Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1916-10-11

beneath his weight, and he had fallen
into the river.
"They had no business to have so
weak railr' he cried bitterly.
"WelI, you're here, all right" l said
soothingly. There's no great harm
DONE"
"Oh, isn't there?" he snarled.
Then we learned how the weight OF
the gold around his waist had carried
him down like plummet, and we
sensed little of the desperate horror
with which he had torn and struggled
to free himself from that dreadful
burden.
II thought I'd burst" said he.
And then he had torn off the belt
and had shot to the surface.
"It's down there" he said more calm
", every COMPOUNDED yellow grain Of
It." He laughed little. Broke! said
he. mo New York in mine!"
The crowd murmured sympathetic
cally.
"Gol darn it, boys, it's rotten hard
luckv' cried big miner. with some
heat. who'll chip IMP ......
At the words Johnny recovered HIM
self, and his customary ease OF man
ner returned.
Much obliged, boys" said he, but
I've still got my health. don't need
charity. Guess I've been doing the
baby act. But l was clean mad at
that rotten old rail. Anyway" he
laughed, there need nobody say In
the future that there's no gold in the
lower Sacramento. There IS. put 1t
there myself"
We drew up to San Francisco early
in the afternoon, and we were, to put
it mildly. thoroughly astonished ut the
change in the place. To begin with,
we now landed at long wharf pro-
jecting from the foot of Sacramento
street instead Of by lighter. This
wharf was crowded by a miscellaneous
mob, collected apparently with no 9TH
er purpose than to view our arrival.
Among them we saw many specialized
types that had been lacking to the old
city Of few months ago-sharp. keen.
| businesslike clerks whom one could
not imagine at the rough work OF the
mines: loafers whom one could not i'm
agine at any work ut all; dissolute.
hard faced characters without the bold
| freedom of the road agents; young
green looking chaps who evidently had
much to learn and who were exceed
ingly likely to pay their little fortunes.
If not their lives. in the learning. On
hogshead Mt one side street preach
err was declaiming.
Johnny had by now quite recovered
| his spirits. / think he was helped
greatly by the discovery that he still
possessed his celebrated diamond.
"Not broke yet" said he triumphant
ly. you see Yves wise boy after
an! Wish had two Of Them
We disembarked, fought our way to
one side and discussed our plans.
"Hock the diamond first" said John
ny, who resolutely refused to borrow
from me: then hair cut, shave. bath,
buy some more clothes. grub. drink
and hunt up Talbot and see what he's
done with the dust we sent down from
Hangman's.'
That program seemed good. We
stroled toward shore, with full 1nten-
ton of putting it into immediate ex-
ecutiOn. Immediate" proved to be a
relative term. There was too much to
see
At the land end Of the wharf we ran
into the most extraordinary collection
Of vehicles apparently in an ineXtrica-
Bile tangle, that was further compli-
Gated by the fact that most of the
horses were only half broken. They
kicked and reared; their drivers dashed
and swore: the wagons clashed togeth-
er. There seemed no possible way out
Of the mess. and yet somehow the
wagons seemed to get loaded and to
draw out into the clear. Occasionally
the drivers were inclined to abandon
their craft and do battle with the load
ed ends Of their whips. but always a
peacemaker descended upon them In
the person of large voluble individ-
ual, in whom recognized my former
friend and employer, John McGNnn
Evidently John had no longer . ~
nopoly of the teaming business, but a
evidently what he said went with TIL
wild bunch. ..a
Most Of the wagons were loadin
goods brought from the interiors o
storehouses alongside the approach t
khe wharf. In these storehouses "
recognized the hulls Of ships. but o
shored up, dismantled and cut into b,
doors and stories that Of their origina
appearance only their general shape
remained. There was great numbe
of these storehouses along the shore
some Of them being quite built abou
by piles and platforms, while two wer
actually inland several hundred fee
I read the name Mantle on the ster
of one of them and found 1t to hav
ACQUIRED in the landward side a squar
false front. 1t was at that time use
at hotel.
"Looks as If they'd taken hold Q
Talbots idea hard" observed Yank-
CHAPTER XVIII.
Johnny Buys a Drink.
"HE place was full Of new builG
In