Vernon Parish Democrat. (Leesville, La.) 1917-193?, 1921-04-28
CHAPTER XII

Arrived at San Miguel de Padua
about midnight, Webster found the
climate temperate, in fact, decidedly
cool. Billy was waiting for them and
was properly amazed, but not scan
dalized when Don Juan Cafetero,
abusing the station hands in a horri-
BILE hOdgepodge of English and Span
ish, superintendent the landing of the
baggage on the platform.
81 had to bring him with me-" Web
ster explained. I'm going to wean
him, and after that baby quits cry
ing for his bottle, believe me, Bill,
We'll have the prince of foreman for
our mine. Quite a character, is Don
Juan, when you dig down into him."
"Dig far enough into that ruin and
you'll find fire crackers" Billy admit
ted. However, John, I'm afraid he
won't explode. The powders damp.
How did you leave DOlOres?"
gift as fiddle, Bill"
"How does she stack up on better
acquaintance, Johnny"
"She's a skoOkum lass. She sent
her love and l promised to send you
back to her P. D. Q. So don't bother
me with talk about her. You'll see
her again in a week or ten days,
hope"
mo? Is that so, Johnny? Bully
for you, you old wampus cat. Tell
Don Juan to steer you over to the
GlObo de Orc. He knows the place.
I've got to go and hire a mule or
some other quadruped for Don Juan
if we're to avoid a late start in the
morning. Good night, old fellow"
They were up at daybreak, and
with three heavily laden pack mules
in charge of two semi-naked mozOs,
while the cook logged comfortably
along on his big splay feet in the rear,
they set out for Billy's concession.
For 80 miles they followed the high
way, and then debOuched to the south
west along a neglected road just wide
enough to accommodate the clumsy
OK carts of the poems. The country
was sparsely settled and evidently CIV
en- over to stock raising
Darkness had descended on the val
ley by the time they had pitched camp
at the claim. They were up at
dawn the following morning, however,
and Immediately after breakfast Jack
Webster went to his duffle bag and
brought forth a dozen little canvas
sacks and a prOspectOr's hammer
"Now then, William, my son." he an
nounced, Eight the lantern and Wen
see if you've forgotten all l taught
you about mining"
They cIambered up the dump to a
point where two light steel rails pro-
jected over the edge. On top of the
dump, lying beside the rails, were two
SMALL rusty, steel ore cars; the rails
led from the edge of the dump to the
mouth of a tunnel in the hillside and
disappeared therein.
Webster stood a moment looking
around him. "How did you happen to
locate this ledger" he demanded.
'Was it grass root stuff, with an out
cropping here at the foot of the hill?
No, of course, it wasn't. You haven't
enough ore on the dump. What the
devil were you driving at2"
'Only a small portion OF that dump
is mine, Jack, and l didn't locate the
ground originally. l came into this
valley from the south, and as l worked
up the range, l found a bald spot
close to the top of the hill, and a gal
lows frame over an abandoned shaft.
Naturally, 1 went down the shaft to
see why it had been abandoned. To
my surprise, I found a 12-foot vein
Of free-milling ore, on a contact be-
tween andesite and Silurian limestone.
The ledge stood straight up and down,