Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-03-21

x& u
and knees and began to give an imita-
ton OF a man hunting for a dropped
piece Of money. ITS so,t o queer.
Jeanie's been here. and the dogs been
back and across a couple q times. AS,
you can see But Fullerton hasn't
crossed here. There's only the one
set. o., tracks"
We made a wider search, with a
dead pine branch for a torch. but
found no other tracks; in fact. the
sulch vas quilted * deeply above and
below thaa there was no other prac-
ucable crossing phcc for a. horse. II
the hoof prints in the sand. and Dad
dy's Identification Of them seemed to
prove this past any question OF doubt
she had headed il alone. But why
had she been riding alone into the
depths of this uninllabited mountain
wilderness?
Calm and self-contained as he usu-
ally was, I could see, or rather feel,
that Daddy Hiram was growing in
c~reasingly nervous as we pushed on.
l didn't blame him; so far from it,
was sharing the nervousness in full
measure. What were We going 10
find at the end of the trail?
1t must have been at least two
that the dim trail we had been fol-
lowing ended abruptly at the aban-
doned mining claim spoken OF by
Daddy .Hiram-the Haversack. The
starlight was bright enough to show
us what there vas To be seen. which
wasn't much; a couple 81 tumble
down shacks, q. shed that had PROB
ably been the p~rospsctors' blacksmith
shop, and a tunnel mouth hat had
once been securely boarded up. but
from which the bnikheadins was nov
partly fallen away.
Once Daddy hunted for 4
dead pine branch and lighted a torc.,
The shacks empty. Of course
mel. We could see, through the brok.
en- bulk heading, that it was hal;
filled with caved-in earth and brok.
en- stone. Underfoot there was on,
the oaree gravel Of the tunnel spoil
and a full troop Of cavalry nigh
have passed over It without leavins
any visible trail. Worse than all, Bar,
ney, the plefaced collie, appeared nov
to be completely at fault He wa.
running around in circles with hi
nose to the ground. a pretty plai1
indication that he had lost the trail.
"Pll be bat-clawed and owl-hootee
II know what-al to do next" Dadd,
puzzled.
ia hAan'f m thA 49, 49,
and It was precisely at th,s point tina
the spMt-faced dog took it into hi
head to add another snarl t the knot
ted tangle. After galloping. around al
over the place halt a dozen times
shifting at everything in sight. he hat
finally come to q. stand with his nos.
at a crack in the tunnel boarding. fh
next instant he had leaped throug,
the hole where the pLanks had faiiel
away, and presently we heard hin
whining and scratching behind tn,
bulkhead.
don't know about Daddy Hiram
heart, but do know that mine wa.
doing fltp-flaps and back aornerault
when we ran up. to see what the do;
had found in the tunnel. For q. hair
second after Daddy thrust his torcl
through the hole I was afraid to loo!
scared stiff at the Thought OF wha
Il might see. When l did look. I say
the dog digging franttcally at III,
heap OF caved-in earth, and, of cours
to my d~isordered Imagination. tn,
hole in which he was burrowin,
transformed itself al once into a new
ly made grave.
Good CODY, / sasped; and then
Look. Daddy-rtght under you
totch!"
He looked and staggered back, an,
would have dropped the blazing pin,
branch II / hadn't caught 1t from hi
hand For what he saw and what
had seen, was the unmistakable pin.
IN the soft earth just INSIDE Of tn
plAnkinG, OF one OF Jeanie's brown
leather riding-boots.
In another h%alf-second We yer
10th in the tunnel and Daddy wa
heAvins the dog aside from the hol
he was paving out in the earth tall
|~snatchins up a broken handled shoy
81 that the former tunnel drivers Ia.
thrown away, the old man huus. him
self madly upon the art pils. an,
dnce there wa Q for only ono I,
and held the torch. / doh!t know
what he sxpected to find hidden IN
der the aide, but I 40 kno what
was afraid he was Goint 70 md.
After all. It wac only Z fish in. tn,
pan, 30 tar " ANY dreadful discover,
was concerned. inside Of five minutes
Daddy. working like = man deInented
had dug the entjrs caye-tn away. an,
there was nothing to show for ,th,
frantic ehovelingEless than nothins
Again. 4 don't know how Daddy fen
but I'm sure ! was able to breath,
better. the improvement dating from