The Newport miner. [volume] (Newport, Wash.) 1899-current, 1908-04-09


sWered. "Fll do it. ANY way to end
this torture. How far did you say it
is?'
.'Just mile. You cross a rise in the
ground, then walk Oh a level till you
come to sort of rayine. Cross the ra
vine, count about hundred steps, and
you'll be right On the brink OF the
precipice.''
"Much obliged to you, stranger. 1
reckon I'll find it,
"YOu can't miss it. 1t extends ten
miles to your right and five to your
left straight across your path. Keep
looking up at the north star, and you
won't know when you get to it,
There wasn't any use of his looking
up to avoid seeing the gulf, for the di-
vide was high on either hand shutting
out so much sky that nobody could see
two steps ahead. He went on, after
thanking me again for putting him on
to such an economical way of killing
himself, and started in once more on
my letters. l was thinking of getting
into my blankets when the fellow
came back.
whats the matter?" said. Didn't
you come to it?''
"Well, yes" he said. Il came to it
all right crossed the rise and the
rayine, then counted my steps till they
numbered ninety-fve. Then 1 thought
I'd like to see how near the gulf 1 was,
SO I took a match out of my pocket
and struck it. There. not ten steps
from me, was the great black dark
ness, and knew I was right ON to it.
Somehow it scared me-
''You shouldn't have lit the match"
I said "YOu should have walked right
off the cliff without knowing where
you were going to fall. You've spoiled
the whole business
Il reckon I'd rather do the job with
a gun. I've got something here that's
worth q dozen cartridges" And he
handed out little brown stone.
"What do you mean?' l asked.
''Well, the match lit shOne OH some
thing bright. l picked up this stone
and saw that the flame was shining on
particles of gold"
I moved the stone about in the light
of the candle, and it sparkled from
various parts.
''See here" I said to the stranger.
"You turn in here with me, and tOmor-
row We'll go down and hunt for more
Of this. Maybe we can find the place"
"It's right on the edge of the gulf"
kD,t ,f ton r 1yr,a
you wouldn't walk into it anyway.
Only lunatics choose horrible deaths,
and 1 saw by your eye that you were
not lunatic. You're only discOura ged.
The abyss you saw was created by
your imagination"
I gave him something to eat and
couple of my blankets. He was tired
out and slept soundly till morning.
when 1 put some bacon hard tack and
a tin cup full of coffee into him. Then
we started toward the gulf. When we
got to the top of the rise l had men,
toned we looked across the ravine,
and there was nothing but dead level
ahead to the foot of the divide. The
man looked at it astOnished. We count
Ell IlHcty -ufc StcpS uuc uOItH IAOLl
the ravine and began to pick up mug
gets.
Well, that's what led up to the dis
covery OF the Suicide mine. The
stranger and l have long been pards,
and either of us could sell out for a
million. He built a fine house and
brought his family out to live in it.
He took me in and returned the loan
of couple Of blankets when he was
a would be suicide with suit of apart
ments in his home and an elder down
guilt to cover me nights.
He did more than this. He had
daughter who thought lot of me,
knowing that I'd saved her father,
and he gave me her too. All the luck
for all Of us was started by my reckon
ing that the man who wanted to kill
himself would shrink from death II
made it frightful enough.
SPENCER TROWBRIDGE.
Z