The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1912-06-06

Why had the boy selected this morn
ing to greet him with words that
seemed TO drive the iron deeper into
his soul? Merry Christmas, Huh,
There was no merry Christmas in this
world-nOt for such outcastS.'
For an hour The man was absorbed
in strangely perplcXins thoughts. Then
he rose slowly and picked up his few
belongings lie threw them into 4
pile and kicked them viciously as if
they had been responsible for his
troubles.
Up near the head of the sluce, where
the mountain torrent of the night be
fore had diSlolgcd the powders and
nearly wiped out his camp, he found
his pickax half buried in debris. lie
rescued it from the dirt and gravel.
and as parting thrust ut the cruel
rocks which had dcficd him he sunk
the implement deep into their sides.
The pick crushed through the shell IF
the rocks so easily thar the man al
most lost his balance.
Merry Christmas, chi" he @runtcG
Merry Christmas"
He withdrew the pick and started to
walk away. \ slight Oozin@ of water
from the scar caused by his pick at
tracted his attention. He stared at il
and then mechanically stopped to eX-
anime the gravel and splintcrCd rock
With a little gasp of surprise he gath
cred another handful and spread the
pieces out on his rough palm Three
times he dug w all he could hold in
one palm and repeated the operation.
Suddenly a fierce light shot into his
eyes, and bis face assumed the eager,
greedy look Of Il Wild animal on the
scent Of some helpless prey. He drop
ped on bands and knees and dug ut th
sand and rock until the blood scnped
from Scared fingers ana dyed the
rocks. lie was for all the world a
wild beast tearing ana rendtng Il blood
less victim to death
Again and again he held the samples
close to his eyes and each time grunt2d
with satisfaction. He spran@ 'nt Of
the hole and attacked the rocks W-l
his heavy miners pick. The blows
fell with sharp, metallic sounds; but
unmindtul of the noise, The minor
worked fcvcTishlY and Stubbornly al
the excavation.
There was a little cry of eXu'tation
The man held within his hand sam
pie of dun yclloWisl rock that sent the
blood coursinG rapidly through his
veins. The freshct Ct the night had
unearthed Il vein of gold which prom
ised to bring true all his visions of the
past.
Deeper and deeper into the bowels Of
the earth he dug following the course
of the vein and gruutinr his satisfac.
ton at each fresh discovery. Had he
not been carried away by his greed and
excitement he would have hnsitatpG
and withdrawn from his pcriIous posi-
ton. His expert KNOWLEDGE of mining
would have told him that he was court
ing 4 terrible danger.
But the good fortune which had come
to him after forty years of disappoint
ment made him temporarily crazy. and
be forgot everything except the gold
which he was unearthing. Then a sud
den blow from his pick looSened a tor
rent of sand, and the rocks above hi,
head groaned and settled down.
Carston was instantly alert ana real
lied in a flash his danger. He sprang
back toward the mouth Of the opening
leaving his pick and samples of gold
behind. But the avalanche of rocks
and dirt was too quick for him. Il
fell around and over him until the light
OF day was shut from view. y heavy
boWldcr rolled over on his leg and pin
toned him to the soft sand.
The roar of the descending avalanche
subsidized, and the miner drew a deep
CT breath when he realized that ali
immediate danger was passed. An
oyerhanging ledge had partly protect
ed him, and he had a space Of q few
feet in which to breathe and move.
The wall Of loose stones and rocks
could not be very thick, for he saw
glimmers of light shining through.
But when he attempted to eXtricatc
himself from the prison he found that
a worse fate had bcfallen him than
he imagined His right leg was crush
ed and held in Il viselike grip by !