The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1910-12-25

| IN strangely perplexing thoughts. Inena
he rose slowly and picked up his few
belongings He threw them into a.
pile and kicked them Viciously as IL
they had been responsible for his
troubles.
Up near the head of the sluice, where
/ the mountain torrent of the night be
fore had dislodged the powders ana
nearly wiped out his camp, he founc<
his pckax half buried in debris. He
rescued 1t from the dirt and gravel
and as a parting thrust at the cruel}
rocks which had defed him he sunk
the implement deep into their sides.
The pick crushed through the shelf of
most lost his balance.
"Merry Christmas, ehv' he grlMeeU.-
Merry Christmas!"
He Withdrew the pick faad started to-
walk away. A slight ooJ1g of water
from the SCI xapqsed u bis pick at
tracted his - He stared at it
and then M II stopped to ex-
anime the ind splihtered rock
with n litt1 y of surprise he gatf,.-
erred anotheuis ndful and spread the.
pieces out oil ssreg0Aslgn palm. m.
times he dug up all he c6nH hold 1.
one palm and repeated the operatfofro~.
Suddenly, q fierce light shot into his.
eyes, and his face assumed the eager
greedy lock of a wild animal on the
scent of some helpless prey. He drop
ped on hands and knees and dug at the
sand and rock until the blood seepedt
from Scared fingers and dyed the
rocks. He was for all the world a.
wild beast tearing and rending blood
less victim to death.
Again and again he held the samples
close to his eyes and each time grunted&
with satisfaction. He sprang out Of
the hole and attacked the rocks with.
his heavy miners pick. The blows
fell with sharp, metallic sounds; but
unmindful of the noise, the miner
worked feverishly and stubbornly az
the excavation.
There was a little cry of exultations-
The man held within his hand sam
pie of dull yellowish rock that sent the
blood coursing rapidly through hiss
veins. The freshet of the night had
unearthed vein of gold which prom>A
ised to bring true all his visions of the Z
past.
Deeper and deeper into the, bowels OF
the earth he dug, following. the course
of the vein and granting his satisfac-
ton at each fresh discovery. Had hzsr
not been carried away by his greed ard
excitement he would have hesftateG
and Withdrawn from his perilous posi-
ton. His expert knowledge of mining
would have told him that he was court =
ing terrible danger
But the good fortune which had come
to him after forty years of disappofnt-
ment made him temporarily crazy. and
he forgot everything except the gold 5
which he was unearthing Then sad .
den blow from his pick loosened torr<-
rent of sand. and the rocks above his
head groaned and settled down.
Carston was instantly alert and rear.
lied in fash his danger. He sprang
back toward the mouth of the opening.
leaving his pick and samples of gol(E
behind. But the avalanche of rocks
and dirt was too quick for him It
fell around and over him until the light
of day was shut from view. A heavy.
boWlder rolled over ON his leg and pin,
Toned him to the soft sand.
The roar of the descending avalanche
subsidized, and the miner drew deep
er breath when he realized that alt
immediate danger was passed. An
overhanging ledge had partly protect
ed him, and lie had space of few
feet in which to breathe and moves
The wall of loose stones and rocks.
could not be very thick. for he saw
glilnmers of light shining through.
But when he attempted to extricate.
himself from the prison he found that
worse fate had befallen him than
he imagined His right leg was crush.
ed and held in a yiselike grip by a.
huge bowlder that had settled down
on him.
In vain he tried to move the rock
and pull his leg free But the bowl
der was immoyable and tina excruciat-
Ing pain made him faint. sick. For
hours he tore at the sand and gravel
at the rock which held him a prisoner.
Then, faint and exhausted, he lay
back and rested. The pain grew past
endurance, and Inconsistencies merci--
fully relieved him. When his senses.
returned he renewed the struggle, but
with the same hopeless effort. His
prison was located far up on the noun.
tain side where no human creature
would be likely to stray for weeks or
months at time.
'fBlack" Carston was a man of iron
viii and rugged constitution. and he
did not yield easily to despair Dur
ing the long hours of the day he
fought and struggled with almost SUI
perhuman effort. Then the pain. loss
OF blood and exhaustion broke his
snirit With little sob he 'roppef
his head back on the rockf anu re-