The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1910-07-19
ESTABLISHED 1876

rode to the nearest house to remain
| all night and In the morning bring
something to dig with. That night it
rained and the next day and the next
till it seemed that an ocean was being
| precipitated Then it cleared. and
Merryweather. taking pick and
shovel went back to continue his hunt
He found that the rain had washed
away portions of the dam. and its side
was covered with little gullies, some of
them quite deep. He examined a num-
Der of these gullies. but found nothing.
At the point where the road made the
| turn to ascend the dam he put In his
pick Presently It's point struck some
| thing that gave out the ring of metal
| Inserting the pick again. he threw out
| horseshoe
Though elated with his find. he did
not consider 1t by any means impor-
tant. but 1t stimulated him to dig on
A root or something harder than the
earth under where the horseshoe had
been found next attracted his atten-
ton. He dug around it and exposed
horses hoof and in few more strokes
the bones of a leg to which the hoof
belonged
Eureka" he exclaimed. "The mys-
terry of the lost wagon train is solvedr'
He worked all day unearthing the
metal parts of harness. gun barrels.
bones of human beings and horses. At
last he struck the wheel Of wagon
Then he went away to announce his
find
The news that the lost wagon train
had been found spread. Merryweather
hired half dozen men to excavate,
but so great was the interest among
the people that many of them dug
on their own account, some doubtless
hoping to find articles of value. 1t
was apparent that the train had been
turned suddenly and headed down the
canyon. Some of the wagons had
not been completely reversed before
they were buried.
Among the articles recovered was
an iron box. Merryweather took pos
session Of 1t. opened It and found that
1t belonged to Edward Earle. It CON
eS1h~O oCfCAdt III
gold and number of papers.
Some of the papers were deeds to
property in the region to which the
caravan was going-a region where
gold had then been recently discov-
cred. Merryweather. after the ex-
cavations were concluded. rode on
to what had been the destination of
the train. The unearthed papers all
belonged to Elizabeth Earle, and it
was his purpose to transact for her
any business that might be necessary.
He found conditions that he was sure
would make a great change in the
girl he loved
One evening Elizabeth heard foot
step in the hall. and moment later
she was clasped in the strong arms
of Henry Merryweather.
"The mystery is solved, sweet
hearth he exclaimed.
He led her to sofa and gave her
an account of his efforts and their
outcome. .'And now" he continued.
there is news intrinsically Of far
greater Importance to you than the
solving of the mystery You are very
rich. Your father before starting on
his last earthly journey made a will
leaving you all he possessed. II was
of no value then. but now on a por-
ton of 1t is one of the largest mines
in the west. You are the real owner,
and | have brought you proposition
from Its wrongful owners to transfer
to you one-third of the stock Of the
company. This alone will give you a
splendid income"
Az the lover had expected, the I'M
raveling of the mystery and the
changes it led to in Elizabeth's life
relieved her of her unhealthy current
of thought and gave her new mental
occupation. Not the least of the re.
suits was a husband. to whom she
was Indebted for bringing her good
fortune.
AS the mysterious disappearance of
the wagon train was for years a
fruitful source of discussion among
those who knew Of 1t. so since Merry
weather unraveled II both chapters
of the story are still told to interested
listeners III the region where Ii oc-
Cured. The location, too. is one OF
the points of interest to tourists.