Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-09-28

son, Joe and myself stopped at spring
to get a drink of water. AS stopped
to fill gourd which hung on a near
by sapling, a rabbit sprang from be-
meath g. boulder, darted up the hill and
ran into an immense hollow log. We
followed quickly and Joe sent his dog
up the log to either catch or run the
rabbit out. But the dog did neither.
So Joe called the dog out and crawled
up the log himself. Presently we heard
a muffied shout and Joe called evcit-
edly:
I-I-"Ig-g-got s-s-somethin' bb-bet-
ter and b-b-bigger than a r-r-rabbit!
s-s-see If you don't think $3.50 tt
tool"
poe had aroused our curiosity and we
we're impatient and anxious to see
what he had captured. We got down
on our knees and peered up the log;
but we could see nothing save Joe,
crawling out backward and dragging
something in his arms. He made slow
progress, but after what seemed long
time he crawled out. To say we were
be mild expression.
1t was not an o'possum as we at first
surmised 1t might be, or any other
kind of animal for that matter. Neith-
er was it any kind Of bird, for the
beautiful thing at our feet had neith-
er wings, eyes, ears or feet. What
was 1t then?
1t was Ladson's big pumpkin!
| Well" Ladson exclaimed after an
interval Of speechless amazement, as
he stopped to examine the partly de-
cayed pumpkin. Il wonder who could
have been so mean as to play such
costly trick on me. Here's a hole in
1t boys" he added turning the huge
pumpkin over for our inspection, and
it's been plugged up too. Sure enough
hole about four inches in diameter
had been cut and plugged up with an
old wool hat I pulled the hat out and
stuck my hand down in the hole. To
my surprise l felt something within,
as to what 1t was had not the least
idea. 1 caught hold Of II to pull 1t out
but had to take both hands ere 1 sue
ceeded in bringing 1t to light. 1t was
an oil-cloth bag full Of something very
hard. We opened 1t, and to our con-
sternation, saw that it was full Of gold
money. We emptied 1t out in Joe's hat
and counted it. There was two thou
sand nine hundred and forty dollars
and forty cents. We put the money
back in the bag and for a moment
stood in thoughtful silence. Then We
threw our hats In the air and for fully
five minutes the woods reverberated
with our prolonged shouts. The bank
robbery was still fresh in our minds
and we knew we had found the stolen
money which the captured and incar-
cerated burglars had refused to tell the
hiding place Of.
"The mystery is now solved" Lad
son said. Those fellows who ran up
against Joe at the gin house that night
were the bank robbers. 1t seems that
tIcy NcIc luutEi6 d pidSC " hidC thCh
| booty. So when they ran across our
pumpkin patch some one of the burg
lars with a very ingenious brain,
| thought a pumpkin with the seed TAX
en- out a capital place. They took
mine, cut a hole in it, took out the
seed, put the money in, and carried the
pumpkin off to this out Of the way
place and hid 1t, intending. no doubt,
to return at later day and get It,"
Did y-y-you a g-g-good t-t-urn,"
said Joe.
Yours is the prize pumpkin after
all. Ladson," 1 exclaimed, on our re-
turn to Magnolia where we were given
an ovation because of our good for
tune. We took the money with us to
Charlotte that night, found the may
or's house, delivered 1t to him after
telling him how 1t was found. He
promptly and gladly gave us the
promised reward.
| Our pumpkins turned to gold"
Ladson declared, after we had sent our
friend Joe a check for $125.00.
Yes" I replied, land may no harm
ever come to the little rabbit that led
US to that old hollow log"