copper red in the sky
and little wind blew gusts like hot
needles in the face of the man who STROBE
up and down, up and down, past the far
OF the tent. So striding with bent shout
ders and working himself into a kind OF
reasonable fury, regardless Of the heat
John Rubython might have been still lee
turing on the thing in itself to univer
sity extension audience rather than stand.
| ing on the brim Of a goldheld not YET
| prospected and being informed that he
must turn back if he had any desire tc
reach civilization with his life. He was
furious at the necessity of turning back
at his partners for speaking of 1t as ne.
cessity.
"Do you mean to say that you're going
to give up all our chances and skulk
| back?"
One of the men he addressed, SaQui, q
half breed, coiled round in the shadow OF
the tent like snake, made no answer ex-
cept to glitter with his eyes, as though
the heat were too great for words. The
| other, an average lean American, spoke
out Of a ring of tobacco smoke, CURLY
enough
Give days. ride, if the bosses kin do 1t. -
"Why shouldn't they2" asked Ruby
thon.
IAN we're vittled for three. There amt
any game in this country right along tc
| Rosario"
always want to be eating" said
Rubython.
Ever tried moren 4S hours empty
stomach?" retorted the American amia-
bly,. "No, guess not, Philosoph! You're
moo, an you've got grit, but the gold'll lie,
il it's that. We can't get it if l,e're
bones"
"I'm not going to leave it," said Ruby
thon sulkily.
"Waal, it's a nice dry country for a
cemet-urry. Guess I'm going to li1e at
dawn. There'll be breath of air before
the suns up"
The half breed grunted assent.
Every WE'LL" said Rubython; I'm 60
| ing to stay"
| The others talked Of the Philosoph be
ing gold hungry without disturbing thenI-
selves. But it was not gold hunger that
decided John Rubython. He was one of
those miserables, theorist on his beam
ends, a man born to walk In the unpFo-
ductive ways of mild intellectual exertion,
thrown suddenly on his own resources,
stung by the need of money, stung espe-
cially by hitherto unknown doubt (for
he had had a good opinion of himself all
his days. as to whether he possessed
practical ability, such as forces fortune to
be kind He had sailed to the new world
In order to prove himself and to show to
those candid friends who had shaken
| their heads over him that he could make
his fortune as well as any man.
1t was just ten days since he had met
| Saqui and the American under the orange
| trees outside Don Jose's small hostelry in
Rosario. They were down on their luck,
the others, and 1t had occurred to the
| American that it was time to test a report
| he had once heard Of rich gold veins
somewhere out the other side Of the
mountains Rubython had leaped at the
proposal and offered to invest all that was
left to him. Saqui came in with lazy
grin. They had bought their tackle, pro-
visioned for fortnight and started. They
had Travelled FIVE days through barren
country, and for five they had been
camped in this same untrodden past, go
ing round looking for a vein. The ground
was promising enough; so the others said,
| and Rubython, who knew nothing Of the
gold digging ways, never lost heart That
would have been to acknowledge himself
a weaker vessel. At least he could show
these old hands what perseverance was.
And now-now they had declared that
they must give up the search, stink away
to feed themselves, retrace their steps
when they were on the very brink Of gold.
John Rubython would not go back. He
strobe up and down in the imminent heat
while they snored, and when they woke
In the first GOODNESS of the dawn he was
| still striding, full of his dreams. He
watched their brief preparations for de-
parture scornfully, unconscious Of their
solicitude.
"Luck and good meal" he said when
they were mounted for the start. The
| American looked him down.
IF thought you were touched by the
sum-" he remarked.
He rode off slowly, followed by his
companion, and Rubython was left alone.
He looked at them until they grew faint
in the rising heat mist and then returned
to the tent The sun was already up,
and the philosopher, having passed a
sleepless night and made hurried break
fast went out into it. He meant to try
the fast drying water courses that lay
near to the tent. They had prospected
too far afield before, he thought. Proba'
bly, the gold dust and even nuggets lay
closer. All that day he spaded and wash
ed vigorously, forgetting to take meal
or any shelter from the sun. At sun
down he stopped what had been a fruit
less labor, and a slight dependency as
sailed him. Would it be wiser, he won
dered, to take the Americans advice and
ride off in the morning? He could not
try any considerable operations single
handed and this washing made for ex
haustion. He fell asleep undecided anc
slept until the sun was high up. kline
of exultation possessed him when he
awoke, so that he laughed at himself fol
having felt moment of weakness. The
food he had would last week at least
He felt almost as If he could live on air
as if he were compounded of some inel
stuff than ordinary mortals, something in
defatigable and made for success. He
went out again to his work.
1t seemed to John Rubython less 8
miracle than the outcome of his purpose
that on this day he should find what ht
looked for. At the first washing it CAM
the yellow dust, and though he had dc
sired it so greatly and so vainly, 1t CAM
to him without surprise. The gold repre-
sented fortune conquered and he had tn
self possession of the victor Only, as b.
recollected he must gather it in fast, 70
he must ride away before his food sup
plies gave out He washed and NOR
came-dust and nuggets-wherever b
had dipped or dug Any one presen
would have wondered that man coul'
keep moving so necessarily in that grea
heat. But John Rubython was not con
scious of it. The sun was only a grea
light pointing him to fresh finds. AT sun
down on that day he gave up work an
collapsed a little In the tent and fel
asleep while he was watching the lite
of stuff that now almost hid the floor
the tent The air was burning hot, an
John Rubython began to dream uneasily
1t must have been a delirium into whic
he passed, for through his multifariou
imaginings ran the same thread of vagu
terror that holds delirious men. Away
he was alone and impotent; always tn
world circled about him with a desolatin
regularity. No bodily i'll, it seemed, be
fell him, but only a foreknowledge of IL
tolerable things. Horrors of yellow CON
passed him.
He was fly imprisoned in amber for
billion years. Through it, as through
easement, he looked without needing upo
yellow earth. The glutinous stuff deal
ened him, froze the warm blood OF hi
veins, hardened about his lips, so that h
throat was full Of choking. Only In tn
vacant chambers Of his brain, which nevt
stopped thinking, thinking, thinking, b
knew that escape was possible. &c
} other flies were bound with him, the unr'
/ garding companions Of his fate, insentier
sleeping things, who, If he could br
make them hear. would by force of the
beating wings effect a deliverance. Il
could not speak or turn. Once he hal
moved his neck and the gum refroze abot
him In TINT moment MS be foTesaw It'd