Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-07-22
The Daily Short Story
HIS MINE.

was left with 500 or $500 in govern
ment bonds. 500 or 5000 in cash and
ten shares of the Pumpkin Vine Min
Ing company stock, then quoted at 4
4 cents.
| At % John Anderson had saved by
! his own earnest efforts enough money
to marry and start home. He had a
son II months old. for whom he had
great expectations in the future.
One rainy afternoon in November he
was looking over old papers when he
came unexpectedly on his ten shares
OF the Pumpkin Vine. gold mine stock.
What could be done with the mine
arose ever in John Anderson's mind.
He put il TO his wife one evening after
supper and lay back in his armchair
and smiled. His wife was young
enough to be foolish and old enough to
be wise. The wife's advice was for
him to apply TO the board OF directors
OF the company to be made superin-
tendent OF the mine; to leave her and
her child, and. with n gang OF sturdy
rock breakers, find out if there was any
gold there.
But who was going TO pay for this
sort of thing? Where was the money
to pay John for going ON all tours.
week in and out, and the gang for food
TO make them Drawn and for rum to
keep up their spirits and for oil for
their headlights and for machinery,
tools, coal and what not?
The wise wife had a secret which she
now let out. But there was lying in the
bank drawing per cent interest S12,-
600. which John could have for the pro-
posed work TO the Pumpkin Vine. John
did not know that his wife had had an
uncle who had been sea captain. who
had died and left Johns wife $4,000
from an estate. This great secret she
had kept from John that she might re-
call il when an occasion happened i'm
portant enough to unseal her lips.
At the next meeting of the Pumpkin
Vine company John Anderson was APP
pointed superintendent of the mine.
One Sunday afternoon the latter part
of the following May he stood on the
side of a rugged mountain on which
lay the Pumpkin Vine mine in sullen
sleep. They were a tough looking lot.
Poker Jim. n kind of leader of the
gang, who had been recruited at con-
siderable expense, was considered the
best man of all TO scent out gold.
His men stood about silently chewing
tobacco. 1t was n gang sworn to be
mum. Poker Jim allowed that he was
the man who had said no one of them
would get away whole should any
break faith. Certain prospecting had
led to a we'll laid plan of assault, and
the next day. Monday, the opening
work on the mine was begun.
At the end of so days John wrote
home that IL there was any good news
It would have to come from the other
end of the line. He wrote n letter TO
the president of the company and told
him briefly that there was little TO say.
When John had spent $1,000 of his
wife's money in the hole, he had his
ten shares of Pumpkin Vine stock
transferred to his wife's name, which
was certainly laughable.
Then there came a storm of wind
and fierce rain. The Pumpkin Vine
mine was flooded. 1t took three weeks
to pump out the mine and it took big
lot OF money to do 1t. 1t was then
near the end of August. John tele-
graphed his wife that he was down
with rheumatism and then dictated n
there that Poker Jim had broken his
right arm in three places. hut was not
discouraged.
John had $1,000 more to drop into
the hole. His wife had wired him
s.. 900 more. the last of the $4,000.
Poker Jim was in an i'll humor, as his
right arm always hurt him now, and
John was irritable, for the rheuma-
tism had settled in his knees and an
kIes. Jim had called John Anderson
a rag" and John had called Jim
''blowzy" They had drawn of for
a crack at each other when two wires
arrived from the superintendent and
telegram for Poker Jim.
One of the dispatches to Anderson
was from the home Office, telling him
to shut down and close up and come
home; to stop at once the whole miser-
able businessl The other was from his
wife. saying the child was i'll, very Ill,
and that she was down with grief and
And there was Poker Jim
standing like one stunned too! Then
he gave an unearthly whoop and
shout and tore around in a circle like
a mailman. While Jim was doing his
fling Nasty Jack, a member of the
gang, rushed up so overcome with emo
ton that he suffered, stumbled and
fell and cried out, "Gold?' Poker
Jim's dispatch was from London and
informed him that his nearly forgotten
father had died and left him for
tune. Nasty Jacks cry of gold meant
that the old Pumpkin Vine mine had
yielded again at last.
John wired TO his wife to expect him
by the first train. He wired to the
home office that 1t was no time to close
up when the Pumpkin Vine was put
ting forth leaves.
Anderson found his wife and child
doing well.
few months later John had ten
shares of the Pumpkin Vine Gold Mine
carnnanr uhich he had fra nsferrad To