Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1916-05-19
A Wild Goose
Chase
By F. A. Mitchell


a young man Of whom the testator APP
proved. Mr.. Spangler was considered
Il very singular parsonage, and his will
bears out the opinion.
Believing that between husband
End wife the one showing the greater
thought, resource, ingenuity - indeed,
those faculties which go to make up
smartness-should rule, bequeath my
fortune either to my beloved daugh-
ter, Imogene Spangler, or to the man
she shall marry, the inheritance to be
decided in the following manner:
MY property, consisting of twenty
bonds Of $1,000 each, is buried In the
state Of Florida. They will be found
either on the right bank of the St
Johns river, at its junction with the
ocean, or at Glencove Springs, twen-
ty miles northeast of st. Augustine.
The finder of the bonds-either my
daughter, Imogene Spangler, or her
husband-shall be their possessor."
Surely, Tom," said Imogene after
reading the will, father must have
been delirious when he signed his will
You'd better go to Florida and visit
the two places named in the will
Quite likely you'll find a pointer in the
one where the bonds are buried"
II think you had better go with me.
We can make it bridal trip"
very good. Name the day"
lmogene and Tom were duly mar
ried and preparations made for the
wedding journey. The evening before
their start Imogene went into her late
fathers library, where the old gentle
man had kept many atlases-for he
was much interested in geography
with a view to locating the points
where they were to hunt for the bonds.
Mr. Spangler had set great store by a
revolving plaster globe four feet In
diameter. Imogene found st. Angus
tine on this globe, but not Glencove
Springs, SO she got down an atlas con-
tanning sufficiently detailed map and
located the points exactly.
The couple left the next morning for
the Flowery State, passing gradually
from winter into summer. When they
reached st. Augustine Tom proposed
that they put up at a third rate hotel
or cheap boarding house. He did not
approve of spending money freely until
they had found the money to spend.
But Imogene said that, being on her
wedding journey, she proposed to live
like bride. Tom was overruled, and
they went to the most expensive hotel.
After a few days rest from their
journey Tom proposed that they should
proceed to look up their fortune. Imo-
gene seemed to be in no hurry.
"Tm comfortable here" she said.
Suppose you go to both points"
But in case l find the bonds shall
be the owner of them"
Suppose you are? That won't make
any difference to me. think the hus-
band should have the money anyway.
Papa was like most men; he thought
that power in the family is lodged in
the one possessing the funds He
should have known that women don't
work that way. Their power lies be-
yond dollars and cents You go ahead
and find the bonds"
Tom was puzzled. For him to go OF
to hunt for a fortune on such meager
information as he possessed seemed
ridiculous. He showed a disposition to
give up the matter.
''Oh, go on" said his wife. you'll
get mighty tired sitting around with
me long before tho honeymoon is over.
Quite likely you'll find clew. Father
wasn't such a fool as to hide a fortune
where no one could find it."
She kissed him and patted him on
the back and sent him away. He went
first to the Springs, where he spent a
lay looking for a sign. Finding none,
he proceeded to Jacksonville and
thence to the coast But never a sign
lid he see. AS for digging anywhere
without a sign, he was not so stupid
IS that So after three or four days
absence he returned to St Augustine.
he expected to find his wife diSap-
pointed at his failure, but she met him
with a smile.
You don't seem to be much de-
pressed at the loss Of fortune" he
isn't it a wife's duty to cheer her
husband in times of adverslty2" she
eplied =
II hope you'll be able to keep it up
vhen the bills begin to come In"
brush your hair and get that dlsap-
'ointed look OF your face. Things are
lot so bad as they appear. l have
to tell you. The night be-
ore we left for this place went into
ather's library to look upon his globes
nd maps where these places you have
cen are. Something in the words
ilencoVe Springs sounded suggestive.
Springs, springs kept saying. Why
did it l don't know, but l pressed
1y thumb on the globe at the point
where Glencove is and broke through
he surface. Taking a knife, l began
o dig and found the bonds. Here
hey are"
Going to her trunk, she unlocked It
nd took out twenty 6 per cent gilt
dge bonds.
Tom kissed her enthusiastically.
hen suddenly the smile left his face.