The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-12-17

ments for Christmas. The orisinal in- | tention had been that all three or us, after six months of hard work ana | complete isolation from humankind, | except occasional contact with what was human only by name, should shut | up our shack and go down to Ophirville l in the valley to spend the week from | Christmas to New Years. The discov- cry of the new lead made 1t necessary | for one of use to remain on guard. At least, we thought it was necessary, | though there really was no danger, and the only thing to do during the weeks was to fight with the loneliness | which was the deadliest foe we could | encounter. I was the "Kid of the crowd, as they called me, being only
 twenty while the other two were fif-
 teen to twenty years older. Joe, the
 oldest, volunteered to remain on the ground, because, as he said, Christ
 mas was a good deal more to children
 than 1t was to grown-ups, but I de- 1 clined peremptorily to be treated as a child, and demanded that the one to
 stay be determined by the tossing of the coin. Dalton was the coin-tosser, and it was his manner of casting the die that had called forth the protest | of Joe in my favor.
 l "It will be specs for him." Bob
 laughed again,t'1f he gets the job of | staying up here for a week him
 self while the rest of us are painting
 old Santy cheerful crimson down at Ophir.
 felt that myself, for the solitude of l the mountains and their unapproach- able vastness were getting nnto my nerves until I looked forward to this | week off as something fairer and bet 1 ter than anything I had ever known.
 Good, old Joe. whose twenty years on gold hunting had hardened his head,
 but not his heart, knew how I felt, and was quite ready to let me go, but
 I was not willing to accept his sacri- l flee. So we were tossing the coin. l Heads, the Kid wins" said Joe, | and Bobs tossed the coin toward the | rough blanks that made the ceiling 6
 of his shack. watched 1t eagerly as
 1t went up, poised a moment, and
 started back. It fell flat and we | crowded around to sec what was up.
 Tails. by thunder, and the Kids I lost,' said Joe and Dalton laughed. | But don't cry Kid" he went on quick | ly. nothing the look in my eyes.
 You've got another chance with me-"
 He picked up the coin and held 1t ready | for the toss. What do you say this | time?
 l You choose" replied, trying hard
 to make light of whatever might be
 the cast.
 | All right" he said. Tt won't
 hardly come twice the same, and I | choose tails"
 The coin went up till it struck the boards and dropped quickly to the
 floor. striking on its edge, and rolling
 to one corner. all three of us giving
 it chase, stopping low to see what would come when 1t should lie down. l Joe saw first what it was and I was nearer than Dalton, but Joe wouldn't say anything and I wouldn't.
 Tails it Is, and the kid stays" cried I Dalton.
 came to the front.
 That's too rough on the kid" he l said. and we'll give him another chance. Here. hand me the Judas siI- yer and let me shy 1t up again." No" I protested. "It was a fair deal. and l got what tho luck had for me. It's hard, I'll acknowledge, but keep the layout safe till you get back. You can tell me what a good l time you had, and that will be my Christmas this year.,
 They insisted on having another toss. but persisted in declining 1t, began to swear that they left up and began to pack their stun for a weeks outing. I helped them. but in no very cheerful mood, and when at last they moved off down the trail from the shack, leaving me there alone with the grim, gray mountains, I sat down on a snow bank and cried like baby. It wasn't a manly thing to do, but my manliness had gone all to nerves, and the crying was na- lures method of relief. It did me good. too. for presumably, I shook myself out of my tears got my tools and went to digging.
 That night there came a great snow which, added to what we already had. covered the shack clean out of sight in the cove where we had built it, and l had plenty to occupy my mind next day cleaning out paths and getting the snow from around the chimneys so could have fire. Our shack was a low building of logs chucked up close against the moun- tain side for protection and 1t was not unusual for the snow to cover 1t clean out of sight. About a quarter of a mile above us train ran up through the gap and this was our near est approach to civilization.
 was lonely enough, though I kept busy, for the two days before Christ mas. but when Christmas eve came and 1 sat in our den alone in a silence that was simply thunderous, couldn't stand it, and broke down again, crying as I had done when the boys left me. We had books in plenty, and magazines. for we were not illiterates by whole lot, but it was hard to get my mind down to reading. As I sat before the blazing wood fire with my books in my lap, and myself as comfortable to all ex- ternal appearances as any pampered child of luxury might be, I was so dreadfully oppressed that l felt as if the blood would burst out of my body al every pulse throb. There was no sound but the beating of my heart and as l listened to that it seemed to strike against the drums of my ears with a regular stroke which, in time. began to shape itself into a cadence of Break. break, break" that would never end Of course. it was all imagination, for had been there alone on other occasions. but never on Christmas eve and with my feelings at such a low ebb
 T guess I must have been pretty well Tagged out, because presently I fell asleep over my book and when awoke, which was probably as late as nine o'clock. my fire was a smouldering ruin, and the place had grown quite chilly. l got up at once to improve matters in that direction, and as I be- gan To stir up the ashes and embers to see what sort of a foundation I had for another fire I was startled by hear ing peculiar noise up the chimney The snow above me was frozen hard, and anything passing over 1t might easily make itself heard, but there wasn't anything. as far as I knew, to pass over it. We had no domestic stock, nor Were there wild animals of