The Green Forest tribune., 1916-04-21

with him. You know that long, nar- row sandbar in the river just below the mouth of the upper canyon?"
 Grislow nodded.
 That is where we went for the proof. Massingale dipped up a painful of the bar sand, which he asked me to wash out for myself. I did it, and you have the results there in that pa per. That bar is comparatively rich placer dirt"
 Good Lord!" calculated the map maker. Comparatively rich, you say? and you washed this spoonful out of a single pan?"
 Keep your head" said Brouillard coolly. "Massingale explained that l had happened to make a ten-strike; that the bar wasn't any such bonanza as that first result would indicate. proved that, too, by washing some more of it without getting any more than a few 'colors.' But the fact re- mains: it's placer ground"
 It was at this point that the larger aspect of the fact launched itself upon the Photographer.
 "A gold strike!" he gasped. And we-we're planning to drown it un- der two hundred feet of a lake!" Brouillard's laugh was harsh.
 Don't let the fever get hold of you | Grislow. Don't forget that we are here to carry out the plans of the rec | lamation service-which are more far reaching and of a good bit greater consequence than dozen placer mines. Massingale drove the peg down good and hard. If would jumI in and pull every possible string te hurry the railroad over the range, and keep on pulling them, the secret O. the placer bar would remain secret Otherwise he, Stephen Massingale would give it away, publish it, adver tise it to the world. You know wha that would mean for us, Murray"
 My Lord! I should say so! We'( have Boomtown-onth the-pike right now with all the variations! Every whit' man in the camp would chuck his jol in the hollow half of a minute and g to gravel washing!"
 "That's it precise @ly," Brouillard ac quiesced gloomily. "Massingale is young tough, but hey Is shrewd enoug3, when he is sober. TVS had me deadk rights, and he knew it.A'Yo don want any gold camp starting up her in the bottom of your reservoir h, said; and had to admit it."
 Grislow had found a magnifyint glass in the drawer of the mapping table, and he was holding it in focus over the small collection of grain golt and nuggets. In the midst of the ca 1 ger examination he looked up sudden | ly to say: Hold on minute Why is | Steve proposing to give this thing away? Why isn't he working the bal himself?"
 He explained that phase of it, after a fashion-said that placer mining was l always more or less of a gamble, and that they had sure thing of 1t in | the Little Susan.' Of course, If the thing had to be given away he and | his father would avail themselves of l their rights as discoverers and take their chance with the crowd for the sake of the ready money they might get out of 1t. Otherwise they'd be content to let it alone and stick to their legitimate business, which is quartz mining"
 And to do that successfully they've got to have the railroad. How did you ! settle it finally?"
 'He told me to take a week or two | and think about it."
 Grislow was biting the end of his penholder thoughtfully.
 What are you going to do about | it, Victor?" he asked at length. "We can't stand for any more chaos than | the gods have already doped out for | us, can we?"
 Brouillard took another long minute at the office window before he said d: What would you do if you were in my place, Murray?"
 | But at this the mapmaker put up his hands as if to ward off blow.
 "No, you dont!" he laughed. 'I refuse to be that kind of fool. But I'll venture a small prophecy: The golden secret will leak out. And after that, the deluge."
 WEE CHAPTER V ISEVI