Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977, 1926-07-22

NC Euubcd HA4 - = - Sa-1 = - = ------@
from spell.
'rhem's all fresh rods In the bun
die" he said. II cut 'em the day be-
fore yesterday. Look where she forks.
Well try her ag'en. The powers
strong. Then you can tackle II"
~MeY~ CaIeb's surprise was an
forced
sAye, you might have the power.
You're sympathetic. ennyway. Let's
walk out a bit farther. Away from
the crick. II don't make no difference
where. There's a water table under
u.s. This end Of the valley aIn't so
much a sink as cisteFn.
Caleb's heart pounded at this con-
tirmatlon IL his belief He was Ia q
curious state OF excltation. But he
said nothing. They tried again a quar-
ter of a mile away. The same phe-
nomenon occurred with so much
greater emphasis that the FORKS
crossed each other. No juggling with
hands apart could have managed this
TRY IT," said Evans, wiping sweat
from his forehead. Twice Is enough
for me. That last was a twister. Did
We say you had another cigar with YET
/ left all mine In the shack. Now
then-choose yore twig. We know
there's water here. II you've got the
power It'll show. Don't be In a hurry.
Don't think of nothin'. Make yore
mind blank. Hold It leyet-fngera
up-sor
He arranged Caleb's hands to his
liking with his own bony, clammy fin
gers and stepped back. Caleb stood
alone, fixing his eyes on the glow of
the dowsers cigar In a species of hyp-
nosis, waiting, trying to eliminate ell
thought.
In this he succeeded. Motionless, he
waited. gazing at the spark OF fire and
the dark pillar of the Welshman's
body. The spark seemed to grow
larger-larger- then he felt. 81
multaneously--a distinct tremor run
up his fOrearms, a sinking sensation
in the pit of his stomach, a CULVER
Of diaphragmatic ganglia.
The rod twitehed. He gripped the
forks hard-harder. They began to
vibrate. The tremor increased In his
wrists. The forks strangely seemed
to be a part of him, sensitive. alive.
Then there seemed to be a tug at the
end Of the stem. like the swift strike
Of fish at the lure. And the straight
stem bent as he might have bent his
finger, in a pointer. straight TO water.
He had no doubt OF It now. The
thing had happened to himself. It
was marvellous as It was mysterious.
this sense of power. And he thrilled
to It. 1t was an Endorsement Of his
title as Water-Bearer, surely an au-
curry of success. II filed him, not |
with pride, but with reverence for his
gift.
GLORY bel" cried the dowser
You've got It, pardner. You've got |
the power. BY gosh, you'll be takin'
my job from me" he added with a
short laugh that ended in cough.
"I'll see that you are no loser by
II, said Caleb. smiling back. And he
meant the promise. For now he was
certain OF the fulhllment OF his idea.
much as yet remained to be proven
and accomplished The bunch was
born, for he had In his hand the key
<hat would unlock for him the secret
of the Sink. With the power-was it
his birthright, a gift from Aquarius,
glittering on the billy horizon The
could. working at night, cover the
whole area Of the lower valley and
exploit, without boring, the extent Of
the water table. Under the gravel lay,
he was convlnced-none the less by
the occult manner OF It's determine
tion-water for the thousands who
would make Golden mighty among
for incoming families,
for factories, for fields and gardens,
for civic use A mammoth clstern
ready to be tapped.
Before he left him, to walk back to
the hotel. exultant. Caleb got some
worthwhile information from Evans.
He had the name Of the man who
owned most-if not all--of the Sink.
The land was valueless for farming. ,
Il could be acquired cheaply. That
was an Important factor. Even AT the
ow price. the big acreage would mean I
IN amount far beyond Caleb's COM
PISS. That end OF It, with the other
Big expenses, he must leave to Cox
Tor financing. But the secret was his
He found a small parcel awaiting
him at the hotel that had come by the
evening mail. On II was the return !
address OF GoIden's best jeweler. He
opened 1t and took from a bed Of cot
on wool a jade pendant On It was
in intaglio the zodiac sign {
II Pisces. Two fishes Joined by a
-ibbon. He had ordered 1t on his re-
urn from FL Nido after the picnic. He (
Intended It as a belated birthday gift /
o Betty Clinton.