The diamond drill., 1921-11-19

y0ru. Wnllc WIS tuhNlut In the
washroom asked the colored boy II
my smoking-room chum OF the night
before was up yet.
''Yas sab; he done been up an gone.
for the longest"
or course. this was mere idle ques-
tionlng on my part. Tracing the
brown-bearded mining engineer who
had used me az a convenient dumping
ground for his story was the least OF
my intention az the moment For that
matter. since we hadn't exchanged
cards. and wasn't even sure that I'd
heard his name straight, couldn't
have traced him II had wanted 10.
Recalling the story In the garish
light Of another day, II seemed q bit
less credible than It had while was
listening 10 II, and began to wonder
II the teller OF II might not be men,
Der OF the dcathless guild OF smoke
room roEancers. buried the story
among the things 10 be smiled at and
forgotten. when took a taxi for the
hotel. After an excellent breakfast !
made q few inquiries about the meri-
dian; the 105th, that the maps showed
as passing just west OF the city. The
maps we're right. The 105th meridian,
which Is the one from which mountain
time Is reckoned. ran little west OF
the city proper. and, by consequence.
west OF the two other principal cities
OF the state, Colorado Springs and
Pueblo.
found that the 105th meridian,
tracing II north from Denver. stops
short against the 40th parallel Of lati-
tude just south Of little town called
Erie. Traced south, II tracks the ID.
& II. @. railroad for about twenty
miles and then takes 20 the mountain,
barely shutting out Manitou, and pass
ing, of course. well TO the west
ward Of Pueblo. This simpllfied mat
ters--a little.
Yet this business OF wandering aim
lessly from post TO pillar. combing the
face OF nature for blue-eyed maidens
and piebald horses and harleQuin-faced
dogs was already beginning to strike
me as about the most fantastic thing a
body could conceive Of doing. To at
tempt II without a plan OF some kind
seemed worse than useless; so, for per-
haps the first time in a pretty rattle
Drained life, sat down 10 do some
ground-and-lofty head work, with
Cousin Percy's letter for sort OF
nexus.
The third paragraph contained the
meat OF the matter: "Your portion OF
Grandfather Jasper's property was
worth. at its latest valuation, some
thing like $4,000" What single piece
of property outside OF large city
could be worth any such sum as that7
/ could think OF nothing but mine OF
some kind. unless it might be a cattle
ranch, or growth Of standing timber:
and In the area laid out for me, mines
would outvote cattle or timber about
hundred to one, thought.
Then there was that other phrase:
ut lies In a perfectly safe repository.
Repository" implied recep-
tacle or container OF some sort; a brick
wall, or barbed-wire fence. or any In
closing thing you like to imagine. Could
a mine be said to be ''reposItory"f
AS you see, kept coming back to
the mine idea, In spite OF all could
do; and at last, without a word OF
warning, and right out OF clear sky.
as you may say, smack thing hit
me squarely between the shoulder
blades-Brown-bear and his eccentric
old gentleman
After I got cooled off a bit I had to
admit that there was something less
than one chance In thousand that, at
the price OF a couple Of cigars given TO
a fellow traveller In distress. had pur-
chased any real clue to my own puzzle.
Yet l couldn't get away from the
notion that was on the verge of dis
covery. Oddly enough. the miraculous
part OF 1.-THE one chance In a million
that I should run across the one per-
son IN hundred million who could tell
me that particular story--didn't i'm
press me at the time. was too busily
engaged IN trying TO Ut the puzzle
HtttIo tOkttAttt W Va thtnk
else at the moment.
Come TO sum them up. they fitted as
toundingly well. Grandfather Jasper
had always been exceedingly close
mouthed when speaking OF his invest
ments. Added 10 that, he would be
the last man In the world TO have con-
fessed that he had been bitten, even IN
directly. by ''gold-brick" game. Then,
too. the course he had pursued with
the mining engineer (aiways granting
the truth OF Brown-beard's story was
Just like hira; he would have wanted
year In which TO think II over--or may
be longer. Also. II was like him TO
keep all the Identifying marks as
carefully hidden as nut meat insts
shell. -
At this point began 10 think about
getting action. One word from Bull
ton, or Bulletin, or whatever his name
was, would settle the identities beyond
question. and that word was his "old
gentleman's" name. He hadn't men
tfonrl 10 rrrn IN falllno hlo