The Washington herald., 1915-09-19
"What about it," l asked.

.
on the paper is dated 1863 This is palpable
fraud"
''Oh. don't know" said I. "The Rundles
are pretty reliable, plain. uneducated country
people. Maybe the paper manufacturers tried
to perpetrate swindle'
And then Goodloe Banks went as wild as
his education permitted. He dropped the
glasses off his nose and glared at me-
Give often told you you were fool" he
said. "You have let yourself be imposed upon
by clodhopper. And you have imposed upon
me-
How" 1 asked. 'have I imposed upon
you?'
"By your ignorance said he. Twice I
have discovered serious flaws in your plans
that a common-sehool education should have
enabled you to. avoid And he continued,
Il have been put to expense that could i'll
afford in pursuing this swindling quest. I am
done with it"
I rose and pointed large pewter spoon at
him, fresh from the dish-water.
"Goodloe Banks said Il care not one
parboiled navy bean for your education. I al
ways barely tolerated it in any one, and l
despised it in YOU What has your learning
done for you: 1t is curse to yourself and a
bore to your friends. Away" l said-"away
with your water-marks and variations! They
are nothing to me. They shall not defect me
from the quest"
pointed with my spoon across the river
to small mountain shaped like pack
saddle.
81 am going to search that mountain" I
went on, "for the treasure. Decide now
whether you are in it or not: If you wish to
let water-mark or variation shake your soul,
you are no true adventurer. Decide
a white cloud of dust began to rise far
down the river road. 1t was the nail-wagon
from the river road 1t was the mail-wagon .
from Hesperus to Chico. Goodloe tagged it.
81 am done with the swindle,' said he,
soury "No one but fool would pay any at
tention to that paper now. Well. you always
were a fool, Jim. l leave you to your fate
He gathered his personal traps climbed into
the nail-wagon, adjusted his glasses nervously.
and flew away in cloud of dust.
After l had washed the dishes and staked
the horses on new grass, crossed the shallow
river and made my way slowly through the
cedar-brakes up to the top of the hill shaped
like pack-saddle.
1t was wonderful June day. Never in my
life had I seen so many birds, so many but
terfies, dragon flies, grasshoppers, and such
winged and stinged beasts of the air and fields.
l investigated the hill shaped like a pack
saddle from base to summit. found an abso-
lutte absence of signs relating to buried treasure.
There was no pile of stones, no ancient blazes
on the trees none of the evidences of the three
hundred thousand dollars, as set forth in the
document of old man Rumble.
came down the hill in the cool of the
afternoon. Suddenly, out of cedar-brake L
stepped into beautiful green valley where a
tributary small stream ran into the Alamito
River.
And there I was startled to see what took
to be wild man. with unkempt beard and
ragged hair, pursuing a giant butterfly with
brilliant wings.
perhaps he is an escaped madr,an,'
thought; and wondered how he had strayed so
far from seats of education and learning
And then took few more steps and saw
a vine-covered cottage near the small stream.
And in little grassy glade I saw May Martha
Mangum plucking wild flowers.
She Strengthened up and looked at me- For
the first time since knew her saw her face
which was the color of the white keys of new !,
piano-turn pink. l walked toward her with
out word. She let the gathered flowers
trickle slowly from her hand to the grass
81 knew you would come. Jim," she said
clearly. Father wouldn't let me write, but
knew you would come"
What followed you may guess-there was
my wagon and team just across the river
I've often wondered what good too much
education is to man if he can't use it for
himself. If all the benefits of it are to 20 to 7
others, where does it come IN?
For May Martha Mangum abides with me-
There is an eight-room house in live-oak