The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1913-05-15
THE LUCK OF A
GOOD LISTENER
How a Down and Out Miner
Struck 1t Rich.

Sam Calkins was strapped. There
was no doubt whatever about his finan-
cial condition. 1t was cents in hand
literally i'll hand-for he was looking
! at the copper coins lugubriously, re-
membering at the same time that there
! was not even Il crust of bread in the
house for his wife and two little chill
iren. He bad taken a chair on the
porch of the Sandwich hotel because
| chairs there were free and he didn't
| belong anywhere. Sam was a miner
and had worked in many mines. He
had been caught in a labor storm with
the result of loss of employment His
savings were all gone, there was no
| prospect Of work where he was, and he
had no means of taking himself and
his family anywhere else.
| Two men were sitting at the other
end of the porch talking together ex-
citedly, though in a low tone. Calkins
heard the word "strike," and, suppos-
ting it referred to labor matters in
which he was interested, he pricked up
his ears and soon discovered that they
| referred to strike of paying ore in
some mine the name of which they did
not mention. One of the men took a
package from his pocket-the wrapper
was piece of newspaper-and, I'M
rolling 1t. showed his companion speci-
mems Of ore. Calkins caught the words
six hundred to the ton" This told
him that the specimens mentioned as
sayed to produce this amount out Of
a tone Of ore. After passing the sam
pies back and forth for awhile they
were rolled again in the bit Of news
paper, and the man who had produced
them put them again in his pocket
Soon after both men arose and went
away
Calkins would have gone away, too,
If he had had any place to 60. But
he hadn't Being restless, he got up
and walked over to the other end Of
the porch. In chair in which one of
the men had been sitting he noticed
little dark lump about the size of a
hickory nut Taking it up. he looked
at it scrutinizingy.
eff the Constant vein hadn't run
out" he remarked to himself, I'D
swear the chunk came out OF dt.''
It was brownish quartz and full of
gold. Calkins had worked in the Con
slant mine, which had proved incon-
slant. While there he had taken out
just such ore as this. But he had seen
TIL it was nothing more than crack.
The mine, after a search for reopen
ing of the vein, had been abandoned,
and Calkins had gone to work else
where Personally he believed that If
the vein were followed deep enough it
might be found to reopen. But the
stockholders were discouraged and
would not stand assessment Sudden
ly 1t occurred to Calkins that the vein
had been followed and paying ore
again struck Then came the quick
thought, "Can I, with only 2 cents in
the world, profit by what l suspect If
1t is true?'
He went into the hotel, where a
printed list of quotations Of mining
stocks was hanging on the wall, and
glanced at sales Of Constant There
were sales at cents a share. The
stock had recently stood at 4 cents.
Then Calkins walked up the street to
the Office of man Of the name Of
Fisher, who he knew held some Of the
shares.
"I've got some information" said the
miner. do you want it, or shall I
take it elsewhereY'
"I'm your man"
"What'n you givep'
"Ten per cent of the profit"
MAKE it 90 and I'll out with it."
"All right-2O it isl j..
Calkins produced his chunk Of ore
and told Fisher that 1t had come out
of the Constant mine. Fisher asked
how he knew it, but Calkins declined
to satisfy him. He felt sure that II
his man knew he was guessing the
transaction would end then and there.
Fisher had that morning sold part Of
his stock at cents q share. He sent
in an order to buy 1t back and 10000
shares more at the market price. He
got 1000 at 6, 1000 at 61a and the bal
ance at figures rising by fractions till
the price paid was ~ cents. The sales
were larger than for many months,
but not considerable.
Calkins wished to ask Fisher for a
little money in advance to buy a sup
per for his family, but dared not lest
he should lead him to suspect that the
whole affair was simply game to
beat him out of paltry sum. So great
was his suspense that he preferred to
keep away from home. He was hang
ing between heaven and hell.
The next morning when he turned
out of an clubhouse where he had slept
he spent his cents for paper. There
in big headlines he saw the announce
ment that the Constant vein had been
recovered. richer and broader than be-
fore When the Mining Exchange
opened the stock went up to S.
share and stayed there. Before noon
EYshar pava hic informant a chocE for