Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1922-01-28
A Man To His Mate
BY }. ALLEN DUNN

BY J. ALLEN DUNN
COPYRIGHT BoBBs MERRrL co.


skylight. Their faces were eager with
the proximity of the gold yet half
sullen as they waited to hear what
Lund had to say. Since the attempt
against him Lund had said nothing
about their shares. They aeknOwl-
edged him as master, but they still re-
belled In spirit.
There's the island" said Lund.
Wen make ii afOre shutdown. The
beach is there, waitin' for us to dig it
up. It'll be some job. l don't reckon
it's frozen hard, on'y crusted. If it is
wen bust the crust with dynamite.
But we got to hop to 1t. There1l be
another cold spell after this one peters
| out an the next is like to be perma-
nent. ] want the gold washed out
afore then, an us well down the
strait. It's up to you to hump yore-
| selves. an I'll help the humpin'.
Wen cradle most of the stuff an,
If they's time. Wen fiume the silt tail
| ms for the fine dust Providin' we
can git a fall of water. There'll be
plenty for all hands to do. An the
shares go as first fixed. amt ex-
pectin' you to do the dlggin' an not
git a pinch or two of the dust"
The mems faces lighted, and they
shuffied about. looking at one another
with grins of relief.
mo cheers?" asked Lund ironically
'Wall. l hardly expected emmy. Han
son. you'll he one Of the foremen. with
pay accordin'. Deming."
81 can't dig" said the hunter trucu-
lently. Neither can Beale, with his
ribs"
you've got a sweet nerve" said
Lund. II reckon you've won enough
to be sure of yore shares, if the boys
pay up. Enough for you to do some
diggin' in yore pockets for Beale. His
ribs nd be whole If you hadn't started
the bolshevik stunt. But I'll find
something for both of you to do. Don't
let that worry you none.
We've got mercury aboard some
where" Lund continued, to Rainey,
when the men had disT -sed, far more
cheerful than they .ad gathered.
Wen use that for concentration in
the film rifles. Hansenm have rock
ers made that'll catch the big stuff
| II the worst comes to the worst, Wen
| load up the old hooker with the pay
| dirt an wash it out on the way home.
| I'll strip that beach down to bedrock
| If have to work the toes an fingers
off 'em."
BY noon the schooner was glazed
in as firmly as a toy model that Is
mounted in a glass sea. The wind
| blew itself entirely out, but the cur
rent bore them steadily on to the
! clamorous shore, where the s,vells
were creating promontories, bays.
cliffs and chasms In the piled-up con
fusion Of the foes pounding on the
rocks, breaking up or sliding atop one
another in noisy confusion.
The marble-whiteness of the Ice
| masses was set off by the blues and
soft violets Of their shadows, and by
pearly sheen wherever the planes
caught the light at proper slant for
the play of prisms Beautiful as It
was, the sight was fearful TO Rainey
in common with the crew. Only Lund
| surveyed 1t nonchalantly.
''It's Dustin up fast" he said. "An
we need is little luck. II we amt
| got that there's no use of worryin
We can't blast ourselves out o this
| without riskin' the schooner. We
ought to be thankful we froze In gen
/ tie. There amt a plank started. The
/ floe'll fend US off. There amt emmy
big chunks emmy way near us aft. Luck
to make decent landin'-is all we
need, an It's my bunch it's comm our
way"
/ His ''hunch" was correct. Though
| they did not actually make the little
bay on which the treasure beach de-
bouched, they fetched up near It
against a broken hill Of ice that had
| lodged Oh the sharp slopes of little
promontory, making the connection
without further damage than a split
ting Of the forward end Of their en-
casing foe, with hardly jar to the
Karluk.
Lund sent men ashore over the Ice.
| climbing to the promOntory crags with
hswsers by which they tied up
schooner, noe and all. to the land. IF
the broken hill suffered further catas-
tr0phe, which did not seem likely. its
fragments would fall upon the foe.
In case Of emergency Lund ordered
men told Off day and night to stand by
the hawsers, to cast loose or cut, as
the extremity needed
1t was dark before they we're
snugged. The men volunteered
through Hansen, to commence digging
! that night by the light Of ig fires
81 crazy were they at the nearness OF
the gold. But Lund forbade II.
you'll work regular shifts when you
! cit started" be said. AN you won't
| start TIL termorrer We've got "a
stand by the ship ternlght untu we
find out by mornln' how snug we're
| goin' 10 be berthed.~
All night long they lay In pam.
demonium Of noise. After a while
! they would become used 10 II as d.
] tho gVOrt-a~e fr a cfau4utafFt I,r+