Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-02-03

down the narrow trail over which he
had been trudging with tired. bnstered
feet.
81 don't know why they call this
Good Luck TRAIL" he muttered, ''un-
less it is because you're having good
luck II you get back alive. can't
think of any other reason"
He wiped the Precipitation from his
heated face, settled the pack on his
bent back and resumed the steady,
upward climb into the heart of the
Sierras. Somewhere far above him,
concealed in a little gully mapped out
on rough piece Of paper he carried
next his heart, was a hidden treasure
Of gold dust. Lem Harrison's Uncle
Peter had been a forty-niner and
among the first to reach the California
goldfields. He had written letters
home Of a wonderful fortune he had
amassed and told in detail how the
precious dust was contained in stout
tin boxes and the whole hoard cached
in this gully until his search for riches
was ended. Then he would gather up
all his treasure and take it down to
San Francisco.
Months after that had come news of
his death in San Francisco, almost
penniIeSs. His widow, who went west
to bring back his remains, could OBJ
tain no news Of the fortune he had
written about and the only clew to
which was a small, rough map found
among his clothing. This she gave to
Lem Harrison's father, who in turn
bequeathed it to his son as a curiosity.
But Lem possessed the same spirit
OF adventure that had prompted his
Uncle Peter to fare forth In search of
fortune, and after the death Of his
parents he, too, had turned his face to
the golden west, and tucked inside his
pocket was the map made By his I'm
Gle Peter sixty years before. For sew
eral years Lem led a varied life on the
plains.
He had been cattleman and pros
pector and trackwalker for the rail
road, but the lure of gold drew him
ever farther westward until his feet
had crossed the line into California,
and he had at last set forth on a def
mite expedition in search OF the. gold
dust concealed by his uncle.
"If he took 1t down TO Frisco with
him why did he make the mapT" he
argued with himself at night when he
made his lonely camp. Seems as II
he might have found more gold after
he &hok 4raS LOT on6 hn IoFk ~
there and took the second lot down to
the city and blew 1t in. don't like to
think that 1 have been deceiving my
self all these years and that when !
get to Good Luck gulch I'm going to
be disappointed Who knows but
somebody else has found it years
back? Pshaw! 1 won't think any
thing more about it till I get there"
Lem Harrison beguiled his lonely
way with occasional monologues. Az
he mounted higher into the rare upper
air of the mountains he felt great ex
/ hilaration. In the distance were snow
capped peaks, and about him there
were young pines that glistened in the
sunlight He shifted the fresh air and
whistled cheerily.
/ According to his map he had another
/ mile to travel before he would reach
the entrance to the gulch that was his
goal. He had crossed and recrossed s
crooked stream that latticed the trai
with little runlets, and he recognized
it as the stream described by his uncle
and from whose waters had been wash
ed the precious gold. In Good Luck
gulch this stream had it's Creates
breadth.
Three-quarters of a mile farther and
just as the sun was setting he knew
that he was nearing his goal. The
pines had thinned out, and he haC
reached an eminence where he could
look back over the trail and see 1t drop
ping like a sad colored string down the
mountain side.
Of don't find it." he muttered grim
~, ''Pll give this trail new name. Il
won't sound like good luck and it'll
smell mighty sulphurous"
He wouldn't go on any farther tina
night He made camp then and there
so that he might look upon the gulcl
by the early sunlight The sun haC
dropped beyond the distant peaks, anC
there came the refreshing GOODNESS o.
a California night.
A red bar of light across his eye
awOke him to new day-the day o
his life. This arrival at Good Lucl
gulch was the elimination of his ia
theirs dreams and his own boyisl
hopes. Now he was thirty-three AM
the treasure might be still uncovered.
Breakfast was brief meal. and, witt
his pack neatly rolled, once more he re
sumed his journey, silent, tense witt
suppressed excitement. The pines dis
appeared to give way to wind blow
cottonwOods and ragged rocks. an,
then the trail dipped down toward tn
west. He had passed over the summit
and now the trail led down. He ha,
lost track Of the stream Of water Fl
was Off the right trail. Where had h
missed 1t?
A half hour later he found 1t again
and saw that the stream wound arount
the mountain from the west side, ant
it was there that he must look 70
Good Luck gulch. The air was softe
md ptaaroF hara puifh