The White Pine news. [volume] (Treasure City, Nev.) 1868-1906, 1904-03-10
JOSIAH THE CLAIM=JUMPER


be, with a six shooter handy, ought to
be able TO bluff off half-breed, any
way"
1t was while they were cooking sup
per in secluded spot in the ravine,
just below the first of the claims they
had come to operate upon that night,
that Josiah learned more OF Henry
Flatfoot. 1t would seem that he must
be the boss bad citizen Of Shasta
County. Barclay told Josiah that the
half-breed had shot at many men in
various fights, had stabbed one or two,
and bore the record of his encounters
in scars over his body and long knife
mark across his left cheek. 'He served
term In San Quentin" went on Bar
clay, Illuminating. ut was after he
tried to hold up the Bieber stage, up
yon way, and was shot in the shoulder.
They chased him for five days. He
was so near petered out that he even
threw away his gun, or some of them
wouldn't have been so hot to overtake
him. At last they caught him in deep
cave OH the McCloud, and how do you
s'pose they knew he was back in the
dark hole? 1t was by the shine Of his
eyes; they were just like an animals"
1t was very dark in the hills at nine
O'Clock. At that hour, Pete Barclay
stationed Josiah Godbolt beside the
scrub-oak upon which Henry Flatfoot's
location Of the claim was posted, with
the instruction that when he could feel
both hands of his big silver watch,
moved, pointing straight upward, he
was TO tear down the halfbreed's no.
tice and tack up their own as noiseless-
ly as possible. Then he was to stand
guard beside the sign of their posses
sion until morning. Pete would do the
same on the other claim.
And what If somebody comes snort
ing around here and wants to clean me
OUT" asked Josiah.
WELL the law gives man the right
to defend his property in the certainest
way he knows how, and that's my best
gun you've got in your belt there" re-
piled Pete, as he felt his way into the
little trail which led to the other claim
| half mile away over the hill.
Josiah found his vigil growing tedi-
Gus rapidly. He feared to move about
in the darkness, lest he should lose the
tree, and he had been advised not to
disclose his presence to chance prowl-
ers by striking light. For the same
reason he checked a half-involuntary
impulse to whistle. He Sid to the
ground, with his back against the tree.
and occupied himself with thinking
over all he had heard about the half
breed, who would own the very ground
upon which he was sitting for more
than two hours to come. Surprising
Henry Flatfoot should take notion to
visit the claim while it still belonged
to him? Who would be the intruder
then. and on whose side would the law
be? Josiah moved his big foot, and the
cracking of twig beneath il startled
him and set his heart to beating.
The darkness was so intense that .Jo-
siah could see as little with his eyes
open as with them shut. He could
not see the hand on his crooked -up
knee. and he could not see his right
hand. which, somehow, seemed COM
Portable only when it rested upon the
butt of the revolver swung loosely in
his leather belt. Many the night when
he had followed the dogs at run in
the bottoms along the Mississippi until
the possum was freed and the axes
could be swung TO fell the perch. but
he had not supposed that night, when
neither snow nor rain was falling,
could be as dark as this. Clouds hid
every star. In shifting his position he
was delighted to discover n glow
worm. He seized the insect, and draw
ing up his cowhide shoes, smeared
phosphorus on the toe of each. He
could now follow the motion of his
feet when he moved them, and he felt
more collected.
With limbs numb from sitting so
long in this posture, Josiah pulled out
his watch in haste. Surely it was al
ready past midnight. The long hand
was undoubtedly pointing straight up,
but an angle separated the short hand
from it. 1t was eleven o'clock. If
Henry Flatfoot were coming to try to
save his claims he would arrive during
the next hour. Josiah tried to keep
thoughts Of the desperate Indian out of
his mind. The night had been very
STILL Suddenly the brush cracked
slightly Josiah found when all was
silent again that he had unconsciously
risen to his feet and was supporting
himself with one hand against the tree
while in the other he gripped his re-
volver. 1t was only rabbit moving
in the chemise, of course. He restored
the weapon to its place and sank down
again. After time a sound in the
brush off to the other side set him a.
culver again, but he convinced himself
that only a toad could make such a
wee noise, though 1t had sounded loud
enough at first. When a strange night
bird cried out he did not move or
touch his gun, and he told himself that
he had banished his silly fears. The
night was cold, but somehow he did
not feel the chill.
During the last half-hour before mid
night, Josiah held his watch on his
palm, and with his fingers followed the
long hand as # mounted tho dial Anv