The Bienville Democrat., 1922-02-02
COPYRIGHT BosBs MERRILL CO.

:, ou' ah 'iie next IS like to be perm,
J heht' l want the gold washed O,
afore then, an us well down II
, strait' It's up to you to hump yor,
serves, an I'll help the humpin'.
wen cradle most of the stuff an
II they's time, we'll fume the silt tai
ms Tor the fine dust. Providin' W
can git fall of water. ThereIl b
plenty for all hands to do. An tn
shares go as first fixed. / amt e,
pectin' you to do the diggin' an nc
slt pinch or two of the dust"
Ihe mems faces lighted, and the
snullled about, looking at one anothe
with grins Of relief.
mo cheers?" asked Lund ironically
wall, I hardly expected emmy. Har
son, you'll be one of the foremen. wit
pay accordin'. Deming."
i can't dig" said the hunter trucu
lently. Neither can Beale, with hi
ribs" "
you've got a sweet nerve" sal,
Lund. Il reckon you've won enoupl
10 De sure Of yore shares, II the bow
pay up. Enough for you to do som,
diggln' in yore pockets for Beale. Hi
ribs 'ud be whole if you hadn't started
the sbolshevik stunt. But I'll fin,
something for both of you to do. Dom
let that worry you none.
We've got mercury aboard some
where," Lund continued, to Rainey
when the men had dispersed, far more
cneerfui than they had gathered
We'll use that for concentration II
Fthe film rifles. Hansen'll have rock
ers made thatll catch the big stuff
If the worst comes to the worst, well
load up the old hooker with the nav
art an wash It out on the way home
III strip that beach down to bedrock
Iif | have to work, the toes an fingers
off EN-"
BY noon the schooner was glazed
In as firmly as 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 swe)ls
were creating promontories, bays,
cltns 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 a proper slant for
the play OF prisms. Beautiful as 1t
was, the sight was fearful to Rainey,
In common with the crew. Only Lund
surveyed It nonchalantly.
ITS Dustin up FAST he said. "All
we need Is little luck. If we amt
got that there's no use Of worryin'.
We can't blast ourselves out O this
without riskln' the schooner. We
ought to be thankful we froze in gen.
tie. There amt a plank started. The
fioe'll fend US of. There amt emmy
big chunksenny way near us aft. Luck
Ito make a decent landin'-is all we
need, an It's my hunch it's comm our
way
His "nunch" was correct. Though
they did not actually make the little
bay on which the treasure beach de-
bouched, they fetched up near It
against broken hill Of ice that had
lodged on the sharp slopes Of a little
promontory, making the connection
without further damage than a split
ting Of the forward end Of their en-
casing foe, with hardly a jar to the
KarIuk.
Lund sent men ashore over the Ice,
climbing to the promontory crags with
hawsers BY which they tied up
schooner, foe and all, to the land. If
the broken hill suffered further catas-
trophe, which did not seem likely, Its
would fall upon the foe.
ID case Of emergency Lund ordered
men told of day and night to stand by
the hawsers, to cast loose or cut, as
the extremity needed.
II was dark before they were
snugged. \ The men volunteered, !
through Hansen, to commence digging
hat night BY the light Of big ires.
70 crazy we're they at the nearness Of |
he gold. But Lund forbade It.
You'll work reg'lar shifts when you
1T started" he said. "An' you won't |
start till termorrer. We've got to
Itand BY the ship ternight until we
Ind out by mornin' how snug we're
,o.n' to be berthed."
All night long they lay in a pam
lemonium Of noise. After a while
hey would become used to It as do
he workers In a stampmill, but flat
light It deafened them, kept them
wake and alert, fearful, with the ire
nendous cannonading. The bit Of the
rost made the timbers Of the Karluk
reak and its thrust continually
vorked among the stranded masses
,ith groanine rhundefs and shrill
while the surf ever doomed
d the resonant sheets Of Ice.
Dawn came before they we're aware
{ Il, i sudden rush Of light that dyed
he Ice In every hue Of red and orange, I
hat tipped the frozen coast with
ursts Of ruby flame that fared like
eacons and silded the crests Of the
,ne swells, tinging all their world with
Wild, unnatural glory.
Lund, striding the deck, his red
an, ICED With Ills breath, suddenly
|opped and stared into the. east.
n.,. q the vefv eve Of the dawn,