Evening journal., 1903-09-03
A Head of Bronze
William Lightfoot visscher.

foster brothers IN Kentucky. Peter Van
SAINT the elder had adopted Dan, whose
father was a bg-hearted, illiterate old
mountain eer. old Zach loved his boy
baby, bui he cor sented that Mr.. Vansant
should q Ike the child down TO his home
in the Settlements" where he would be
dedicated" and made into some sort of
n great man.
Young Peter and Dan separated when
the time came for them to go to college.
Dan went 10 the far west and became a
cattleman, then a miner in the noun
tains of &C dorado.
Peter be, anne n soldier in the civil war,
and during that period of strife took up
for a oruade, Corporal Winston, who
had fallen beside him in battle-a cor
respondence with n little girl in the
north, whose name in those letters was
"Hilda Hunter" while his was Sergeant
Appleton" They were much in love
with each other, but circumstances inter
vened that prevented them from ever
meeting, or Of knowing each others real
names, until it was too late.
Dan Tabcr anil Hilda Hunter, whose
real name was Helen Dalton, met in Col
orado when Taber, as cowboy, saved
Helen's life with his lariat from STAN
pede of TEXTS cattle.
Dan raber and Sep Atkins were part
neri in business and sworn friends. For
tune had, time and again, smiled upon
and then deserted them. She had. at
last, driven them from beautiful Cali
fornia to the mountains of Colorado by
processes, the dets lis of which are not
neces sary 10 this history, exceptNto say
Z hu h.. l..l ~ a 81 g.
Texas and driven it northward via the
Staked Plains-L an) del Ectacado-to
the grass ranges of n rthcrn New Mexico
and by n succession of. misadventures
had lost so heavily hat they had little
else left beyond a fyw hundred dollars
and considerable blood IS of mining stocks
in the properties of he Comst )ck Lode
of Nevada, that they had purchased be
fore leaving Califor iia. Indeed, the
mania for stock -buying in the San Fran.
cisco exchange had been much of their
undo ing, moro than an cc, as il had been
TO thousands Of others. and now this
bundle of paper that they had beer
tempted to use for pip s-lighters and sim.
liar purposes, was tho bulk OF their for
tune, unless the shaft that they wer,
sinking, in the hope of striking u tru,
hssurt -vcin of rich on, and which they
had cnaractcristicallyl named the NAV
erick,' should prove TO be a treasure
vault, TO which their pluck and energy
were the keys.
III this prospect-holc. with all III
pre- misin' right now, takes a turn on Us
like the COW business did, th,ne dom
seem 3 if we had much else to look to
better than tired old age" sa Id Sep I,
Dan, one night as they sat be or thci
fire in their "dugout" ON the mountain
side.
1--WE got faith piled eckdeup aroun,
the Man erics,' Dan replied, without tax
ing his gaze from the fire, as he isat witt
elbows or knees and hands cluiclling hi
jaws.
Yes, Dam, your faith is the stickines
thing I've ever calkerlated TO mcet NJ
with, much. You've got rcligi Gus faith
gal faith, Maverick faith and iaith il
Sep Atkins"
i "And Dan rabcr."
THAT last is best of en-"
b "But it's the weakest"
"ltll pull you out of more holes tha
= t'others."
= "Whcn are y,Ri going to Blckslin 2
Dan asked suddenly charging the sub
ject-if there was a subject.
"Day after Tomorrow 'Speo.in' lin
from Helen?'
r "Wcll, rather"
"And You tell me she's a screamer?"
- 81 never heard her scream"
'Not when the herd was .pooty nigh o
herr"
NO, not even then. But say, Ser
she's the greatest little woman o
earth"
I've. heard YOU say Well, if the as
say comes UP TO iiggers, You can cut he
out OF the round-up, can't youg'
That's my layout
"And so lack to Haintuck?"
"Si, senor."
'SaveyW
"Si."
The conversation had run down to tn
point of Spanish slang, monosyllablei
and two slecpy ln,n, with night dres
! the same as day diess, somewhat thir
ned down by the re1 oval of heavy boot
hats and overalls, were shortly anon
: the hills OF Kentucky ard the mountain
of Nermont-in their minds.
"Any 'Consolida ed Nirginny'
+. ourng were the frs. words Sep utterc,
. when. returning from a trip to Buckski
, next day, he met Da in the doorway {
81 the dugout.
b lots of it," Dan implied.
"Wcll, we are fixed G. V. has gone
= sky scraping. She's Ip 20 thyee-thirt.
a '1es see" said Dan And he went O
all fours to his bunk and began pullin
. out a soap box that hs Il been showed M
, der the rude couch.
Moreover. and middliu' good" contii
= ucd Sep, "the assays on the Maverio
: are away up, and l gcess you can CT
. out the critter."
Don't tell me too mitch at once,' Da
urged You'll give me heart disease"
Seemed like you'd hal that ever sin'
t. "Ncver mind"
- They overhauled the Comstock pap,
). found in the soap box, and discover,
n blocks of Consolidated Virginia amour
o ing TO somewhere in the ncighborhood
), fifteen hundred shares, that at the con
.. putation of three hundred and thirty do
"a lars, counted up the snug little sum
y spending money outside of half a millio
n "Aint you hungry2" Dan asked
l. 81 could eat a wolf"
g "Well here's some 'Tucl waiting f
/" You. Slap jacks and the old thing, but
thought you would want a little som
~ thing extra so I boiled piece of shee
!, That's next thing 10 wolf, sometimes.
- inside. I got that old horn of Jcricl
over there on the north bluff of the ca
yon this morning. Sent a messeng
p from your winchester after him, whe
he was browsing along the ledge, and
- fell into these loving arms. so 20 speak