White Pine news. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1920-1923, 1922-07-02

hotel? lis not much of n run TO
TOWN."
Hammond pointed 10 a wide fire
place facing them.
Il can get this shack cleaned out in
about half an hour-thls IN room.
anyhow. When we get Il fire goin' in
there, and board up the windows and
doors. we ought TO be comfortable
enough. But suit yourself, cap'n It's
your funeral"
Gramont laughed. All right. Go
ahead and clean up, then, and II rain
m down we can camp here. Be
sure and look for snakes and yermln.
The floor seems sound, and If there's
plenty of nos on the trees. we can
make up comfortable beds. Too bad
you're not a fisherman. or We might
get a fresh fish out of the bayou"
II got some tackle In town" and
Hammond grinned widely.
Good work Then make yourself
at home and 20 to II. We've most of
the afternoon before us
Gramont left the house. and headed
down toward the bayou shore.
He took a letter from his pocket,
o6shad II, and glanced over II anew. II
was an old letter, n written him
nearly two years previously by Lucie
Ledanols. Ii had been written mere
ly in the endeavor to distract the
thoughts Of a wounded soldier. 10
l.Inn lie mini ~ Anf.iapa ara :.
from the stricken fields of France. In
the letter Lucie had described some of
the more interesting features of Bayou
Terrebonne-the oyster aud shrimp
fleets, the Chinese and Filipino VII
lagos along the gulf. the ~far-spread
cypress swamps; the bubhling foun-
tains. natural curioslties. that broke
up through the streams and bayous OF
the whole wide parish-fomtalns that
were caused by gas seeping mp from
the earth's interior. and breaking
through.
Gramont knew that plans We're al
ready afoot 10 rap this field of natural
gas and pipe IL 10 New Orleans. OH
had been found, too. and all the state
was now oll-mad. Fortunes were he
ing made daily. and other fortunes
We're being lost daily by those who
dealt with oil stocks instead of with
oil.
Those gas fountains did the work -
reflected t;ramont. And according To
this letter there's one of those foun-
tains here In the bayou. close to her
property. Just opposite the dock. she
says. Tile first thing is to find the
dock. then the fountain. After that.
We'll decide IL it's true mineral gas.
If IL il. then the works done-for I'll
sure take n chance on finding oil near
II :"
Grannont caine To the bayou and be-
gan searching his way along the thick
and high fringe OF bushes and sapllngs
that girded the waters edge. Present.
~ he came upon the ruined evidences
Of what Ind once been IL small boat
shed. Not far from this he found the
dock referred TO In the letter: nothing
WAS left Of 1t except n few spiles pro-
truding from the surface Of the water.
But he had no need to look farther.
Directly before him. he saw that
which he was seeking.
A dozen feet out from shore the wa
ter was rising and falling In n contlnu-
dome or fountain Of highly
charged bubbles that rose a foot above
the surface. Gramont stared at II.
m%otionless. lie watched II for n space
then, abruptly, he started. II was a
violent start, a start of sheer amaze
ment and increduiity.
He leaned forward. staring no longer
at the gas DOME. but at the water
closer inshore. For a moment he
thought that his senses had deceived
him, then he saw that the thing was
there indeed, there beyond any doubt
"a very faint trace of iridescent light
that played over the surface OF the
water.
"It emit be Dossible y, he muffared