The Little River news., 1920-12-08

In his dripping hand there was an inn mense river mussel.
 The old Boss had no sooner caught the b!uish-purple glitter shedding from the hinge knobs of the giant bivalve than he uttered shout that walked the echoes up and down the river shore, and brought the five men at the camp running down to the waters edge.
 "A Blue Moon!" he yelled. By the gods, Blue Moon! !'
 He snatched it from the hand of his companion and held 1t under the full glare of the jack light. Next moment he had handed it back and was driv- ing the boat to shore, where the first glance at the peculiar markings of the mussel instantly threw the whole , camp into the widest excitement.
 They spread down by the light of the fire the whitest cloth the camp af- forded, and the Boss cut the mussel open. One pearl, large. lustrous. dropped out upon the cloth and lay twinkling up into their faces like a fallen star. It passed from hand to hand, the pearl fishers struggling with each other for the privilege of holding 1t.
 .I never seed a one b'fore," cried the oldest "clammer" present. 'but l knowed hit were Blue Moon tn min- ute I lamped tn she'll"
 The pearl. passing from hand to hand, had come round to the Boss again, who, stooping close to the fire vlight, examined 1t through small hand lens such as most pearl. fishers carry. "Pearlhunter." he said. turning to the young man, you shorely air lucky! You've found y'ur pearl-an' "a fortune. it were r. e... g,s Ns | S@v
 'Then it's you that's lucky" was the slow answer. D Its not mine..,,,.
 Had the others, pet beenstoo excited, they might shave hottced khat his 1ips were drawn: his voice strained. grizzIed old river Boss gripped hi, calloused hand shut eupon the e4Arl5s his Ssa1y sold JfacG hardened, and there sprang up in his deep-set eyes an expressfoR not unlike the ex- pressiop in the aaykssof a h&wk when title to the pre1 h hts ,cla&s IS dis puted. But the expression passed. He thrust the pearl back into the young mans hand as though half afraid of 1t. , ~ ,F@4
 say" he growled, "what do you think I am?''
 '.s'.It was taken from your boat, in waters you expected to fish tomorrow. You'd have found 1t anyway"
 The hawkish glover left the blue eyes of the older man, leaving him the frank faced old Boss again. He studied his young friend curiously.
 Well. I'll be damn'd!" he chuckled good-naturedly to himself, still study ing the other from under the edges of his eyes. Say" he continued, look ing up frankly. q hain't got dern bit more claim to 1t than got to the Bank of Ingland. If you fancy I have got claims..I hereby gives an conveys 'em t you--an' if that hain't good law, it's square dealin' b'twixt man an man; an that's better'n law any day"
 You mean it?"
 The younger man fingered the pearl as if it had suddenly assumed a new value.
 If you wan t insult me. jist let on like y'u think don't"
 O-worshipers all, after the man. ner of their kind, the other pearl fish, CTS, as if by common impulse turned their attention from the pearl to the man that found 1t. He had become an object of wonder and curious admira- ti0n. No other achievement in the world could possibly have so distin- guished him in their eyes. Suddenly one of their number snatched of his battered hat and yelled:
 "Hooray fer tn Pearlhunterw
 The bluffs caught up the cheer that followed and flung it back in multi piled echoes, clear and far up and down the night-bound shore. The Boss, still hungry for the feel of the jewel, reached forth grimy finger and meditntively stirred the pearl where it lay in the finders palm.
 '"This one's rounder than them other two. An it's got shinier sheen. Course I cayn't say p'intedly, but putt it at not less'n five thou san'."
 The Pearlhunter was restless, There was frail woman back in the cabin at Fallen Rock to whom the find- ing of the pearl would mean more than to anybody else in the world. It would mean-the mans heart warmed with the thought. as his mind revert ed to the story of the afternoon back to the house on hill that over looked the river-and gOod-by to the cough forever.
 But 1t was some time before the first flush of excitement died down. It Is not one camp in 8 thousand that ever sees a Blue Moon. The value of 1t was still under discussion when the Boss happened to remember the flsh still lying in the boat.
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