The Washington herald., 1915-09-19

NdHSuIIl dHQ HcI IdtHci "SiS SOHS. SOhC!
The house they had rented was closed Their
little store of goods and chattels was gone also
And not a word of farewell to either of us
from May Martha-not white, fl,,tterng note
pinned to the hawthorn-b bush; not chalk-nark
on the gate-post nor postcard in the post
office to give clew.
For two months Coodloe Banks and l.
separately-tried every scheme we could think
of to track the runaways. We used our friend
ship and influence with the ticket-agent, with
livery-stable men, railroad conductors. and our
one lone, lorn constable, but without results.
Then we became better friends and worse
enemies than ever We forgathered in the back
room of Snyder's saloon every afternoon after
work. and played don1inoes, and laid conversa-
tional traps to find out from each other if any
thing had been discovered That is the way of
rivals
Now, Goodloe Banks had a sarcastic way
of displaying his own learning and putting me
in the class that was reading Poor Jane Ray,
her bird is Dead she cannot play" Well,
rather liked Goodloe, and had contempt for
his college learning, and I was always regarded
as good-natured, so l kept my temper. And 1
was trying to find out if he knew anything
about May Martha so endured his society
In talking things over one afternoon he said
to me:
Suppose you do find her. Ed, whereby
would you profit? Miss Mangum has mind.
Perhaps it is yet uncultured, but she is destined
for higher things than you could give her.
have talked with no one who seemed to appre-
ciate more the enchantment of the ancient poets
and writers and the modern cults that have as
simulated and expended their philosophy of life.
Don't you think you are wasting your time
locking for herr"
"My dea," said l. "of happy home is an
eight-room house in grove of live-oaks by
the side of choreo on a Texas prairie. A
piano. went on, with an automatic player in
the sitting-room, three thousand head of cattle
under fence for starter, blackboard and
ponies always hitched at post for the missus'
and May Martha Mangum to spend the
profits of the ranch as she pleases, and to abide
with me, and put my slippers and pipe away
every day in places where they cannot be found
of evenings. That" said l., "is what is to be;
and fig-a dried, Smyrna, dago-stand fig
for your curnculums. cults, and philosophy"
"she is meant for higher things" repeated
Goodloe Banks.
"Whatever she is meant for I answered,
'just now she is out of pocket. And I shall
find her as soon as l can without aid of the COL
leges."
THE game is blocked said Coodloe put
ting down domino; and we had the beer
Shortly after that young farmer whom !
knew came into town and brought me folded
blue paper. He said his grandfather had just
died. l concealed tear, and he went on to
say that the old man had jealousy guarded this
paper for twenty years. He left it to his family
as part of his estate the rest of which consisted
of two mules and hypotenuse of nonarable
land.
The sheet of paper was of the old, blue kind
used during the rebellion of the abolitionists
against the secessionists. 1t was dated June IA,
1863, and it described the hiding place of ten
burro-loads of gold and silver coin valued at
three hundred thousand dollars. Old Rundle-
grandfather of his grandson, Sanl-was given
the information by Spanish priest who was in
on the treasure-burying, and who died many
years before-no. afterward-in old Rundle's
house Old Rumble wrote it down from dicta-
ton.
"Why didn't your father look this up?" I
asked young Rumble.