Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1912-01-03
CHAPTER XXI.

But there came the day, one year,
in early April, when Dede sat in an
easy chair on the porch, sewing on
certain small garments, while Day
light read aloud to her It was in
the afternoon, and a bright sun was
shining down on a world of new green.
Along the irrigation channels Of the
vegetable garden streams of water
were flowing, and now and again Day
light broke off from his reading to run
out and change the flow of water.
Also, he was teasingly interested in
the certain small garments on which
Dede worked, while she was radiant
ly happy over them, though at times,
when his tender fun was too insistent,
she was rosily confused or affection
ately resentful. 1t was a few minutes
later that Daylight, breaking off from
his reading to change the streams Of
irrigation, found that the water had
ceased flowing. He shouldered a pick
and shovel, took hammer and pipe
wrench from the Toulouse, and re-
turned to Dede on the porch.
81 reckon I'll have to go down and
dig the pipe out" he told her. cts
that slide that's threatened all winter.
I guess she's come down at last"
Don't you read ahead, now" he
warned, as he passed around the
house and took the trail that led down
the wall of the canyon.
Halfway down the trail, he came
upon the slide. 1t was a small affair,
only a few tons of earth and crum-
bling rock; but, starting from fifty
feet above, it had struck the water
pipe with force sufficient to break it
at a connection. Before proceeding
to work, he glanced up the path of
the slide, and he saw what made his
eyes startle and cease for the mo-
ment from questing farther
Hello he communed aloud, '1ook
who's here"
His glance moved on up the steep
broken surface, and across it from
side to side. Here and there, in
places, small twisted manzanitas were
rooted precariously, but in the main,
save for weeds and grass, that portion
of the canyon was bare There were
signs of surface that had shifted
often as the rain poured flow of rich
eroded soil from ahsve over the lip of
the canyon.
"a true assure vein, or | never saw
one,' he proclaimed softly.
Dropping the hammer and pipe
wrench, but retaining pick and shovel,
he climbed up the slide to where
vague line of out-jutting but mostly
soil-covered rock could be seen. 1t
was all but indiscernible, but his prac-
ticed eye had sketched the hidden in
formation which it signifed. Here
and there, along this wall of the vein,
he attacked the crumbling rock with
the pick and shoveIed the cucumber
ing soil away. Several times he ex-
amined this rock. So soft was some
of it that he could break it in his fin
gers Shifting dozen feet higher up,
he again attacked with pick and
shovel. And this time, when he rub
bed the soil from a chunk of rock and
looked, he Strengthened up suddenly,
gasping with delight And then, like
a deer at drinking pool in fear of it's
enemies, he flung quick glance
around to see if any eye were gazing
upon him. He grinned at his own
fColishness and returned to his eXami-
nation of the chunk A slant of sun
light fell on it, and it was all aglitter
with tiny specks Of unmistakable free
gold
From the grass roots down." he
muttered in an awe-stricken voice, as
he swung his pick into the yielding
surface.
Sometimes he started small slides
of earth that covered up his work and
compelled him to dig again. Once
he was swept fifty feet down the can
von-side; but he f1oundered and scram-
loled up again without pausing for
breath. He hit upon quartz that was
SO rotten that it was almost like clay
and here the gold was richer than
ever. 1t was a veritable treasure
chamber. For a hundred feet up and
down he traced the walls of the vein.
He even climbed over the canyon-lip
to look along the brow of the hill for
signs of the outcrop. But that could
wait, and he hurried back to his find
He toiled on in the same mad haste,
until exhaustion and an intolerable
ache in his back compelled him to
pause. He Strengthened up with even
richer piece of gold-laden quartz.
STOPPING, the sweat from his forehead
had fallen to the ground. 1t now ran
into his eyes, binding him, He wiped