The Red Cloud chief., 1908-04-24

anybody that wanted IL.
Eyes says he. There's n nan run
ming a shack two mile up the river
".All right says /. Drive on.
You've played us as dirty n trick as
one man can play another. If we ever
get a cinch on you, you can expect
Wen pull her TIL the latigoes snap
"He kept shut till he got across the
river, where he felt safe.
"'It's all right about that cInch!' he
hollers back, grinning. only wait till
you get It, yer suckers! Sponges!
Beats! Deadhcadsl Yah!
"Well. a man can't catch a team Of
horses, and that's all there is about
It, but | want to tell you he was on the
anxious seat for n quarter Of a mile.
We tried hard.
"Whcn we got back to where we
started and could breathe again, we
held u council of war.
"'Now. Aggy,' says I, were dumped.
What shall we dop"
"Ile sat there awhile looking around
him. swapping pebbles with his thumb.
"'Tcll you what 1t IL. Red he says
at last, we might as well go mining
right here. This Is likely gravel. and
there's n river. If that bar In front OF
you had bccn further In the mountains
II would have been punched full Of
holes. It's only because it's ON the
road that nobody's taken the trouble
to see what was In 1t. This road was
made by cattle ranchers that didn't
know nothing about mining, and every
,,t,,A, tt..ts, .,A, A.n Al. N,.v I.I
his mouth set TO get further along "a
quick as possiblc-just like us. DO
you see that little hollow running
down TO the river? Well, you try
your luck there. I give You that place,
as it's the most probable, and you MS a
tcndcrfoot in the business will have all
the luck. III make n stab where I am
well, sir, II sounds queer to tell II,
and 1t seems puecrer still to think OF
the doing of 1t. but I hadn't dug two
feet before I come to bed rock, and
there was some heavy black chunks.
"'Aggy,' says l, what's these things?'
throwing one Over to him. He caught
1t and stared Mt 1t.
where did you get thatr says he
In almost n whisper.
"'Why, out Of the hole, of course!'
says I, laughing. Come take n lookv
".Aggy wasn't the kind Of a man to
go of the handle over triies, but when
he looked into that hole ne turned per-
fectly green. His knees give out from
under him. and he sat on the ground
like a man In a trance, wiping the
sweat of his face with a motion like
n machine.
"'What the devil ais your says I.
astonished. I thought maybe I'd done
something I hadn't ought to do
through ignorance of the rules and
regulations OF mining.
"'Red,' says he, dead solemn, I've
mined for twenty year and from old
Mexico to Alaska, but I never saw
anything that was ace high TO that
before. Gold laying loose In chunks
on top Of the bed rock Is too much
for me. l wish Fly could see this
"'Goldv says !. What you talking
about? What have those black hunks
to do with gOldT
The only answer he made vas to
lay the one I had thrown to him on
top of a rock and hit her n crack with
u pick. Then he handed 1t to me.
Sure enough! There under the black
was the yellsr. OF course II I'd
known more abou. the business l could
have told it by the weight, but I'd
never seen u piece Of gold fresh off
: the farm before In my life. l hadn't
the slightest idea what it looked like,
and l learned afterward 1t all looks
, different. Some Of it shines up yeller
in the start, some of it's red, and some
Is like ours, coated black with iron
t crust.
t $50 looked at Ag, and Ag looked
ut me, neither IN of us believing
} anything at all for awhile. / simply
| couldn't get hold of the thing-I amt
yet, for that matter. I expect to wake
t up and find 1t a pipe dream, and In
e some ways l wouldn't mind If 1t was.
t l never was so completely two men MS
] l was on that occasion. One OF 'em
S was hopping around and hollering
with Ag, yelling 'Hooray! n the
other didn't take much interest In the
; proceedings at all. And 1t wasn't until
I thought, Now l can pay that cuss'
ed coyote of a stage driver what ]
G W him. that l got any good out oi
It. That brought 1t home to me. When
G spoke to Ag about paying the driver,
e he says, That So Then he takes
quick look around. We can pay him
I'm full, too, old horse! he hOllers, and
there was a most joyful smile on his
d face.
Red says he, don't you know this
is the only ford on the river for