Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1916-11-18

could swear. He had never expected
to see it again. 1t burned itself upol
his eyeballs, that vision Of the famln,
eyes and the two dead-white hand,
beneath them.
One of the hands raised itself ant
traced the letters of a word upon the
air In luminous letters that hickered
Wavered and disappeared.
Confess" was written there.
With groan Sebastian dropped into
a chair and put his hands across his
face.
When at last he looked up, the vision
had vanished.
There were quite few things that
Mr.. Louis Lamb knew. He knew his
name, and also his nickname, zone
Lamp Louie which had followed him
to Whites Village, Western Canada, in
the way that nicknameS do. He knew
that he was prospecting for gold, and
that he was one of an assorted mining
population drawn to that place by the
uncovering Of gold deposits following
upon an earthquake. He knew that he
had properly staked out claim, and
that he lived in little shack near by,
remote from the village.
He knew that a scar ran along the
top of his head, and he surmised that
he must have got it in some accident
or brawl. But beyond these elemen-
tary facts his mind was extremely hazy
about his past.
The simple cause Of his forgetfulness
was not absence of mind In its ordi-
nary aspect, but the fact that he had
been struck across the head by fall
ing beam in the cabaret fire.
How Mr.. Lamb had made his way to
Western Canada and engaged in the
prospecting profession, how he had
managed to build up some sort of CO.
herent personality out of the remnants
that were left uniniured is a matter
for neurologists to explain. Suffice 1t
that at certain moment he found him
self staring with unusual interest into
the debris Of pan of earth and
pebbles, which he had washed with
water from a mountain stream.
In the bottom of this, in place of the
few canary-colored flakes that he had
expected to find, were three nuggets
the size of lima beans, lying in little
mound of gold dust.
Louis Lamb emptied them into the
little bag of dust which he wore about
his body. Then he scooped up another
painful of debris and started to wash
1t too. But no washing was needed.
Nuggets of several shapes and sizes
were lying in it. And nuggets of va
rious shapes and sizes lay in the gravel
at his feet.
There was no possibility of mistak-
ing what had happened. The recent
seismic disturbances had uncovered an
alluvial deposit washed down through
the course of ages by the streams from
the great lode somewhere in the noun
tain side.
Louie had staked off this angle of |
the river bed, just where the torrent,
sweeping past, had deposited it's
wealth, the heavier gold, leaving the
pebbles to strew themselves anywhere |
along the rivers further course.
After the first shock of the discov-
cry had passed, he looked cautiously
about him. Nobody was near. Nobody
wanted to spy upon his claim, which
was supposed to be worthless.
He worked with intense secrecy for
weeks, always increasing his store of
gold, which he concealed in hole dug
n the ground beneath the plank floor
If his cabin. Then, somehow, the Sc
ret became common property.
1t was impossible for Louie to keep
t In such place as Whites Village.
Besides, other strikes had been made.
The whole side of the disrupted noun
ain teemed with gold.
"Red" Finn was interested In the
Permits mysterious journeys to and
no between his hut and his claim.
Red" had felt the presence Of mon
y in Whites Village. He had gone to
investigate, and after satisfying him
elf that the bees were gathering in a
store for him, he summoned two or
hree of his colleagues at present hid
ng in various remote villages from the
of the Northwest
mounted police.
When they arrived, Red pointed
tut LOuies shack and indicated that
here was probably fortune inside it.
The hoard had increased to veri-
able fortune when one evening Louie
ecided to go downtown. He had his
PROVISIONS to purchase but the in
tinct which had sent him there took
lin to the railroad depot instead of
o the store. On the PLATFORM waiting
or the train to come in, stood tall,
athletic man, with gray
Sh hair and a strange look of mystery
pom his face.
"Well, Mr.. Lamb, this is a pleasure"
aid Rayengar.
Louie looked at him. Il don't know
GU; l never saw you before" he
rowled suspIciously, his mind revert
az to his store.
ono ~ luuobaJ Royoupar HparhopS