Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1911-04-12
THAT GOLD
MINE
BY M. QUAD
Copyright, 1910, by Associated Lit
erary Press.
BY M. QUAD

E WOIGS uuuO1SuS VI LILIES III Tue A1tCCu
years since he had married the Widow
Z Winters, and his reply had always been
/ the same:
/ "Waal, some folks are born that way
and can't help it."
! On a portion of Abner's farm was
range of hills. 1t was a limestone
ridge, but there was legend that gold
had been found there years before
1 a nugget of gold as big as a 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 at him as
soon as married, but it did no good.
/ She would go on to tell how many tons
/ Of gold were probably hidden away in
those hills and how, if dug out, they
could have the clock cleaned, new
/ door to the shed and the cellar stairs
I repaired.
'Pll 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 ton of it as well as
not, and we need new hatirons and
a dashboard"
Eyes, l 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. Once
= q 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
agreement so that 1t 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 it was
never used. The stranger would go
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 rich
MANI"
at would be kinder nice"
'You could go to Europe"
"Yaas."
"You could build a fine house and
have your carriage and servants"
''I see"
"Perhaps you'd be elected governor"
"Shoo."
"And I'll have a lawyer draw up the
contract and bring it here tomorrow to
be signed. Digging will begin at once
Within a week.
eyes, l know, but these taters''-
1t was always so, and when Abnel
scuffed up to the house at shutdown il
was to find his wife in the sulks or in
tears, and she generally ended VI
with:
"And if. you don't go to digging the
first thing in the morning will"
Think of Fifteen years of poking
and not a hole made in the hillside
The ex-widow must have been a pa
tent, determined woman to stand it
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 woman. Al
times when she was out of her head
she would babble about Eat gold
mine. At length, to prevent further
worry, the NJ. D. advised Abner to &c
to digging and ease the mind of the
patient
But I've got to plow out corn tomor
row." was protested
"Neyer mind your corn. You get a
couple of men and open those hills or
you'll soon be widower."
do you think it'll be safe to have
several tons of gold around"
"Quite So When l call again 1 want
20 see you at work"
In 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
plow 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
shovels of gold. But there was no
gold. There was neither gold nor sill
yer nor copper nor iron. There waa
limestone, but nothing else-nothing
but a petrified hickory ak handle
When this was found the patient had
passed the crisis of her fever and was
mending. Abner was permitted to go
to her bedside and exhibit his find.
what is it?' she asked.
"a petrifed Ak handle"
Didn't you find the petriied ak
blade to go with it?"
"Nope."
"But why not?"
didn't dig long enough. guess"
"Abner Day, you are an old fool!
You don't know enough to come In
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