Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1902-06-20
Have another cup OF


to dig for gold in cave you will find
there. Do, please, give this one days
work to please a whim of mine," com
ing around the table and giving his
cheek coaxing pat.
so, pshaw! Well, I suppose ]
must-there's nothing else when q
| woman
"I'H have your lunch ready by tie
time you have saddled Mag. Children,
run for papa's pick and shovel" she
broke in, in cheerful haste.
Jim King saddled the little roam
mare and led her up to the camp, tied
his dinner pail to the cantle, mounted,
| and shouldered pick and shovel, with
hang-dog look.
'Now, jim, look for big dogwood
that's the mark, and there are wild
| blackberry vines growing over the
| mouth of the cave"
Anyway, what's the good-suppos-
| ing I should find 1.-THE lands all
| staked," was his parting shot as he
waved a farewell and rode down the
| slope.
With happy, confident heart, Mrs.
| King watched her husband ride away,
| till he was hidden by the low growing
! shrubbery along the winding trail.
| Somewhere in the distance a quail
piped warning note.
"Jim's gone that far already" she
said, but she could not see what the
quail saw: the pick and shovel cached
| under a thicket of tall huckleberries,
| and the rider pass on, without them,
| taking the fork that led directly away
from Bear canon.
How still the morning was-not
touch of wind anywhere! Mrs. King
lifted her eyes to the scenic splendoI
of her surroundings. On every border
were the mountains in the quivering
haze of sunshine, unfolding in ever
changing tints and shadowy lights
Peak beyond peak, as far as the eye
could reach, they rose. grand, still,
majestic and untamed, expressive of
imeprial solitude.
"Stir! Stir! Stir!" said a noisy blue
jay, and she turned to her work. The
children were happy when camping
and to them the day passed quickly
with school books and excursions up
and down the mountain side for nuts,
MOSES and lichens, and in untiring,
never-disc ourag ed searches for Sold"
And family of inquisitive jays must
receive instructions in the art of be-
havior, for which all the table scraps
were carefully boarded in all kinds of
secret places, and doled out according
to the merits earned at each perform
ance.
Slowly the vivid noon-blue of the
mountains changed to blue-gray of
even and deepened to purple, making
them seem nearer and clearer than in
the morning; and as the shadows gath
cred near, a little bird trilled a timid,
sweet vesper hymn.
"Come, mamma, isn't it time to cook
SUPERB" The children brought in
dry limbs and cones for the nights fire.
There he contest Papa's coming,
children-wave your hands!"
The horseman coming up the grade
doubled up his palms and sent shrill
whistle echoing along the ridge.
Here. children, give Mag good sup
per. She's tired" he said, after I'M
saddling the mare. Then he poured
water in basin, picked up bit of
soap and began lath ering his hands
vigorously.
"Dirty. aren't they ?" with provoking
GOODNESS.
eyes, but. Jim-what-?' interro-
gated his wife.
ooh, found the cave just where you
said I would; but cave, claim, and all
are owned by a man over in Ashland.
went over and found the fellow-runs
little coffee house there and didn't
value your cave very highly. Said he
didn't propose to risk anything on
such a picnic, but I could work it
'halvers,'" King ran on with remark
a BILE glibness.
Eyes, of course; but what else?" she
| insisted hurriedly.
"Weil,'' he continued with tantal-
izing drawl sit is vein of quartz that
runs down the porphyry and the
gold"
"Pocket gold! Didn't tell you? I
knew it, 1 knew it! Now yoa'n be-
/ lieve in dreams." she almost screamed
i in her firm belief.
"Don't you want to see nugget?'
and he handed her yellow Bellefeur
Jim King! How could you do such
a thing?" and on her face chagrin and
perplexity struggled for supremacy.
aren't you ashamed to play such
shabby trick?" she managed to say.
'Wen, no. You see, you were so
/ bound and determined 1 should find a
nugget that I was afraid to come back
without one; and it's the best I could
do" an amused light dancing in hi
eyes.
81 see. And what else?"
ST met Sam Adams on the way. He
put me on the track of job as fore
man on a ranch down below. So I
went over and met the owner; and de-
cided to abandon Prize Bar for farm