The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1916-08-22

dig for it.
"All the surface diggings are taken
up," our friend told us, so now you
have to dig deep. It's about four feet
down where I'm working. It'll prob
ably be deeper up here. You'd better
move back where you were"
Yank stretched himself upright.
"Look here" lie said decidedly, Tets
get little sense into ourselves. Here's
our pore old bosses standing with their
packs on and we no place to stay
and no dinner, and we're scratchln'
away at this bar like lot Of fool hens.
/. There's other days comm"
Johnny and | agreed with the COM
mon sense of the thing but reluctant
ly. Now that we knew how, our en-
thusiasm surged up again. We want
ed to get at it, The strangers eyes
twinkled sympathetically
/ "Here, boys" said he, "I know just
low you feel. Come with me-"
He snatched up our bucket and
htrode back to his own claim, where
he filed the receptacle with some OF
the earth he had thrown out.
"Go pan that" he advised us kindly.
We raced to the water and once
more stirred about the heavy contents
of the pail until they had hoated off
with the water. In the bottom lay a
! fine black residue, and In that residue
glittered the tiny yellow particles. We
had actually panned our first gold!
| Our friend examined 1t critically.
"Thats about a twelve cent pan,"
he adjudged 1t.
Somehow In a vague way we had
unreasonably expected millions at q
twist of the wrist, and the words
"12 cents" had a rankfy penurious
sound to US. However, the miner pa
tiently explained that a twelve cent
pan was very good one. and indubi
tably 1t was real gold.
Yank, being older and less excitable
had not accompanied us to the water
side.
"Well, boys" he drawled. that Il
cents is highly satisfactory, Of course
but In the meantime we've lost about
5000 worth Of hO,iS and grub"
Surely enough. animals had tired
of waiting for lis and had moved out
packs and all We hastily shouldered
our implements.
Don't You want to keep this claim
next me?" inquired our acquaintance
We stopped.
Surely" | replied. "But how do
we do it?'
"Just leave your pick and shovel in
the hole"
Wont some one steal them?"
mo"
"What's to PREVENT" I asked little
skeptically.
miners law" he replied.
We almost Immediately got trace OF
our strayed animals, as "A number OF
men had seen them going upstream
In fact, we had no difficulty whatever
in finding them, for they had simply
followed up the rough stream bed be
/ tween the canyon walls until 1t had
opened up to gentler slope and a
hanging garden Of grass and flowers
| Here they had turned aside and Were
feeding. We caught them and were
! just heading them back when Yank
stopped short.
whats the matter with this here?
| he inquired Here's feed and water
near, and it amt SO very far back to
fhe digglngs."
We looked about us for the first
/ time with seeing eyes. The little up
sloping meadow was blue and dull red
with flowers, below us the stream
brawled foam flecked among black
rocks, the high hills rose up to NEE,
the sky, and at our backs across the
way the pines stood thick serried
Far up In the blue heavens some birds
were circling slowly. Somehow the
leisurely swing of these unhasting birds
struck from us the feverish hurry that
had lately filed our souls. We drew
deep breaths, and for the first time
the great peace and majesty of these
California mountains cooled our spirits
81 think it's bully place, Yank,
said Johnny soberly, land that little
bench up above us looks fiat"
We clambered across the slant of tn,
flower spangled meadow to the bench
just within the fringe of the pines. I
proved to be fiat, and from the edg'
of 1t down the hill seeped little sprint
marked by the feathery bracken. w,
entered cool green place, people(
with shadows and the rare, considered
notes of soft voiced birds. Just oveI
our threshold, as It were, was the sun
lit, chirpy, buz2ing, bright colored bus!
world. Overhead wind OF man!
voices hummed through the pine tops
The golden sunlight Hooded the noun
tains opposite, dashed from the stream
lay languorous on the meadow. Loni
bars of 1t slanted through an unguess
ed gap In the hills behind us to toucl
with magic the very tops OF the tree
over our heads, The sheen of the pre-
cious metal was over the land.
Continued next tuesday,