The Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1903-1909, 1905-06-06

l
quick wrench. | saw a Thousand SKY.
rockets; something cracked and | be.
! came senseless. When | awoke he
had my neck in splints, and was jab
! bering Spanish to Rogers. He said
| he was the only white man in the
world who could set a broken neck,
and | guess he was. He had learned
| the trick from an Indian medicine
man. He charged me twenty-five dol
lars, and told me to lie quiet for
week. Jenny Rogers nursed me, and
of course | fell in love with her.
was in their cabin, and near by Mr..
Rogers had located some valuable
claims.
Here is the most remarkable part
Of this story" Blake went on. When
| was able to dress | picked up that
cursed Mexican stirrup to see how the
leather happened to break. 1t was
steel affair, and | noticed some bright
yellow spots in the crevices. Blamed
if it wasn't goldl didn't say a word,
but when | was strong enough | went
back and climbed slowly down the
place where my horse fell. 1t was
easy to follow it. Near the edge of
the cliff | found an outcropping of
gold-bearing ore, and the mark of
where the metal part of my stirrup
had scratched it. | staked out a
claim and sold it to Jenny's father for
hundred and twenty-five thousand
dollars. He's made two millions out
of it. | made love to Jenny, and |
think she would have had me, but |
went to San Francisco and dropped
the hundred and twenty-five thousand
on the mining exchange. | went back
and asked Jenny to wait until | made
another fortune. She said she'd think
about it. | guess she did. A year
later she married a man who is now
United States Senator. So | broke
my neck, lost my fortune and my
sweetheart all in less than year"
And what have you now"
This mountain chateau replied
Blake, with lordly sweep OF his arm,
"and hole in the ground back of it,
Then | have a fine view of the valley
a good appetite, slumbering con-
science, and-and Dog, here, who
never upbraids me for being seven
kinds of a fool.
John told the story of the dying
sailor and his map, and read an ex-
tract from Peter Burt's letter Then
he produced the map, and they spread
it out on the table and examined it
by the light of the lantern.
Il followed the trail all right ex
planned John, until the storm set in,
and then | had to feel my way. Be
fore | lost my bearings | was about
two miles from the point where this
sailor claims to have found gold.
kept near the edge of the cliff until
could go no further, and then curled
up behind that rock in the hope that
the storm would cease"
Blake studied the map with grow
ing interest and excitement. With
splinter from log as a marker he
traced the trail
Il know every foot of it," he ex
claimed, resting the point OF the
splinter on round spot on the map,
Here is Fishers Lake. You came
that far by stage. Here is the creek
which you follow for seven miles un.
til you come to the old Wormley trail.
You take that to the cliffs, and go
along the cliffs until you cross four
brooks and come to the fifth one. You
were within hundred yards Of that
fifth stream, John. Now let's see the
key to this thing"
John handed him the letter.
From the east face of the square
rock, on the north bank of the brook,
at the edge of the cliff read Blake.
II know the rock we'll Let's see.
Thence east along the bank of the
brook in a straight line four hundred
and twenty-five feet, and then north
at right angles, sixty-seven feet to the
base of the tallest pine in the neigh
borhood.'
Blake rushed to the door, forgetful
of the storm, to verify his suspicious.
He pushed it open an inch, but a
solid bank of snow blocked the way.
Where do you suppose the base of
that pine tree is?" he demanded. |
Without waiting for a reply he found
a Ratchet and tapped the clay floor
until he located spot which gave a
deadened sound. Then he chopped |
away few inches of packed dirt and
sank the blade into solid substance. |
There's the base of the big pine
tree described by your dead sailor, |
and I'll bet my life on It," he shouted.
And here are sections of the tree" he |
continued, pointing to the logs which
formed the foundation of the cabin.
"J'm dead sure of it. John, It's about !