Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1924-01-12
By VICTOR ROUSSEAU
Copyright By ". C. Chapman

Ike that"
Wlnton gulped. but managed to re-
tain an aspect Of tolerabIe indifference.
did the De Witt stone happen to come
out OF the Big Malopo clalmy" he In
quIred.
Look here. young man, you know
more than you're pretending" an
swered the other In disgust. Think
you're smart, don't you? / don't know
what your game IS, but take a word of
advice and don't play innocent In
Malopo because 1t don't go down"
He left Winton in disgust and saun-
tered back, only pausing to kick the
native, who had the misfortune to IN
tercept him, back into the road again.
Winton saw the situation, as he
thought, p. ecisely If his claim had
actually proved valuable, De Witt, who
had unl0aded the shares upon the IN
suspectlng Archie, must be kicking
himself savagely at that moment. He
resolved TO be very cautious and to say
nothing TO anybody about his business
He learned the location Of the coach
Office from the station agent, and
strolled across the market square to-
ward il, stepping among the recumbent
oxen Now he began to perceive signs
I Of prodgious activity in Taungs The
market square was filling up. Auction
4 GERS were putting up thin, miserable
/ donkeys and broken carts, which
brought Incredible prices. Indian ped
| dlers, old clothes men, hawkers OF ice
/ cold" drinks poured out from canvas
/ bottles suspended In the sun, to lose
heat by evaporation, swarmed among
| the crowd OF bidders. Occasionally
man on horseback. in flannel shirt and
-brlmme9 nat of felt. his worldly
goods packed In his saddle-bags, and
/ humping at his steed's TANKS. came
Looping by, riding toward the west.
Many Of the OK wagons were already
upon their way making their first
march before the heat Of noon.
WintOn pushed his way through the
throhgs and found the coach office,
near the northeastern corner Of the
square. surrounded by a crowd of APP
plicauts, among them his travelling
companions of the two days and nights
spent In the train.
The coach, a huge affair, containing
seats for sixteen, with an immense
leather boot Mt the back for baggage,
stood at the side of the Office in the
rear a half-dozen mules, which had
been led from their stables, were tax
Ing their last roll In the dust and scat
tering clouds upon the bystanders.
Winton heard passenger offer twen-
ty pounds for n ticket to little one
eyed man, who rejected his proposal
scornfully The fare was ten pounds;
the little man had bought some seats
on speculation, and was receiving Of
fers with astonishing disdain and ar
rogauce,
Twenty poundsw he repeated sar-
castlcally splitting into the dust.
"Gemmen here offers twenty pounds for
seat MS far as Malopo. Come gem
men. shame him. only one stage a
day, and oil the seats booked weeks
ahead, Who SAYS tifty?"
"Flfty" cried a staIwart old pros
pector at Winton's side,
"Sixty" shouted another.
"Sixty! Who'll raise sixty? Seven
~? Thank YOU sir. Eighty? Seventy
6ve?" He was holding out the ticket
/ TO Winton, who shook his head indg-
nantly.
just then his eyes lit upon a pair
who attracted and arrested his atten-
tlon Immediately. One was an old
man, apparently In his late sixties. with
his occupation as prospector stamped
MI over him. in the hungry eyes, sun
wrlnkled and staring. his calloused
/ hands; the other was girl, dark
haired, about three-and-twenty and Of
singular and rather exotic beauty. who
stood beside him, her arm drawn
through his own.
It was not so much the contrast be-
tween the two that struck Winton as
The reversal Of their natural roles in
that the girl seemed 70 be the leading
spirit There was something lndlca-
Tive Of protectiyeneSs in her finely
modelled face, her gesture The man,
an Tie other hand, looked Ike one
broken by misfortune; his HANDS shook.
is with palsy and he glanced w into
the face Of his taller daughter from
ttue to time with appealing helpless
ness.