Mower County transcript., 1908-12-30

.'By sweating i WIN - sbaek ~ ojito,s
Ne said tos Ms exnltAnt self, "and / can
eet to Parral IA plenty ol time without
running my legs on and losing pounds
IN cold perspiration !" His ailroad
time table showed that Ne could ar
rive in 81 Paso early sin the morning
Of the tenth day--the 18th Of Sep
tember. He mounted the burro at the
base OF the mountain and. waving his
hat, sang farewell to the little camp
near the brooklet. He drew up at the
red standstons in the trail and adj
dressed II as follows:
You are here, just as the old man
said YOU would ha hara-rixht II thu
middle of the path, but you keep his
secret. I'm glad to hayo mst you, any
way, and not . bit sosIy to leave you
and everything aToynd you. Take care
of yourself. old reddy. and continue
to keep the old fellows secret mil
lion years, for all / care" He got OF
the burro and took his knife from his
pocket. "I'll just clip on q piece Of
your secretive self and carry it back
for q keepsake"
Az he pried q piece Of the rock loose
his eyes fell upon the print Of q bare
foot at the edge of the trail. He
dropped The knife and found another
pe1nl ln a moment he was at the
edge OF the dense underground. We'll,
WELL" he muttered; this is interest
ing!" He picked his way into the
thicket for few feet and was sur
prised to find the tall grass beaten into
q pathway. He followed this path for
a short distance and found himself
on a sandy trail, zigzagging towards
the base of the mountain. His excite
ment was approaching fever-heat, and
he started to run. At the end of 100
yards he came to a pile of rocks,
where the trail ended.
He found a small opening in the
rocks and crawled through, only to
find himself In total darkness. He
hastened back to the burro and got his
lantern, retracing his steps as fast as
his weary legs would carry him. He
went under, over and between the
rocks for 20 or 80 feet, when he came
to a cavern In which he could stand
at full height. The light was thrown
on every ledge, but nowhere was there
q sign Of "a" He kept on and on,
until he calculated that he must have
gone 80 yards from the opening. Every
few feet he made q mark with q piece
Of keel, 30 that he could trace his way
back to the open air. He finally came
to an intersection Of two passageways
and turned into the one at his left.
He went down 1t until he found him
self confronted by impossible bar
riers. He retraoed his steps, and, to
a surprise that chilled him, he soon
found himself in an unfamiliar corri-
dor. He tried to get out Of it, but in
stead wandered into still another pas
sageway that bore none of his keel
marks. His mind was in a whirl now,
and he could not recover his bearings.
my Cod" he gasped; "1'm lost"
His strength almost forsook him as he
thought of the possibility that he
might never reach the open, but his
desperation spurred Aim on. He went
back over what he thought was the
way he had come-walking, crawling,
climbing for what he thought must be
hundreds of yards. Finally he found
himself in the almost sitting vapor of
q hot spring. When he reached anoth-
er avenue he sank to the ground in
collapse. His strength had deserted
him, and If his very life had depended
on his moving ten yards at the mo-
ment it is probable that it would have
been forfeited. After an hour, how
ever, he was sufficiently restrength.
ened to continue, and he also discov-
cred that he was intensely hungry
He pulled out his watch for the first
time and almost tainted when he saw
that It was few minutes after three
o'clock. @,@ ~
On and on he plunged and stumbled
until he reached another avenue, at
the end of which was q tiny speck of
light. e> ="
I'm saved! I'm saved" he cried in
an ecstasy Of Joy, and he ran towards
the light. He had not covered many
feet when he tripped over a plank
and went sprawling to the damp
ground. He stopped and turned his
light to the left. He saw the end of
an artificially made lead, and his ex-
citement rose so high that he scarcely
could control himself. He stuck his
head into the opening and held up the
lantern. a- 49, %<.,',z.. s. .ss
"Fourteen!" he cried, for there, on a
ledge, was the old mans number
crudely scratched. 1--WE found it! i've
found the San Dimas mine!'
He went into the channel for few
yards and had his hopes further
heightened by finding pick and a
small sack. His knife soon had ripped
q hole in the sack. ST"
"Gold!" he exclaimed, his blazing,
flashing eyes feasting on a small heap
OF nuggets. Il. .s-.
He took the pick and started on, but
hAh ho1 ~