The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1922-01-06

est In the property to me upon the
completion OF the job and the unwater,
ing Of the mine.
AT the moment | was under engage
ment TO 60 to Peru for q Chicago syn
dicate, and expected to be out of the
United States for at least six months,
and maybe longer. AS it turned out,
the South American job was a lot big
ger than ! had Anticipated. and for
that reason the time limit Of Il year
expired Il week ago, on the day that 7
landed in New York. Yesterday I
called upon the Omaha banker, ard he
gave me the cheering information that
my old mar was dead-had died just
q few days earlier"
"Still, | don't see how you have lost
out" | put in.
Wait here comes the funny part
of il. Mr.. Banker tells me solemnly
that am remembered in my old gen
tleman's disposition of some cash lega-
cieS made just before his death, and
I'm to have the thousand dollars which
he put up as Il forfeit. | took the prize
down and spent some of it within the
next few minutes wiring the old mans
home lawyer, whose name and address
the banker had given me. | briefed
the situation for the lawyer. said | was
ready to fulfill my part Of the con
tract, and asked him to wire me the
name and location Of the mine. You'd
reeve guess in a thousand years the
kind Of an answer I got"
l shook my head.
"No; probably not. What was it?"
'It was a bolt from the blue, all
right. Mr.. Home Lawyer wired that
his client had never owned q share Of
mining stock in his life, that there was
nothing in his papers or records bear
ing upon the subject of my telegram,
and that | must be either drunk or
crazy. OF course, he didn't put it just
that way in his reply, but that is what
he meant"
"How do you sort it out ?" I inquired.
"The lawyers telegram? put it up
that my cautious, secretive old gentle.
man never told anybody at home about
his mining Investments kept them in
a separate pocket. so to speak. Quite
possibly he didn't have any other ex-
cepting the one I've been telling you
about, and the one he regarded rs a
dead cock in the pit. That would ex-
plain the situation nicely, don't you
think?'
The story had left me n bit logged
as to the present state and standing
of the ching, and l said so.
We'll, it stacks up about this way"
said BroWn-beard. There is q per-
fectly good mine somewhere west OF
us that is worth anywhere from Il
quarter to a half million, and at the
present moment it is kicking around
without an owner. SO far as | can see,
I'm the only man on top Of earth who
has a claim on any part of it. And 1
have no more idea than the man in the
moon where it is at No; I'm afraid,
my handsome fortune is q lost dog, so
far as I'm concerned"
His mention Of q lost dog hit me
right i'm the center of the solar plexus
and l laughed like a fool.
what struck your funny-bOne?" he
demanded, sort of obviously, l fancied.
Nothing" l gurGled; nothing,
worth mentioning--Only I'm hunting
for q lost dog, too"
But l didn't tell him any more. After
we'd smoked a while longer. and
BrOwn-beard had apologized for max
ing Inc listen 10 his rather !ongish tale
Of woe, we took the porter's hint that
he'd like to have the smoking room for
his nightly s~hoe-shine. and turned in.