Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-01-10

take my own gun"
They exchanged rifles, and Vir
ginia and Bill started back toward
the fallen grizzly.
They back-tracked the beai
through the snow and came upor
the cavern mouth.
Back five feet from the opening
the interior was dark as night: tho
cavern walls, gray at the mouth
slowly paled and. faded and were
obliterated in the gloom. Bill was
puzzled.
This cave-rve never seen a
cav just like this. Virginia"
The man stepped forward and
Jared; the shadows raced away.
Then Bills breath caught in a half
sob.
Instantly he smothered the match.
The darkness dropped around them
like a curtain. But in that instant
of light Bill beheld a scene that tore
at his heart.
Against the cavern wall, long lost
in the irremediable darkness. he had
seen a strange, white shape-a
ghostly thing that lay still and
caught the match's gleam-a grim
relic of dead years.
He turned to the girl, and his
voice was almost steady when he
spoke. You'd better go out, Vir-
ginia-into the light" he advised.
why? Is it-danger?"
mot danger His voice in the
silence thrilled her and moved her.
only w~ickedness. But it isn't any
thing you'd like to see."
The single m~atch-fiare had re-
Vaatad him tho truth
The thing he had seen was a
naked skeleton, flesh and garments
having dropped away in the years:
and the grizzly had simply made his
lair in the old shaft of his fathers
mine. Bill had found his fathers
sepulcher at last!
Il believe | understand she said.
you've found your mine-and your
fathers body"
yes. Just a skeleton"
I'm not afraid. Don't you want
me to stay?"
I'D love to have you, it you will.
Some way--it takes away a lot of
my ~bitterness-to have o here"
He made another light.
They stood together, looking down
at the skeleton. But she wasn't
quite prepared for what she saw. A
little cry of horror rang strangely in
the dark shaft.
This had been no natural death.
Undoubtedly, the elder Bronson had
been struck down from behind, as
he worked. and he lay just as he
fell. There was one wound in the
skull, round and CHASTITY, and in a
moment they saw the weapon that
made it. a rusted pick, such as
miners use, lay beside the body.
81 won't try to do much today
the man told her. except to set up
one of my cornerposts and erect a
claim notice."
He held the light close, studying
the rear wall of the cave. 1t was
simply a gravel bed, verifying his
guess that here lay an old bed of the
creek. In the first handful of stone
he scraped out he found a half
ounce nugget.
TITS rich? she asked.
Beyond what i ever dreamed.
But there's nothing more we can do
now. I've made my find at last
but it doesn't seem to make meas
happy as it ought to. Of course,
that, sight-there against the wall
would naturally keep a man from
only find and kill the devil who did
it,"
He was setting his claim marks
when Harold came mushing toward
them.
SO intent were they upon their
work that they didn't notice him
until he was almost up to them.
you've found a mine?" he guess
ed.
Virginia looked up. Joyful at Bills
good fortune. We've found his
fathers mine-the old shaft where
the bear has been sleeping. But
there's a dreadful side to it. too"
"Show me where it is. / wanted
to see it. Take me into 1t, Virginia
right away"
They started together.
"You can claim half of It." Harold
was whispering eagerly into Vir-