Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1914-07-03
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boys" he exclaimed. brushing his I'M
kempt beard and smiling craftily.
when I dynamited the Eagle Tail It
was mine by rights, but Cipriano Ara
gon-he's the big Mexican down at old
Fortuna-and Morales, the mineral
agent, had buncoed me NJ of the title.
$50, according to law, I blowed up
their mine, and If I ever showed up
down there I reckon they'd throw me
into Jail. And II al any time they find
out that you're working for me, why,
we're ditched-that's ALI They'll put
you out of business. So, after we've
made our agreement and I've told you
what to do. l don't want to hear a
word out OF you'll don't want you to
come near me. nor even write me a
letter-just go ahead the best you can
until you win out or go broke.
"It amt a hard proposition" he
continued, @if you keep your mouth
shut, but II they tumble, it'll be a fight
to a finish. I'm not saying this for
you, Hooker. because / know you're
safe; I'm saying it for your pardner
here. You talk too much. Mr.. De Lam
cey," he chided. eying him with sud-
den severity. I'm afraid of vel"
"All right broke In Hooker good
naturally, 81 reckon we understand.
Now go ahead and tell us where this
mine is and who there Is down there
to look out for"
1.-The man to look out for" an
swered Kruger with venom, SIS Cipri-
ano Aragon. He's the man that bilked
me out of the mine once, and he'll do
1t again If he can. When | went down
there-it was ten years and more ago
II wasn't on to those Spanish ways of
and friendly l thought l could trust
him anywhere.
HE owns a big ranch and mescal
still, runs cattle, works a few placers,
sends out pack-trains. and has every
Mexican and Indian in the country in
debt to him through his store, SO II he
happens to want any rough work done
there's always somebody to do 1t.
swell. just to show you how he did
me, l got to nosing round those old
Spanish workings east of Fortuna and
finally / run across the ledge that I'm
telling you about, not far from an
abandoned shaft. But the Mexican
mining laws are different from ours,
and an American has lots of trouble
anyway so I made a trade with old
Aragon that he should locate the claim
for me under a power of attorney.
Didn't know him then like l do now.
The papers had to be sent to Mocte-
yuma and Hermosillo, and to the City
of Mexico and back, and while l was
waiting around / dug In on this lead
and opened up the prettiest vein of
quartz you ever saw in your life.
Here's a sample of II, and it's sure
rich"
He handed De Lancey the familiar
piece of quartz and proceeded with his
story.
THAT ore looked SO good to me that
l couldn't wait-I shipped it before I
got my title. And right there l made
my mistake. When Aragon saw the
gold In hat rock he just quietly re-
corded the concession in his own name
and told me to go to blazes. That's
the greaser of 1t! So l blew the whole
mine up and hit for the border. That's
the Dutch of 1t, l reckon" he added
grimly. Anyway. my old man was
Dutch"
He paused, smiling over the mem
DRY of his misplaced credulity, and
Hooker and De Lancey joined in a
hearty laugh. From the town bum
that he had ir2t seemed this shabby
little man had changed in their eyes
until now he was a border Croesus,
the mere recital of whose adventures
conjured up In their minds visions of
gold and hidden treasure.
The rugged face of Bud Hooker,
which had been set in grim lines from
the first, relaxed as the tale proceeded
and his honest eyes glowed with adj
miration as he heard the well-planned
scheme. AS for De Lancey, he could
hardly restrain his enthusiasm, and,
drawn on by the contagion, Henry
Kruger made maps and answered ques-
tions until every detail was settled.
After the location had been marked,
and the lost tunnel charted from the
corner monuments, he babe them re-
member it well and destroyed every
vestige Of paper. Then, as a final adj
monition. he said:
Nov go in there quietly, boys
dent hurry. Prospect around a little
aad the Mexicans will all come to you
and try to sell you lost mines. Cruz
Mendez is the man you're looking for
hes honest, and he'll take you to the
Eagle Tail After that you a use
your own Judgment. So good-by"-he
took them by the hands-"and don't
talk!"
He held up a warning finger as they
parted. and Bud nodded briefly in
reply. Silence was a habit with him,
desert-bred. and he nodded his head
for two.