The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1913-05-15

dunn OF waiting. ne mad Staked his
savings on this one throw-and lost.
He would have to begin all ovel
again The very thought of it nauseat
ed him. and be determined to remain
in California even if he had to seek
some new employment. For awhile a,
least he would stay away from his
hated law books and revel In the
mountain life. His sketch book would
be the richer for the experience.
So he paid his men and sent them
away down the mountain side, while he
remained alone on the worthless bit OF
land he could call his own. The days
| were dull enough when he was not
sketching. for continually there were
thoughts ofshis traitorous friend Hale
| and gradually there grew upon him the
conviction that Hale's action might
have had double motive. There was
a girl back there in New York in
whom both the young men were inter.
ested. The thought came to Beekman
now that possibly Hale had desired a
clear field and had thus cleverly dis
posed of his rival financially as well us
bodily.
Edith Lenton belonged to a rich fam
lily. That was another reason why
Phil Beekman wanted money. He had
dreamed of going back with filled pock-
cts and bringing her out to his Ell Do
| RADIO, together with his sketch books.
| but all that was out Of the question
now. By the time he had saved more
money. enough to give him courage to
| approach her. Hale would have won
out and it would be too late.
| So he spent the dreary days sleeping
at night under the pine boughs. fnhal-
ing the spicy breath of the mountains.
cooking his own meals, bathing in the
waters of tumbling cascade close at
hand. sketching until he was weary
and night again claimed him and clos
ed his eyes.
1t was lonely life, but in the end 1t
proved to be a healthy one, for Phil
broadened out marvelously, and his
face lost its city pallor and was most
becomingly brown.
One day he packed lunch and
with sketching block and pencils In his
pocket, set forth. hoping for some ma
terial In the surrounding valleys. Just
as the midday sun was throwing squat
shadows Of the trees against the
ground Phil stumbled across most in
viting spot Within q circle Of gigan-
tic pines there was a little broken gul-
~ bordered with wild flowers in a riot
Of color. Near by a little rill Of cold
water burst from the rocky soil and
splashed musically in stony pool.
Refreshed by his luncheon and lured
by the quiet beauty of the spot, Phil
reclined on the pine needles and idly
watched the flowers dipping in the
light breeze.
All at once something bright attract
ed his eye, and he watched 1t curious
". 1t flashed In the sunlight. and he
realized that It moved, but so slowly
that on a cloudy day its movements
might have been imperceptible. After
awhile 1t flashed again among the
flowers and was lost to sight.
Lazily yawning, Phil got upon his
feet and went to Investigate. What
he saw he never forgot
Slowly creeping among the flower
roots was a large land tortoise. per
haps ten inches long It was much
like other tortoises save that its armor
plate appeared to be Of pure gold
With whoop Of excitement Phil
picked up the tortoise and examined
the she'll. careful to keep his fingers
from the swapping. angry jaws Of the
little black head.
1t was gold-pure. virgin gold-which
had accumulated on the back of the
animal until his armor plate was
worth many dollars. Where had he
come from? Where was he going?
Back to his golden nest, where per-
chance his rough shell had grazed so
continually against pure gold that in
the years of his existence he had
amassed fortune upon his back?
Philip Beekman asked himself these
questions With dizzying haste. Then
upon sober reflection he decided to re
lease the tortoise and follow It to its
home--if it took year to get there
ave tried the hare's mode of prog
ress-the get-rich-quick method. Now
I'll give the tortoise way trial." he
,muttered grimly. and. so saying. he
placed the tortoise on the ground and
waited patiently while 1t recovered
from its fright and once more resumed
its leisurely Journey. 1t was headed
down the dry gully, and Philip follow
ed it. pausing occasionally to sketch.
but never losing sight of his golden
guide.
At nightfall he had progressed per-
haps 200 feet, but he was not dismay->
ed He bored small hole In the edge
Of the upper shell. receiving severe
bite In consequence In this hole he
inserted the end Of q piece Of copper
wire that his pocket had produced and
so tethered his captive to small tree.
He threw himself on the dry needles
close by and slept until daylight, when
the scrape Of the wire across his bare
hand awoke him.
The golden tortoise had bitten
through the wire and was resuming