Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1919-09-25

sihttFS Will ~ up 10 inc Sh"iulll
where the machinery is stored, un,
overhaul it. Davis, you bring Ethe
up to the mine after breakfast. w
will leave about sunup, while She 1
having her beauty sleep" He left tn,
room and passed into the darkness
where the Spider was awaiting him.
ANY orders for tonight" inquired
the latter. The Hawk negatived.
Nothing doing. There are too man,
In the cabin. But Wen have anDthe!
try tomorrow" As Bellas Disappeared
Morgan re-entered the house.
II was decided that the engineer,
should take Ethei's old room and tina
the girl should use the spar. bed IL
the chamber OF Bridget. The Other
men were to occup" the lean-to auC
harness room. with the exception OF
Morgan and John, who decided tn bee
themselves down In front Of the IRE
place. This settled, they badr each
other g0od-nlght and retired.
Lying AWAKE before the fireplace
MORGAN glared evilly nj his slpnuinc
companion. n hand upon his knife.
"Tt.. crcluiOus FOOL" he SACRED
How easy It would be-" He un,
' sheathed the blade and ran his thumb
along Its keen edge, then deciding
that ii would be wiser 10 await an.
other day, he thrust the weapon back
into place, and rolling upon his side,
composed himself to sleep.
They We're upon their feet with the
first break of day, and having finished
breakfast, Morgan, the Spider, the
mine boss. Blackie. the aSsayer
and the rest of the mel mounted their
horses. John, standing in the doorway,
waved them an adieu.
Miss Ethel and / will join you
presently" he called. Morgan, shout.
ing back that there was no necessity
for their hurrying, turned aside to the
Spider.
81 believe if We 20 straight up the
mountain this way, we will save a mile
or two III our way to the mine" said
he, and, as the other man nodded his
acguiescence, they turned aside from
the trail and followed by the rest went
c~lalnbering on. A mile farther up they
reached II shack which was built on
the mountainSide over a furty-tivc de-
gree slope, which ended ia Il cliff. the
latter falling into.u deep valley. The
Hawk drew rein.
"Nevcr saw that shack before" he
said. The Spider laughed.
Neither did |, for the simple rea-
son that | never came this way before
Together they passed the hut, but
later encountering a small mountain
stream that crossed their path, they at
once urged their mounts into it up
TO their bellies. The horses stopped
and began to drink.
As Morgan's animal lowered its head
the man. feeling a mite thirsty also,
removed his hat and bent forward to
scoop up a hrimful. This brought his
fac" nearly TO II level with the clear
mountain stream, and as he looked
down through the transparent water
lie caught sight of something glitter
ing and glowing on the pebbles below.
With ii yell. he arose in his stirrups,
one finger pointing downward.
Wade in there, one Of you men, and
see what you find" he commanded, and
II moment later II miner stood waist.
deep In the stream. Reaching down at
the point indicated by his superior, the
mans fingers came In contact with the
object sought, and throwing 1t over his
shoulder he waded to the bank. At
their feet he tossed a torn gunny sack
partially filled with ingots of gold
Il of the sacks borne from the room
OF the girl by the hermit as she slept.
For II moment the men gathered
about the bars Of virgin metal, star.
ing at 1t rs though tranSixed. Fol-
lowed a wild scramble into the
creek in search of more. As they
emerged, dripping, Morgan turned upon
them with II laugh.
Boys, this isn't II circumstance to
what the mine will give us If we can
only get rid Of" Suddenly he
stopped, aware that the eyes of the us.
sayer, the only honest man In the out
fit, We're fixed upon him in WONDER
ment.
"1f We can only get rid of the bad
luck which has pursued u.s." he I'm.
ished lamely. "Meanwhile, we had
better take this find back to that shack
we just passed and store 1t there"
AS Ethel and John were making
their preparations to leave for the
mine. the girl took John by the hand
and looked earnestly into his face.
"All my fears and suspicious of Nor
gan have returned with redoubled
force. You are unwilling to think
evil Of him, but for my sake, watch
him. Don't trust him hereafter. l beg
Of you. ! feel 1t here" Her hand
stole owe her heart. Somewhat wor-
ried, the man drew her to him.
"Your persistence weakens my con
fdence somewhat. II he was u traitor,
It would explain-but I cannot believe
It. Yet, for your sake, l will be on
my guard and watch him. Goodbye"
you are not going to the mine with.
out me?" she asked quickly. He shook
his head.
mo, only to show the engineers to
the sawmill. I'll come back for you
before l 60 to the mine"
kissing her good.by, he took up his
rifle and went in search of the en-