Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-10-03

could wink. Made JUS drop off the dust
and bout face. He was a big, tall
Teller and had sawed-off Winchester.
Once. when we stopped, he dropped a
bullet right behind us. He must have
watched US all the way to camp"
The camp turned out As the men
passed the Lost Dog some one yelled to
the Babes George, covered with mud,
came to the door Of the mill.
.Gee!" said he. Lucky we saved
out that three hundred. I'm powerful
sorry for that suffering bank. I'll join
of the shaft" Before the party had
gone mile they were joined by the
brothers boyishly eager over this new
excitement.
The men toiled up the road to where
the robbery had taken place. Plainly to
boots The tracks Of single horse.
walking, followed the man.
He packed OF the dust. and he had
an almighty big horse to carry 1t, pro-
nounced some one.
They followed the trail. 1t led a
half mile to broad sheet of rock.
There it disappeared. On one side
On the other it fell away nearly a
hundred. On the other side of the
sheet of rock stretched the dusty road
unbroken by anything more recent
than the wheel-tracks Of the day be-
fore. 1t was as though man and
horse had taken unto themselves
wings.
Immediately Bright took active
charge of the posse.
stand here on this rock" he COM
manded. This roads been tracked
up too much already. You. John. and
Tibbetts and Simmins, there. come
long with me to see what you can
make out"
The old mountaineers retraced their
! steps. examining carefully every inch
of the ground. They returned vastly
puzzled.
mo sabe," California John summed
up their Investigations. There's the
mans track leadin' his boss. The boss
had on new shoes, and the robber did
his own shoeing. So we amt got any
blacksmiths to help u.s.
How do you know he shod the
horse himself?" asked Jimmy Gaynes
Shoes just alike on front and back
feet. Shows he must just have tack
ed on ready-made shoes. A black
smith shapes 'em. different. Those
tracks leads right up to this rock
and here they quit. If you can fggeI
| how a horse. a man and nigh four
hundredweight of gold dust got of
this rock, I'll be ob1eeged."
The men looked up at the. perpen-
| dicular cliff to their right. over the
the untracked deep, white dust ahead
Furthermore" California John went
| on, impressively, after moment
| where did that man and that boss
| come from in the beginning? Not
from UP this way. They's no fresh
tracks comm down the road no more
than they's fresh tracks. -goin' up
l Naf {
whatsomever on the road below. ex-
cept our'n and the stage outfits"
Are you sure of that?' asked Jim.
my. his eyes shining with interest.
'Sartin sure" replied California
John. positively. I'VE didn't take nc
chances on that"
Then he must have come into the
the mountain"
"Where?" demanded California John
"A man afoot might scramble dowr
/ in one or two places; but not a boss
/ They amt no tracks either side the
nluss-up where, the express was
stopped. And at that pint the noun
! tain is straight up and down, like il
! is here"
| They talked it over, and argued it
| and re-examined the evidence. bu
without avail The stubborn. facts re
| manned. Between the hold-up ana
the sheet of rock was one set Of
| tracks going one way; elsewhere
! nothing.
| X X X
| NEARLY a year. passed. If it mad
not been for the very tangible
loss of a hundred and fifty thousand
dollars, the little community a.
Bright's Cove might almost have come
to doubt the evidence of their sense.
and the accuracy of their memories
| so fantastic on sober reflection did al
the circumstances become. Even the
indisputable four hundred pounds o.
gold could not quite avert an uncon.
! fessed suspicion of the uncanny
Miners are superstitious folk. Ole
| Man Bright remembered the parting
and involved curses of his squaw be.
| fore she went back to her acorn: