Meade County news. [volume] (Meade, Kan.) 1900-1918, 1916-07-27
i The City Of Numbered Days
Il w By FRANCIS LYNDE w
81 cop7II4 b. ca.I. saaa~. Son.
By FRANCIS LYNDE


with him. You know that long, mar
row sandbar in the river Just below
the mouth Of the upper canyon?"
"'Grislow nodded.
,rThat 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. l did 1t, 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 PAM,
Keep your head" said Brouillard
coolly "Massingale explained that
had happened to make ten-strike;
that the bar wasn't any such bonanza
as that first result would indicate.
proved that. too, by washing some
more of 1t without getting any more
than few 'colors. But the fact re-
mains: it's placer ground"
1t 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 q 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 good bit greater
consequence than a dozen placer
mines. Massingale drove the peg
down good and hard. II would jump
in and pull every possible string to
hurry the railroad over the range, and
keep on pulling them, the secret Of
the placer bar would remain q secret.
Otherwise he. Stephen Massingale.
would give 1t away, publish 1t, adver.
tise 1t to the world. You know what
that would mean for u.s. Murray"
my Lord! should say SO! We'd
have Boomtown-on-the-pike right now,
with all the variations! Every white
man in the camp would chuck his Job
in the hollow half of minute and go
to gravel washing!"
'That's 1t precisely" Brouillard ac-
quiesced gloomily. "Massingale is a
young tough. but he is shrewd enough,
when he is sober. He had me dead to
rights. and he knew It. You don't
want any gold camp starting up here
In the bottom Of your reservoir he
said; and had to admit it."
Grislow had found magnifying
glass in the drawer Of the mapping
table, and he was holding 1t in focus
over the small collection Of grain gold
and nuggets. In the midst of the ca
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 bar
himsclf?"
"Ee explained that phase Of 1t, after
a fashion-said that placer mining was
always more or less Of gamble, and
that they had sure thing Of 1t in
the Little Susan or course. II the
thing had to be given away he and
his father would avail themselves Of
their rights as discoveries and take
their chance with the crowd for the
sake of the ready money they might
| get out Of it. Otherwise they'd be
content to let 1t alone and stick to
their legitimate business, which Is
| quartz mining"
"Ard to do that successfully they've
got to have tho railroad. How did you
settle 1t Gnally?"
Gle told me to take a week or two
and think about it."
Grislow was biting the end Of his
penholder tLoughtfully.
What are you going to do about
it, Victor?" he asked at length. I'VE
can't stand for any moro chaos than
the gods have already doped out for
US, can WEI"
Erouillard took another long minute
at the Office window before he said;
what would you do II you were in
my place, Murray"
Eut at this the mapmaker put up
his hands as II to ward of blow.
mo, you dont!" he laughed. II
refuse to be that kind of fool. But
I'll venture small prophecy: The
golden secret will leak out. And after
that, the deluge."