Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-02-17


next day.
Turning from the gulch road, Kelly
led the way up the side of Pine noun
tain, along a trail which braided itself
upon grassy slope like a purple
brown ribbon. The air was keen, the
sky a fleckless blue hemisphere. Ray
mond's blood leaped with the JOY of it
and with q sense that his feet were set
at last on the road to fortune.
All about him the miners were climb
ing, each his special way, swinging a
tin bucket which sparkled like glass in
the morning sun. Great wains loaded
with ore rolled creaking on their down
ward course, while others of their kind,
piled high with lumber and machinery.
crawled slowly up the curving roads.
On every side men were tunneling
into the hillsides, trenching in gullies
and tOiling at windlasses whose joints
cried out resoundingly as the heavy
ore boxes rose. The whole scene set
forth buoyant activity and hope. Each
man had either struck ore or hoped to
do so at any moment.
Here and there on the slope tall
and shapeless shaft house rose, with
heaps of orange and blue gray refuse
rock close beside 1T. The whole camp
was as yet disorganized, formless and
debatable. Not one in n hundred of the
mines was paying property; all the
others were mere prospects.
AS they left Badly and turned to
climb Pine mountain the dwellings
thickened. They were nearly all built
Of the smooth. straight trunks of the
aspen, but nearer the summit were OF
fir, and a Few of them stood in pictur-
csQue hooks amid the rocks. Toward
one of these, more homelilSe than the
others, Kelly directed his horse, and
as he neared the door n couple of lusty.
yellow haired boys of six or seven
years of age came bounding ont to
meet him.
Mrs. Kelly was unexpectedly lady
like, small and very pretty, with skin
that no wind could tan, and her great.
wistful, pathetic eyes appealed to Ray
mond with instant power. She greeted
him cordially, and, while Kelly took
the horses to the corral, he entered at
her invitation. Her voice was as
charming as her pale face and hair of
anu yOuHS5 iciiOW
looked upon her in surprise.
You don't look very we'll, SIR Mrs.
Kelly said to Raymond.
I'm not very well, but I'm going to
tear up the sod just the. same. Your
husband is to show me how"
Matt can find gold easy enough. but
he can't keep it."
1--WE confessed as much, Nora, me
girl, and if Raymond can help me on
that score I'll put him in the way Of
maxim his pile. Can We walk a few
rods? If So I'll show ye the mine and
the cncsAce."
Certainly I'm far from being
'one lunger' yet"
The two men walked round the little
grove Of frs to the west and came up
on some men busy with a very small
upright engine hosting ore from
shaft.
Here" said Kelly, ''is where we tap
the river of life This is my own
mine, but the wan 1 advise ye to take
is that just beyond / have an offer
for me own prospect, but / shall not
take It. If We are agreeable. We'll
lease the Last Dollar together and
work it to the limit, for I'm satisfied
its vein is the same as me own, which
will keep; but if / strike ore, Curran,
who owns the Last Dollar, will jump
his price to the moon. Our lay is to
bond and lease his mine, move my ma
chinery over to his old shaft and work
like mad to open up ore to buy in the
property. Ye see, no one has touched
pay ore in this quarter, and Curran is
anxious to sell. He offers it at $15. 900.
/ believe we can open a vein that'l
pay fer it in less than six months.
Will We go in with me?"
81 WILL
AS their hands met their hearts
warmed to each other. Kelly removed
his hat and was almost solemn as he
said slowly: This makes us both.
Now lets go eat
The Kelly home was as suited to its
as Swiss chalet. 1t
had the dirt roof, the widely project
ing caves and the southern porch OF q
mountain cabin, and it's latchstring
and battened door were i'm keeping;
only the windows, with their machine
made frames, We're out of key. There
were two small bedrooms, a living
room, which served also for dining
room, and tiny kitchen, and yet it
produced on Raymonds mind the
most charming effect OF unhesitating
and LONELINESS. This was
due as much to the charm of Mrs. Kel-
ly's manner as to the deep voiced. cor
dial invitation of the host himself. |
There was no lock on their door and
no bar to their warm hearts.
But Raymond saw what MATHS low |
ing eyes could not DISCOMFORT was
Dyerworked and losing heart In spite |
Of her ready smile and cordial second |
ing of her husbands invitation, Eye |
must make your home with u.s." she
was not strong enough to take on this
PIX fra caro- and hQ roc0Iyad IN cfav in !