White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1925-09-25
Continued from last week.

uIu ILLS ucdA. OeTtdluly We Aou
stumbled on some wholesale tragedy
of years past, for there were more
than dozen of these skulls, and they
had been exposed to the elements for
many months after the birds had
stripped them to the bone.
'"The ramrod was stuck into the
eyesocket Of one skull, and the paper
held in the slot at the end Of the rod, .
explained Knowlton. 1T looked as
though there had been writing on it
at one time, but the marks were so
faint that l couldn't make them out.
Anyway, it was in some foreign Ian.
guage."
I looked at-the boy in new light.
Certainly he was telling the truth. Up
to this moment, it seemed to me, he
had much to explain away, but con-
fessed that he had done it. "K," the
mark Of The Hawk, and the first let
ter of Knowlton. Merely coinci-
dence. Jimmy apparently hadn't been
fooled at any stage Of the game; but
then, comforted myself, he was pos
sessed Of facts of which knew moth
ing, and he had always been reticent
about tipping his hand when it was
unnecessary.
Knowlton was tearing down the pile
of skulls, which, had observed, were
stacked in the form Of a pyramid. He
looked up once at his sister, who
stood apart, regarding the gruesome
mementoes of what had once been
human beings with decided misgiv.
ing.
I'm going to give you treat for
your eyes, Sis" he said.
1t struck me as strange that there
were no other bones about. I recalled
the words that had been written on
the paper, and which Sedras had
translated for us, back in Yokohama,
as meaning, "Thus with traitors! y
Someone had selected this rocky knob
on which to pile more than dozen
skulls, thrust ramrod through the
top Of the heap, and left the message,
"Thus with traitors!" The thing was
inexplicable.
But now Knowlton had removed the
last skull, and had scuffed away a few
inches Of loose dirt, exposing slab
of stone perhaps three feet in diam
eter. He dug under one corner of this
with his fingers, until he could could
get a hold; then lifted. The stone
came away easily, exposing the flat
tened top of leather sack. Knowlton
tugged at this, for it was heavy, and
at last lifted it clear. Below were
other sacks. neatly stacked in hole
that had been dug and covered by the
stone.
"Gold!" he exulted to Jane. "More
gold than we'll ever know what to do
dith. Half of it is Starkey's, but he
can't use it now. But maybe we can
find his relatives"
1AhCu llldL 1ctSL ISludlh, NuOWlCOl
apparently was square-shooter He
couldn't be blamed for growing over
this hoard that he had won after
hardship and danger-it was the due
of the prospector-but that he was
disposed to claim only what rightful
ly belonged to him was a good sign
'We might as well get 1t to the
boat" said Mulvane. "How much Is
there?"
"Close to quart of million,
Knowlton guessed. II think your boat
can carry all of it, and us, too, al
though it will be some load"
1 caught hold of a sack which
Knowlton passed out of the hole
Some of the sacks were Of buckskin,
crudely sewed together, while others
had been apparently made out Of ar
ticles of clothing Of the two men. So
strongly had the gold fever gripped
them that they would have doubtless
exposed themselves to cold in order
to make receptacles for the precious
yellow dust they washed from the
bars. Yet began to understand what
must have been their feelings as
swung the gold to my back The
sack Of dust probably weighed close
to a hundred pounds. That was more
gold than l had ever seen-twenty
thousand dollars worth-and but one
Of several sacks!
Jane went with us to the boat the
first trip, and stayed there while we
returned for more gold.
Looks as If our quest is nearly fin
ished," remarked to Mulvane.
mo-" he returned, cts hardly be
gun" And hard on the heels of his
words something zoomed like an an
CRY bee past our heads, instantly fol
lowed by the chucking sound of dis
tant rifle-shot.
CHAPTER x
The Hawk Strikes
The shot appeared to have come
from a point opposite us from the
river. Involuntarily we had thrown
ourselves down, seeking what cove
u