The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-11-07
MASTERLY STORIES OF AMERICAN RANCH LIFE : - us U

squeaked.
"And then, right before their
eyes, the whole durn end of the
cave-that big square of rock that
Johnson had took for a frame
tons and tons of rock began to turn
on a pivot in the middle. Slow,
slow it turned with never a sound,
and as steady as time.
Lord A'mightyp says John
son. What's nextY He fex ice at
the back of his head and a melting
of his stummick.
'S-shp says the Injun, so saw
age, it jerked him back to atten-
ton. 'Ready-Readyi NOWP
The opening was wide enough
to pass man.
Through it the Injun jumps,
dragging Johnson after him.
Johnson fell end over appetite
into some kind of gravel.
"'QuickT" says the Indian. Pick
'em upp He grabbed the gravel by
the handful and jammed it in his
pockets. In the dim light he could
see the Indian working away
throwing the stuff into a fold of
his blanket. but constant swapping
his head around, to watch the door,
with the fear of death on him.
THE slit again began to narrow.
Gomez yells the Injun. They both
broke for the door, bumped into
each other. Johnson went off his
pins. The Injun reached and
grabbed him. The door was clos
ing. The Injun tugged and john
son scrambled. He tunbled into
the clear-all but one foot. The
door shut down on that-so quiet,
so easy, and so surel But the touch
made ltxlatic of johnson. He
pulled with the> strength of one.
The boot came off, along with
most of the skin on his ankle, and
Johnson vas free. Then that door
just spread the boot out like butter.
So it would have done if the foot
had been in it.
Johnson cussed a short PRAYER
of thanksgiving, the dancing light
held for a moment, then vanished.
and the two had to tumble their
way out, through the dark.
Later they stood under the
waterfall, breathing nice large
chunks of free air. There. john
son looked at the stuff in his pock-
cts. 1t was gold-nuggets of gold,
from pennyweight chunks, to
hunks that would go to two ounces.
He drew in some more breaths of
air.
az don't like caves says john
son. But this stuff is all right
He took a last look at the wat
erfall. and saw what clever stunt
the whole thing was. Only with the
sun at its height could it hit the
waterfall at all, and only for three
days, the Injun told him, could it
go through the fall. and\hit on the
copper bar.
The canyon was so narrow and
the rocks arranged so that the least
change and the sun was shut off.
Had it clouded for those few min
utes, there'd been nothing to it, I'M
til next year.
And then, the way the water
fall was shaped! Just so tilted.
and just so curved, that it acted
like big burning glass, heating
the rod and when that expanded
under the heat, opening the door,
with a force nothing could offset.
II take off my hat to the man
that got that up says Johnson.
He tried to pump the Injun as
to where. when and how the racket
had been worked, but Chung-koo-
kah answered him short and stern:
Because you have that mark saws
the Injun, pointing to the brand. I
have gone into the sacred house of
the Sun. You know you have the
goid-more YOU need not know.
and that's all there was to that. Be-
sides, it wouldn't scarcely have
been polite to urge for any more,
when a mans staked you to a cou-
pie of thousand dollars.
! The Injun wouldn't keep even
one chunk of gold. but Johnson
bought him ponies, blankets and a
good gun.
"On the way out, johnson was
blindfolded. Coming in, you not
look says the Injun. Now, yes
you look plenty
so they stumbled their way to
the horses. Johnson owns little
ranch in Montana. II we 60 ur
there sometime. he can show YOU
the brand on his chest, and a boot
leg. sheared off half way. He
showed 'em to me, as he kept that
boot leg for a souveneer. That
amt exactly proof, but you'd be-
lieve it. You'd believed it sure if
you'd been with me as he told me.
just before he pulled out, him and
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