Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1918-07-25

slonS Tor q year were taken up to tho
mine and a force of men engaged. Then
knew the uselessness Of the work, but
they were paid to work and not tu
give advice.
The twenty stamps were polished tin
they shone. The big hopper was ready
filled with ore. The blankets had BEEN
laid along the incline and the trough
made ready. The little stream Of wa
ter that was to mix with the pulverized
rock was waiting to begin it's work.
The turbines below were filled with
water, and the quicksilver there. All
was waiting for the signal, but the
1ngrams had spent their last dollar.
Then, the great machine began to
move, the stamps to rise and fall with
rhythmic regularity, the broken rock
to fill the trough and the water to
flow. The Keystone mill was in full
operation.
Winter had been abnormally open
and so far not a flake of snow had
fallen In the mountains. Only a few
light rains, and so it was that after
nine weeks of blind labor the first real
knowledge of the value Of the mine
would be known. The young people
up at the mine were happy, and felt
that their prospects were bright. The
JOY Of achievement was greater than
anything else. They would know to-
morrow. The New Year should see the
elimination Of their toll and sacrifice,
and it's recompense. &
But in her ignorance Mary had not
foreseen how much she was to need
her mother" until New Years eve.
Finally n of the men at the saloon
remarked: "The whole business won't
pan out an ounce. They were in a
devil of a fix before, and now-weu
I'm sorry for them"
$50 am T." said Doc Stimson, land
I'm sorry just thirty ounces"
One of the other men remarked to
the ceiling that he was sorry fifty
ounces. Finally all present "chipped
IN" and there was a gathering Of near
ly two hundred ounces Of gold, some of
1t in bottoms, from the %retorts, some
river dust, and some the dull grains
from placers. i
Almost without a sound the crowd
started for the Keystone with the gold
they had contributed. The watchman
was so glad that he was not to ba
lynched for not having told the fool
ish children the truth that he vas per-
fectly willing to enter the plot, which
was to place all this gold into the
turbine tub and allow Ingram to be-
lieve it gold from his mine. The main
point now was to keep the fatal truth
from them. Later-well they would
see. So, they all sat down to waft
for daylight and possibly news from
the shack. They put a stone In the
would not wash out the fine particles
Of dust, as they could not gather with
the quicksilver and form amalgam on
account of the multiplying effects Of the
arsenic. .~-a-~.. .-~--~a
After a long and cold wait there was
a lusty vail, a sound never to be for
gotten, and they listened breathlessly
for news from the doctor.
tits the finest boy in Kern county,"
said the doctor, just as the tardy sun
came over the mountain. One man
wanted to celebrate the day by lynch.
ing the man that sold the mill to the
innocents, but just then the door
opened again and Ed came bounding
to them saying:
"Say, boys, I've got a son. Will you
come in and see him? Mary is wtlH
ing but she mustn't talk. And, INT
glad you've come. Oh, yes, Happy New
Year."
"Yes-Happy New Year for us all
and the boy in particular" the men
shouted as they followed Ed to the
shack. Ed continued:
you'll all stay to breakfast, for VIC
r going to have the first cleanup
right away"
"Just %so--just So" said Jim, and
then with hushed steps they.went into
the little shack as though they were
treading IN holy: ground. The beauty
and egrace of motherhood had fallen on
iMary and her, smile was inefable. Even
the mine was forgotten in her sweet
Joy. .-z4