Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1922-08-23
Unlucky
Bill Burgess

BY CLARA DELAFIELD

ical, seeing that Bills the unluckiest
cuss anywhere for miles around the
Three Forks district. See that brand.
new automobile of his? Ban into a
ditch with her first day, and into a
fence the second, and"
Bang! A tire exploded with a sound
like cannon shot. The car stopped.
Portly Bill Burgess got down and took
flop underneath. A stout, red-faced
woman in the car began talking to
him.
what did l tell you, stranger?"
continued the Oldest Inhabitant.
Bills luck's sort Of proverbial around
these parts. If he buys sheep, we
know scab's coming. II he plants al
falfa, we know we're in for rainy
season. When Bill puts his name on
subscription list for shares, the town
backs off the map. However, it's this
way:
Some one'd sold Bill pup Of a
gold mine In the old days, when Three
Forks wasn't on the map. Desert tract
1t was-yes, that's the Palaroosh, sure
enough, running II feet deep in dry
weather, but-well, s'pose you just
listen.
Three Forks was mining commu-
nifty, and the desert was the real goods.
Miles and hundreds Of miles Of sun
scOrched alkali. And the Palaroosh
had left its proper channel about
million years before and curved so
miles due east and then south. But
there was gold in the hills and-Bill
Burgess took out his claim.
paid all he was worth for that in
formation. You see, they'd sailed the
rock and, of course the analysis
showed three ounces to the ton. Bill
thought his luck was made.
Minnie Pagan was all right, but,
naturally, she couldn't love a poor
man, and she couldn't wait for Bill
forever She put it up to him fair
"I love you, Bill she said, but
I amt laundering after husband
that'll never be able to send cvt the
washing. Now, you've got six months
to make good on your new claim, after
which it's to be final, one way or the
other
"Bill went off into the hills in fairly
good spirits, considering He takes a
look at his gold nine 1t was sold to
him as the Mother Lode. That's to-
say, 1t was situated in sort Of holt
low basin where there'd been sort Of
lake about million years ago, out Of
which the Palaroosh ram down where
1t runs now.
"Bill didn't stop long. looking about
him, but hitched his burrp to a rock,
and started operations. The first day
he essayed about three ounces to the
ton and thought his fortune was made:
The second day he came down to three
pennyweights. That was the end Of
where they'd bl0wed the gold dust in.
to the rock with shotgun! The third
day there was just color. The fourth
day there wasn't even that
"Bil saw he'd been sold q pup, but
he had q vein Of doggedness in him
and he went on day after dAy, believ-
ing against all the evidence that some
day he'd strike the Mother lode He
blasted and dug and washed and era
died, but he never got no. color but
once, and that was mica.
Prom time to time somebedy'd pass
and carry the news down to Minnie.
At the end of three months Minnie's
patience was pretty near exhausted.
She sent word up to Bill to ask If he'd,
made his fortune yet, and! If not,
would he release her.
"Bin began to git mad. He sat on
a rock in the cursed sun, hooking at
the ruin he'd made out of perfectly
good hill stuff, and he realized his luck
was out and he'd never be anything
but the mluckiest cuss that ever trodi
Gods footstool. And If ever man,
saw red, Bin did then.
"'Ill find that Mother Lode or bust
he said And he took all the dynamite
cartridges he'd got left-there was
seven Of them-and he put; 'em in tile
deepest hole he could findy filled 1t in.
lit the fuses and ram
"a minute later there was roar
that shook Three Forks. And a sort
of earthquake followed. And suddenly
Bill was running for his life. faster
than he'd ever run before, and mil
lions of tons Of water was pouring
down the old channel toward Three
Forks.
"You see, stranger, in some way he'd
struck the springs that fed the Pafn-
roOsh. and diverted the stream. or
blown the old channel open, and there
was sort of natural dam in the BASIN
so that the water could be shut Off or
turned on at will. The poor booo got
just what he wasn't looking for. And
even then it took him days to see that
his water rights meant money TO. him. "
The portly man rose, from beneath
the auto. The redfacsd woman was
still talking. Presently the car moved
on.
yep. stranger. that's Minnie" said
the Oldest lnhabitant. Hes got what
he wasn't looking for there. too,
reckon. Reckon there's times when
A.. T.. l..yk -