The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1904-11-05


For every soul in Argyle crowded te
The schoolhouse.
We reached the door. Sundownt
leading. There the professors long as.
sistant greeted us. Within, by the light
Of 4 few lanterns (whose ftful glow
added to the desolation of the place.
we could see boards ranged along the
unfurnished central space as seats
while at the packing-box desk on the
little platform at the farthest end sal
The professor.
Weapons Barred.
AS Sundowne was entering the as.
sistant timidly checked him by point
ing to his big reyolyers.
"Carnal weapons will distract the
mind from spiritual thought" he muir
INJURED apologetically. And every
nerve of every mind is needed for oul
great struggle with the spiritual world
tonight"
Sundowne hesitated, for he was ever
loath to lay aside his arsenal" as he
termed his bankers.
1T is of no consequence, if the gen.
tleman objects" called the professor
gently from the other end of the hall
Let him retain his arms. We only
suggested disarming, as better results
might follow"
Urged by the murmur of approval
at this speech, S%undowne pulled his
two AS from their holsters and laid
them tenderly on the ground outside,
Every man, in entering, followed his
example, until a little mountain OF pis-
tolls, ugly knives and shotguns lay et
the threshold.
I'VE will begin the exercises" OBJ
served the s~piritualist, when all had
filed in and were seated, "by a little
ah-discourse by myself, on the aim
and scope of the profession of which ]
have the honor to be SO humble yet
so ardent a devotee. Believe me, ]
do not do this to weary you, but to
calm the minds OF those whose
thoughts might be too turbulent with
visions of gold to permit of the quiet
concentration of will which is neces-
sary for our purpose"
Whereat he began to speak. at first
fuently, then haltingly. A. length he
came to an abrupt stop.
There are elements working against
me tonight" he said, after a pause.
81 fear we shall fail. Perhaps if some
one could sing a little the spirit might
prove more propitious."
Sing to Voc Spirits"
There was a silence. Then, hesitat-
ingly, Sundowne's thunder-voice began
the classic strains of whoa Emma!"
The song had but recently reached
"the BUSH and wa a great fayorite,
Voice after voice Joined in, until the
rickety building shook with the vol
ume of sound. The men were not sing
ing for amusement. They were sing
ing for gold. And, piled by the pro-
f~essor's ~deprecating voice and by his
assurance that the spirits were ever
drawing nearer, the men sang song
after song. Nearly an hour must have
thus passed.
At length the professor raised his
hand.
IL feel 1t coming ont" he MUIR
INJURED, "the inspiration. Should it lead
me wen out into the night do not stir,
but continue to sing. Thus shall I
keep in touch with your minds and
thus shall the spirits direct me to the
gold-as | feel they are doing-and /
shall return to you and"
AS he had been speaking he had left
the platform, and, as if moved by some
power beyond his control, had walked,
blindly, staggeringly. through our
awe-struck ranks. At the last word hs
vanished into outer darkness.
"0h, Emma, you put me in such a
dilemma!" beloved Sundowne, and all
Joined in, singing for the gold they
felt almost in their grasp.
1t was perhaps ten minutes later
that in a pause in the roaring songs.
the faint. distant sound of a jingling
chain cut through the night and smote
every ear.
Funny Folk" Locate Gold.
IS pirits!' gasped Sundowne.
They're bringin' it in an ore wagon!o
And with feverish delight the song
burst out afresh. In the middle of the
second verse, however, a horrible Idea
seemed to dawn upon him. With a
grunt Of suspicion he made for the
door. A good mile away, under the
dazzling moonlight, was an ore wagon.
And spiritual enough it looked in that
ghostly light. But it was travelling
from us, not toward us, as fast as six
strong mules could gallop.
Yes, it was our ore wagon. The
mules were ours. In the WACO was
every ounce Of gold dust, every nugget
sarnered for one solid month by the
largest camp in the richest portion of
Queensland. And on the seat our two
Funny Folk" dashed the mules.
We rushed for the corral to find thew
had turned loose every pony we had.
To follow on foot was idiocy. While
the professor had urged us to sing with
him that long hour his assistant had
been ransacking every cabin. loading
the gold into the wagon and harness
ing the mules. And the mems below.
ing had drowned every sound. That Is
all except a line scrawled on the back
OF a professional card pinned or the
corral gate. 1t read:
When Sundowne slipped his hand
into his pocket after tobacco the ala
mond was on his finger. When he
pulled it out the diamond was gone
That is how the spirits told me II had