The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1918-07-06
I'm THE GOLD PIT"


of which was taken from legend
told very frequently in the village
at the foot of the beautiful noun
tain.
1t was said that very wealthy
man, with his wife and children
had come a long time ago to this
village hunting for gold. Although
the man was already wealthy he
wanted more money and after he
had been travelling many days in
search of gold, he stopped at the
village inn for the night. The peO-
pie told him that it was sometimes
said that there was gold in the
mountain which overhung their viii
lage. That night Mr.. Fays, for this
was the searcherS name, could not
keep from thinking of gold, and as
a result of this he dreamed that
halfway up the mountain he could
find gold if ne dug pit about thir-
ty-five feet deep and about three
acres in area.
The next morning he started the
task and when he had finished, he
had used all his money and had
accomplis he'd nothing. To keep
from starving he and his wife
worked little in the village and
lived in hut in the pit, which he
had made for his workers The vii
layers had ever since regarded the
pit as being haunted, both because
they had thought the sold-seeker
crazed and because people that
went in there were sometimes new
er seen again-the truth was that
they did not want to be seen either
by the village guards or anyone
else. They also warned travellers
not to enter it and indeed they new
er entered it themselves.
The descendants of Mr. Fays.
with their little son, lived in this
house at the pit at the time of my
story they were very quiet and con-
tented people and always treated
travellers kindly. although the vii
layers did not think so. No one
ever stopped there for the night or
even in the daytime unless they
were fleeing from the village
guards, because most of them were
aware of the fact that guards never
went into the pit. Their son was
between the ages of 10 and twelve
years old He was always interest
ed in these strange travellers and
often studied their faces.
AS the family were eating their
supper one night a strange knock
was heard at the door. Before the
boy could reach the door a tall man
entered hurredly. He asked, out of
breath, to be hid from the guards,
because he thought that they were
determined to get him and would
surely enter the pit. They told him
that he need have no fear ana they
gave him a place at the table and
treated him as if he were one of
the family. The boy gazed earn
estly at him as if he thought that
he had once been a good man. but
had been thrown out into the
world and had become robber.
When the supper was finished he
seemed to have some sacred friend
ship with the man although he had
not said a word to him and al
though he might be dangerous. The
man also seemed to take a strong
liking to the BOY, but he had not
paid much attention to him as he
had been used to doing to all hui
mans.
When the father of the house
had given the stranger lodging in
another part of the house, he, his
wife and son discussed the strang-
er. His father thought that he was
a highway murderer because he
wore a dangerous look and seemed
to. have nothing to say but acted as
if he were dog taking his feed
from his master. The boy stood up
for the stranger all through the
conversation, but he was very
much impressed by his fathers
speech.
When he went to bed that night
he first looked in the mans as
signed room and hearing him snor-
ing loudly he went back to bed.
He kept thinking of the man until
he came to the conclusion that he
really might be bad robber, so he
reached down to the bottom of his
bed and got his wooden money