Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1911-03-16
THAT GOLD
NINE
By M. QUAD
Copyright, 1910, by Associated Lit
erary Press.

"Abner Day, you are an old fool
You don't know enough to come in
when it rains!'
Abner Day, farmer, had heard these
words hundreds of times in the fifteen
years since he had married the Widow
Winters, and his reply had always been
the
"Waal, some folks are born that way
and can't help it,"
On a portion of Abner's farm was Il
range of hills. 1t was q limestone
ridge, but there was a legend that gold
had been found there years before
a nugget of gold as big as q teacup.
That legend never died. When other
news was scarce it was brought to the
front, and it was generally believed In.
Abner's grandfather had meant to open
the hills some day in search of other
nuggets. SO had his father. SO had
he. The trouble was to find time.
There were blowing and dragging and
planting and hoeing and reaping, and
he never got a day to himself.
The widow began to poke ut him as
soon as married, but it did no good.
She would go on to tell how many o
of gold were probably hidden away IN
those hills and how, If dug out, they
could have the clock cleaned, Il new
door to the shed and the cellar stairs
repaired.
oil get around to it some day,
Sarah" he would reply.
But why not tomorrow"
"Mebbe l can"
But he didn't. His farm work inter-
fered. AS he finished his morning
meal the wife would say:
"Now, Abner, that gold mine today.
You can dig half a ton of it as well as
not, and we need new fatirons and
a W~ashboard."
eyes, / know"
AS the day passed and he sat down
TO supper she would ask:
dig any gold today, Abner?"
"Nope. l had other things to see to-"
Of course the gold mine legend was
gossip for many miles around. Cnce
a month at least some one came along
and wanted to dig on shares. They
would see the wife first and she would
readily agree. All she wanted was
that a lawyer should draw up the
agreement so that it would hold wa
ter. She had been cheated by a light
ming rod man once and she didn't pro-
pose to be anybody's victim again.
She kept a corner of the cellar cleaned
out to store the gold in, but 1t was
1nvnT mood Tho GIRO n Unr UnJIIH OO
down into the field and talk with Alb
ner and after he had winded himself
he would hear the farmer say:
""These taters has got to be hoed, and
you come around some other time"
"But don't you want to be a rich
man?"
at would be kinder nice"
"YOu could go to Europe"
"Yaas."
"You could build a fine house and
have your carriage and servants"
Il see"
"Perhaps you'd be elected governor"
"Shoo."
"And I'll have q lawyer draw up the
contract and bring it here tomorrow to
be signed. Digging will begin ut once.
Within a week.
eyes, l know, but these taters"-
1t was always so, and when Abner
scuffed up to the house at shutdown it
was to find his wife in the sulks or in
tears, and she generally ended up
with:
"And if you don't go to digging the
first thing in the morning | will"
Think of it-fifteen years of pOking
and not a hole made in the hillside!
The ex-widow must have been q pa
tient, determined woman to stand 1t.
But stand it she did. She would con
quer or die. One day, after her many
disappointments, she fell i'll. The doc
tor pronounced it typhoid fever, and
she became a very sick IN At
times when she was out Of her head
she would babble about that gold
mine. At length, to prevent further
worry, the M. d. advised Abner to go
to digging and ease the mind Of the
patient.
"But I've got to plow out corn tomor-
row." was protested.
"Never mind your corn. You get a
couple of men and open those hills or
you'll soOn be a widower."
"Do you think it'll be safe to have
several tons Of gold aroundf"
"Quite so. When | call again l want
to see you at work"
In a lucid interval the patient was
told that digging was to begin. She
was very i'll, but she braced up enough
to say:
"Tell Abner that If he finds any old
pillow points or wagon tires mixed up
with the gold to throw 'em one side.
He's an awfully careless man."
Abner and his hired man dug and
dug and dug. They dug here and they
dug there, and people came for ten
miles around to see them throw out
shoyels of gold. But there was no
gold. There was neither gold nor sill
yer nor copper nor iron. There was