Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1903-05-09
CHAPTER Nv.
THE COPPER CYIINDER

MOI mucn changed after all these
years." he murmured. as he looked t
right and left over the smiling land.
scape. Thank heaven! 1t was In tn,
country n not In the city. for, In TIL,
latter case, all traces might have beer
lost"
Evidently the beauties Of nat>re die
not appeal to him particularly on tina
occasion, though the glories Of sum
mer rested on the land.
he seemed to be in quest Of some
thing, and anxious lest he should no.
find II.
When at last a wood came in sigh
his steps quickened and his furrowet
brow became more deeply lined with
anxiety. From right to left he glanced
with his sharp eyes, examining the
trees on each side s~earchingly and
carefully.
The forest is standing yet, much as
] left It," he muttered to himself. III
has stood still, looking not a bit older
While / have been aging. Well, things
promise well. for 1t might have been
laid waste by a forest fire, or cut down
and q town built on the site. Matters
are not so bad as might be. You will
come out ahead I think, Job, from the
appearance Of things"
He began to walk more slowly now,
and occasionally paused to consider,
rubbing his nose thoughtfully the while,
as he examined the trees and bushes
with the keen eye of a naturalist. II
was in one of these stops that, looking
up, he saw something that drew a
startled exclamation from his lips. II
was a bit Of red flannel fluttering from
the limb Of O maple.
The sight of such an ~unimportant OBJ
Ject seemed to worry him greatly, then
he drew near the bushes that lined the
edge of the road like a green wall, and,
pushing them aside, plunged into the
underground,
II would just as leave not have such
people nosing about" he muttered. But
they know me better than to interfere
with my work" He forced his way
through the thickest of the underbrush
and entered a little glade in the midst
Of which rose the stump of what must
have been a great tree.
The man smiled at the sight, and
waving his hand toward 1t, said: BLESS
we, old fellow, for standing sentinel so
long. Your usefulness did not cease
when you were struck by lightning"
He passed the tree and went on his
way down n Of the aisles OF the forest
which at one time must have been a
wagon road, but was now overrun with
grasses. Now and then he paused to
reconnoiter and to look around.
From time to time he smiled and
nodded his head, as If satisfied hat he
was pursuing the right path.
Suddenly, In the midst Of his walk,
without warning, a sharp shot rang out
n his hat fell to the ground. He
stopped calmly, picked 1t up and exam
ined it carefully. MOT q bad shot," ex-
aiming the holes, which had evidently
been produced by buckshot. "A little
nearer and l should have had consider
able of q headache" and, replacing the
hat on his head, without eve stopping
to look for his assailant, he continued
on his way, turning neither to right
nor left.
THAT must have been the work of a
greenhorn," he said to himself He
must be demonstrated with before 1 go
any further. l might stand a chance Of
being potted against when his aim was
truer,'
Nothing further happened; the in
visible marksman did not attempt to
repeat his experiment. The little man
had now come to an opening in the
woods. Beyond, to his right, his sharp
eyes detected a slender thread of smoke
drifting lazily up through the warm air,
and 1t was In this direction that he now
bent his steps.
Entering a little glade he saw beyond
him what seemed to be the foundations
Of q house rooted over with old tar
paulins and bark. 1t was out of a hole
in this roof that the smoke was drifting,
and which nae attracted his attention.
There seemed to be no opening to this
building, but near the front wall, set
In the ground, was a square slab Of
wood like the covering to a well.
Without a moments hesitation he
lifted this, disclosing a b~urrowlike hole
that evidently communicated with the
interior Of the place. Carefully he
climbed down into the hole, and, pass
Ipo n,, - a ~ 80 nno pa f,,,tA Li,,
self in q cellarlike room feebly lit and
filled with sitting smoke and green
boughs with which the fire had been
fed.
"Ahoy, there! Anybody at homer"
for, in that light, there was no human
being visible.
Then what he had taken to be a
bundle Of fagots lying by the fire,
seemed to become suddenly endowed
with life, n finally resolved itself into
the form of a little woma bent with
age, who came hobbling forward with
surprising agaility.
You know me, mother" bending his
head down near to hers for a moment,
while she examined his features keenly
and then passed a withered hand over
his face.
Eyes, VIII, l know you. What do you
here?"
1T matters not" roughly. "And let
me tell you, l am not to be potted like
a bird by your people. Just now, as ]
was coming through the woods, some
n fired on me-"
1T will not happen again." she said,
timidly. 1T was the youngster; he is
new and has much to learn"
1T will be we'll If you tell him there
are lessons l can teach him that are
not learned in schools" said he. harsh
ly; lessons that, once learned, are new
er forgotten. You understand, mother?
Let the lad know thai once l forgive
for his youth, but again"
You rave nothing to fear" she
stammered.
He broke out again into a loud laugh
that reused strange echoes in the
place.
"Fear--fear, did you say? A pleasant
word, and soft on the tongue, but what
does 1t mean?" and he laughed again.
Seeing a pick standing against the
wall he took it. II have need OF this,
mother" She nodded.
will you be here long?"
THAT may be as business calls for.
I simply stopped here now that you
might give hat mar a warming" He
toward the entrance, and then,
stepping back a few PAGES, laid his
hand on her arm while he looked down
in her face s~earchingly.
There was a trouble up the big house
yonder," waving his hand in the direc-
ton of the town. You heard about
it?"
Yes"
= We'll, what them" and his grasp on
her arm frightened.
II know nothing of him who caused
it,"
mo; 1T was none of our work"
You are sure of that"
d you suppose / would keep IL
from you If l knew"
NO." and, dropping her arm, with
our another word, walked over again
to the way he had come. II go on
business of my own, and while | am
In the npiphhnrhnnd u % h lnfI